Omer Meir Wellber

Born in

Be'er Sheva (Israel)

Education

Musical education in accordion and piano, Be'er Sheva Conservatory, conducting and composition with a scholarship from the American-Israel Cultural Foundation at the Jerusalem Music Academy

Five to ten important engagements

Since 2018, he has been Principal Guest Conductor at the Semperoper Dresden, Giordano's Andrea Chénier at the Bavarian State Opera, Tannhäuser at Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, La traviata at the Bavarian State Opera, Strauss' Daphne at the Semperoper Dresden, Aida at the Arena di Verona, Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera in New York

Formative collaboration with these artists

That's difficult... First and foremost there's the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, opera directors like Graham Vick, who unfortunately died last year, Luc Bondy, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, and so on and so forth. 

There are also two roles that I would like to add to my list of significant collaborations: Figaro from Le nozze di Figaro and Fiordiligi from Così fan tutte. I have a strong relationship with both of these characters. And last but not least Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: he changed my idea of music and theatre a lot, but also my understanding of the meaning of freedom.

Debut at the Volksoper Wien

From September 2022 to December 2023 Music Director of the Volksoper Wien

Late Night Concert Omer Meir Wellber & Friends on 4 September 2022

Opera debut: The Magic Flute on 14 September 2022

Further works: Concert with the Orchestra of Volksoper Wien on September 13, 2022 at Wiener Konzerthaus, Jolanthe und der Nussknacker (season 2022/23), La bohéme (season 2022/23), La traviata (season 2022/23)

Important prizes & honours

2020 "Rudi Häussler Prize" of the Semperoper Foundation (addition: for artistic personalities of special importance for the reputation of the Semperoper Dresden)

2021 Special Prize of the renowned Italian Associazione Nazionale Critici Musicali (National Association of Music Critics)

2021 Cielo d'Alcamo Literary Prize for the Italian publication of his novel The Four Faints of Chaim Birkner (Berlin Verlag, 2019).

Other

Omer Meir Wellber was Music Director of the Volksoper Wien from September 2022 to December 2023

Music Director of the Teatro Massimo Palermo (until 2024), General Music Director at Staatsoper Hamburg (from autumn 2025)

Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

2018-2022: Principal guest conductor of the Semperoper Dresden

Author of the books The Fear, the Risk and the Love - Moments with Mozart (together with publicist Inge Kloepfer) and The Four Faints of Chaim Birkner

Website

https://omermeirwellber.com/


* Use of photograph (© Luca Pezzani) only for the purpose of current reporting on the Volksoper Wien.