He has been Principal Guest at Opera North since 2019, for whom this season he has conducted a new semi-staged production of Simon Boccanegra at Bradford Town Hall and on tour to venues including London’s Southbank Centre (5 star reviews everywhere). He has conducted many acclaimed productions over the past few years at Opera North, notably Tosca, Ariadne of Naxos, Nozze di Figaro, and last season a double-bill of Cavalleria rusticana/Aleko. This season he also conducted a rare production of Martinu’s Giulietta (original French version) in Nice, where it was composed, to universal praise; and the first revival in 40 years of Otto Ketting’s opera Ithaka at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in the prestigious Zaterdag Matinee series. Hermus has conducted extensively throughout his career in opera houses across Europe, notably in Stuttgart, Strasbourg, Gothenburg, at the Komische Oper Berlin, the Opéra de Paris studio, Essen and the Nederlandse Reisopera.
Symphonic plans in 2024/25 have included returns to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Residentie Orkest, Auckland Philharmonia, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and North Netherlands Philharmonic; and debuts with the Vancouver Symphony, Bonn Beethovenorchester, Tenerife Symphony and Polish National Radio (all subsequently reinvited). He is a regular guest with the Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Danish National and Orquesta Sinfonica da Galicia, and has appeared with many other distinguished orchestras across the globe - notably the Philharmonia, Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Lille, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, Melbourne Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and Seoul Philharmonic.
Next year will see the release of his first recording with the Belgian National Orchestra on La Dolce Volta, featuring Medtner and Rachmaninov. His existing discography on CPO focuses on neglected Romantic composers such as Hausegger, Klughardt and his compatriots Diepenbrock and Wagenaar, as well as Auber’s opera La Muette de Portici.
For Hermus, music is an essential part of life and society. Always pushing the boundaries of traditional concert programming, Antony has been involved in numerous out-of-the-box-projects, such as Ligeti at the “Lowlands” rock festival and Symphonic Cinema (Mahler/Stravinsky). He was initiator of the award-winning „Scratch“ concerts and of the first performances in Germany of “Tweetfonie” (52 world premieres on one day) during his Residency at the International Kurt Weill Festival.
Hermus started playing the piano at the age of six. He studied piano with Jacques de Tiège at the Brabant Music Conservatory and conducting with Jac van Steen and Georg Fritzsch. He is passionately committed to nurturing the next generation of young musicians; he is Visiting Professor at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the “National Master of Orchestral Conducting” programme and teaches regularly at Sibelius Academy and Royal Northern College of Music where he was made a Fellow in 2025 in acknowledgement of his contribution to musical life in the North of England. He is also Artistic Advisor of the National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands.
24/25 season – 628 words. Not to be altered without permission.