Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor, Simone Young has previously held the posts of General Manager and Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Music Director of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, Music Director of Opera Australia, Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of both the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. Her appointment as Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has recently been extended through until the end of 2029.

An acknowledged interpreter of the operas of Wagner and Strauss, she has conducted complete cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival, Vienna Staatsoper, Berlin Staatsoper, Hamburg Staatsoper and, in 2026, La Scala Milan.

Simone Young has an extensive and celebrated recording catalogue. Her first performance as Chief Conductor in Sydney, featuring Mahler’s Symphony No.2 Resurrection and the world premiere of William Barton’s Of the Earth was released worldwide on Deutsche Grammophon, and performances of Elgar & Vaughan Williams, Das Rheingold and Gurrelieder have been filmed for Sydney Symphony On Demand. Her Hamburg recordings include the Ring Cycle, Mathis der Maler (Hindemith), Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (Schmidt) and symphonies of Bruckner, Brahms and Mahler. She has also recorded Benjamin Britten Folksongs and songs of Richard Strauss with Steve Davislim, and songs by Wagner and Strauss with Lisa Gasteen.

Simone Young’s return invitations to the great orchestras of the world in 2026 will include the Suisse Romande, the Orchestre nationale de Lyon, West German Radio Orchestra Cologne, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France Paris, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco and Montreal Symphony Orchestras, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, London and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester. She also returns to ANAM, Melbourne to lead their orchestra in a 30th birthday celebration Gala performance.

Firmly established as one of the world’s leading opera conductors, 2026 will see Simone Young return to the Berlin Staatsoper (Lohengrin and Nabucco), La Scala Milan (the Ring cycle and a new work by Luca Francesconi) and Götterdämmerung, completing Sydney Symphony’s Ring Cycle.

The presentation of Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Ring Cycle in concert, commencing in 2023, has played to sold out audiences, standing ovations and 5-star reviews. A second, feature-length documentary film, Knowing the Score, showcasing Simone Young and her career was also internationally released in 2023.

In 2025 Simone Young was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sydney. Her many accolades also include the 2024 Conductor of the year (British Opera magazine), Honorary Member (Ehrenmitglied) of the Vienna State Opera, the 2019 European Cultural Prize Vienna, a Professorship at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg, Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Western Australia and New South Wales, Griffith University and Monash University, the Sir Bernard Heinze Award, the Goethe Institute Medal, the 2013 Helpmann Award for Best Individual Classical Music Performance and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France.

Through elegant musicality and an insightful approach to both contemporary and established repertoire, Jean-Yves Thibaudet has earned a reputation as one of the world’s finest pianists. He is especially known for his diverse interests beyond the classical world; in addition to his many forays into jazz and opera—including works which he transcribed himself for the piano—Thibaudet has forged profound friendships around the globe, leading to fruitful collaborations in film, fashion, and visual art. He is a devoted educator and the first-ever Artist-in-Residence at the Colburn School, which awards several scholarships in his name.

Thibaudet opens the 2025–26 season with Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and in Bucharest; he later brings the piece to the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Houston Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He performs the Saint-Saëns, alongside Guillaume Connesson’s The Shining One—composed specifically for Thibaudet—with the Bern Symphony Orchestra. A major contemporary champion of Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto, which he recently recorded for Decca, Thibaudet performs the piece with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic in November.

In January, Thibaudet bookends the LA Phil’s Body and Sound festival with two multisensory works—Scriabin’s Prometheus, the Poem of Fire and Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie—before joining the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for the world premiere of a new piano concerto by Aaron Jay Kernis. He journeys to Australia to perform Qigang Chen’s Er Huang and Gershwin’s Variations on “I Got Rhythm” with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, followed by Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra—a piece he later brings to the Gothenburg Symphony. He joins the New World Symphony for Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, “The Age of Anxiety” before closing his 2025–26 season with the piece at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to his orchestral dates, Thibaudet joins violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Gautier Capuçon on a fall trio tour, with stops throughout western Europe; Thibaudet and Capuçon reunite in the spring for a duo recital in California. He also continues his multi-season focus on Debussy’s Préludes, performing both books in their entirety at recitals around the world.

A prolific recording artist, Jean-Yves Thibaudet has appeared on more than 70 albums and six film scores; his extensive catalog has received two GRAMMY® nominations, two ECHO Awards, the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Diapason d’Or, the CHOC du Monde de la Musique, the Edison Prize, and Gramophone awards. Thibaudet’s recent recordings include Khachaturian, a celebration of the Armenian composer from his Piano Concerto to his cinematic solo piano works; Gershwin Rhapsody, a collection of Gershwin pieces recorded with Michael Feinstein, including four newly-discovered ones; Night After Night, a celebration of James Newton Howard’s scores for the films of M. Night Shyamalan; and Carte Blanche, a collection of deeply personal solo piano pieces never before recorded by the pianist, including a specially-commissioned suite of music from Dario Marianelli’s Pride & Prejudice score arranged by the composer himself. 

Thibaudet has also had an impact on the worlds of film, fashion, and philanthropy. His first foray into film work was a pair of Schubert’s Impromptus, Op. 89, recorded for Jane Campion’s 1996 film The Portrait of a Lady. Pride & Prejudice—recently reissued in a special 20th-anniversary edition, and certified Gold by the RIAA in 2025—marked his first performance as soloist on an original score; he would collaborate again with Marianelli on his Academy Award®-winning 2007 score for Atonement. Thibaudet can also be heard on Alexandre Desplat’s scores for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011) and The French Dispatch (2021) and Aaron Zigman’s score for Wakefield (2016). He also had a cameo in Bruce Beresford's film on Alma Mahler, Bride of the Wind, and his playing is showcased throughout. His concert wardrobe is designed by Dame Vivienne Westwood, with whom he shared a close friendship; among her final projects was a custom packaging for a limited vinyl reissue of Thibaudet’s recording of Debussy’s Préludes.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, where he began his piano studies at age five and made his first public appearance at age seven. He was educated at the Paris Conservatory, where he studied with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. Among his numerous commendations is the Victoire d’Honneur, a lifetime career achievement award and the highest honor given by France’s Victoires de la Musique. In 2010 the Hollywood Bowl honored Thibaudet for his musical achievements by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. Previously a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Thibaudet was awarded the title Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012. In 2020, he was named Special Representative for the promotion of French Creative and Cultural Industries in Romania, and in 2025 he was named a Chevalier of the Ordre de la Légion d’honneur by the French government. He is a co-artistic advisor with Gautier Capuçon of the Festival Musique & Vin au Clos Vougeot in Burgundy.

Moldova born and Berlin native mezzo-soprano Alexandra Ionis studied at the Berlin Universität der Künste and the Milan Conservatorio di musica Giuseppe Verdi and was a member of the International Opera Studio of the Accademia nazionale di Santa Cecilia, where she was taught by Renata Scotto among others.

Already during her studies she took part in Aribert Reimann's opera Melusine/Pythia at the Berlin UdK under Errico Fresis and Frank Hilbrich. Since then, her love of contemporary and modern music has been demonstrated numerous times, including in Widmann's Babylon and Reimann's Gespenstersonate/Mumie at Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Britten's Death in Venice under Donald Runnicles and Graham Vick at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berg's Wozzeck/Margret at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia under James Gaffigan, in semi-staged performances of Zimmermann's Die Soldaten/Stolzius' Mutter with the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln and François-Xavier Roth (staging: Calixto Bieito) in Cologne, Hamburg and Paris, as well as the two world premieres Die Schneekönigin (Tischlerei der Deutschen Oper Berlin) and Subotnik (Neuköllner Oper) by the composer Samuel Penderbayne. In addition, she sang in the world premiere of Péter Eötvös' opera Sleepless at Staatsoper Unter den Linden (with revivals in Geneva and Budapest) and the world premiere of the children's opera Robin Hood/Nurse (M. dall'Ongaro) at Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari.

Further highlights in recent seasons include her debut as Fricka/Die Walküre in concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Simone Young, her debut at the Bayreuth Festival 2024 as 2nd Norn/Götterdämmerung, Siegrune/Die Walküre (both under Simone Young) and as Mary in the children's opera Der fliegende Holländer, her Schwertleite/Walküre in the new RING production at Staatsoper Unter den Linden (staging: Dmitri Tcherniakov) under the baton of Christian Thielemann and Thomas Guggeis, the new production Elektra/3rd Magd (director: Philipp Stölzl) with the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko in Baden-Baden and Berlin, 3rd Magd/Elektra at Staatsoper Stuttgart, Roßweiße/Walküre under Stefan Reck at Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari and under Juraj Val?uha at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Il viaggio a Reims/Maddalena and Il trovatore, both under Giacomo Sagripanti at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Maddalena at the Dresden Semperoper, Annina/Der Rosenkavalier at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin (Simone Young/André Heller), as well as Annina/Rosenkavalier, Ulrica/Un ballo in maschera and Marcellina/Le nozze di Figaro at the Chemnitz Opera House.

Her concert repertoire includes works by Pergolesi, Bach, Rossini, Verdi, Mahler, Schönberg, Shostakovich, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Rachmaninov.

As of season 2023/24, Ionis is a member of the ensemble at Theater Bielefeld, where she could already be experienced as Judith in Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle, Anaide in Leoncavallo's Zazà, Mrs. Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff, Katerina (Magdalena) in Martin?'s The Greek Passion, Giulietta & Voice of the Mother in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, and Queen of Hearts in Pierangelo Valtinoni's Alice in Wonderland, among others.

Projects at her parent house in Bielefeld in the 2025/26 season include her debuts as Azucena in the new production Il trovatore, Mescalina in Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre and Old Lady in a new production of Bernstein's Candide, as well as the revival of Alice in Wonderland /Queen of Hearts.

In addition, Ionis will make her debut as Princess Eboli/Don Carlo in Bari and return to Sydney, where for the first time she will perform Mahler's Song of the Earth with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Simone Young. Further, she can be heard in concerts with Verdi's Requiem in the Berlin Philharmonie and Dvorak's Requiem in Gütersloh.

Alexandra Ionis is a scholarship holder of the Richard Wagner Society since 2018.

Simon O’Neill is one of the most sought-after Heldentenors at the world's leading opera houses and festivals, and is particularly successful in Wagnerian roles such as Siegfried, Siegmund, Parsifal, Lohengrin and Tristan as well as Florestan, Idomeneo and Otello.

His engagements in the 2023/24 season include Lohengrin under Eun Sun Kim in San Francisco, Das Rheingold in concert performances in Sydney under Simone Young as well as in Los Angeles under Gustavo Dudamel, Tannhäuser at the Nikikai Tokyo, Tristan at the Royal Opera Copenhagen and in concert with the Auckland Philharmonia under Giordano Bellincampi, Handel’s Messiah and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius.

Highlights of recent seasons include his debut at the Opéra National de Paris as Parsifal, which he also interpreted at the Bavarian State Opera, Tristan at Santa Fe Opera and Glyndebourne, Florestan in Fidelio with Daniel Barenboim and Sir Antonio Pappano, Boris in Katya Kabanova with the London Symphony Orchestra and Siegfried in concert with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Simon Rattle and with the Basel Symphony Orchestra under Mark Elder.

Outstanding milestones in his career include opening the season at La Scala in Milan under Daniel Barenboim as Siegmund, a role he has also sung with Franz Welser-Möst at the Vienna State Opera, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, Berlin, Hamburg and Bayersicher Staatsopern, as well as his further appearances in London as Lohengrin, Fidelio, Stolzing and Parsifal; other important career milestones include his debut as the Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Berlin State Opera with Simone Young and as the Tambourmajor in Wozzeck with Levine at the Metropolitan Opera. In 2009 Simon O'Neill made his role debut in concert as Otello with the London Symphony Orchestra under Colin Davis. He has since appeared in this role on stages in Houston, Boston, Auckland and Sydney. At the Bayreuth Festival he made his debut as Lohengrin in Hans Neuenfels' production with Andris Nelsons and returned as Parsifal in Stefan Herheim's acclaimed production under Daniele Gatti. His guest appearances at the Salzburg Festival included Florestan with Daniel Barenboim and Die Zauberflöte with Riccardo Muti.

Simon O'Neill has worked with outstanding conductors such as Antonio Pappano, Pierre Boulez, Fabio Luisi, Donald Runnicles, Christian Thielemann, Jaap van Zweden, Daniel Harding, Esa Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel, in addition to those already mentioned.

His broad concert repertoire, which includes Mahler's Lied von der Erde and Eighth Symphony, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, and Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, has taken him to the world's most prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall New York, the Royal Albert and Royal Festival Hall London, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Rome and the NHK Hall in Tokyo. Simon also performed Die Walküre in concert with the Berlin Philharmonic (Barenboim), the New York Philharmonic (Van Zweden) and the Berlin Staatskapelle (Rattle).

His discography includes the Lied album Distant Beloved (Decca), his award-winning solo album Father and Son: Wagner Scenes and Arias (EMI), Siegfried in the Ring under Jaap van Zweden (Naxos), with the Hallé Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder and the  Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, Otello and Der Freischütz under Colin Davis (LSO Live), Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. Valkyrie under Barenboim from La Scala and Parsifal with Pappano from Covent Garden have been released on Blu-ray. His Deutsche Grammophon recording of Mahler’s Symphony No.8 with Gustavo Dudamel won a Grammy Award.

Simon O'Neill was appointed an Officer of New Zealand Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II. He is a graduate and Doctor (h.c.) of Music from Victoria University of Wellington and a graduate of the University of Otago, Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard Opera Center. His portrait graced the 1998 New Zealand one-dollar stamp.