The young British-Canadian conductor Henry Kennedy has already established strong credentials in the concert hall and opera house in both Europe and North America.
As the inaugural Resident Conductor of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, his repertoire over his two-season tenure (2024-2026) will range from Beethoven and Sibelius to Puccini, Britten and contemporary North American works. CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster, celebrated his achievement as an emerging classical musician by placing him on its ‘30 under 30’ list for 2025.
In October 2025, he returns to Poland’s Wrocław Opera for La bohème, having been resident conductor at the company in 2022-23. Collaborating with artistic director Mariusz Kwiecień and music director Bassem Akiki, he assisted on operas such as Le nozze di Figaro and Madama Butterfly and took charge of performances of Don Giovanni, Carmen and Les Pêcheurs de perles, which he also conducted at the Silesian Opera in Bytom.
Honouring Puccini on the centenary of his death in November 2024, Henry Kennedy conducted a new production of Tosca in Lucca, the composer’s birthplace. He subsequently toured with the production to Livorno, Pisa and Ravenna. The Corriere Fiorentino praised Kennedy as “the revelation in this Tosca … continually revealing sonic detail, and tracing the hard-hitting drama without resorting to easy compromise,” while Opera magazine noted “the sense of dramatic trajectory that Kennedy was able to project through the music while still keeping the tempos admirably supple … [He] achieved a compelling transparency … that allowed the modernistic aspects of the score to shine through.”
Kennedy first appeared in Italy in December 2021, following his participation in the Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy, which was filmed in Milan by RAI. Invited to substitute for Riccardo Muti, he conducted scenes from Verdi’s Nabucco at concerts in Rimini and Ravenna with the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini, which joined him again for Tosca.
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