Dohnányi to become next director of Prague State Opera

The spokesman for the Culture Ministry, Jan Cieslar, has revealed that the internationally respected conductor Oliver Dohnányi will be named the new director of the Prague State Opera, replacing Jaroslav Vocel whose mandate runs out at the end of June. The 55-year-old Dohnányi, who was born in Slovakia, was the head conductor of the Czech National Theatre Orchestra until 2007. In his early years, he studied conducting under Václav Neumann at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and also studied in Vienna. He has been a guest conductor at numerous opera houses worldwide.