Pittsburgh Opera's leadership is a unique team of administrative, artistic and musical directors, working in collaboration with an experienced board of directors to bring extraordinary opera productions to the Pittsburgh community.

General Director, Christopher Hahn
Music Director, Antony Walker

CHRISTOPHER HAHN was appointed General Director of Pittsburgh Opera on June 26, 2008, having served the Company as Artistic Director since 2000. Since then he has significantly enriched the company’s repertoire, introducing Baroque and contemporary operas presented in a variety of production styles. He has expanded productions for the Pittsburgh Opera Center (POC), the company’s resident artist training program, to include works ranging from Monteverdi to Britten. Under his leadership, the POC’s reputation as one of the nation’s leading programs has grown, with recent graduates winning major competitions such as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Awards and roles with major international opera companies.

Classically trained as a stage director and actor in his native South Africa, Mr. Hahn began his career in opera at the San Francisco Opera where he was Rehearsal Administrator. He moved on to manage the San Francisco Opera Center, including the world-renowned Merola Opera Program, the country’s leading training program for American singers. During his years with the company, Mr. Hahn directed numerous acclaimed productions by the Opera Center. He then moved to the Los Angeles Opera as Artistic Administrator, working with Placido Domingo and Peter Hemmings, the founding director.

Mr. Hahn’s expertise in recognizing young vocal talent has made him a sought-after juror at various American and international vocal competitions, including the Bernstein Competition (Jerusalem), Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition, the Francisco Viñas Competition (Barcelona), the McAllister Awards, the Tucker Awards, and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

ANTONY WALKER Since his debut in 1991, this exciting and prolific young conductor has led 52 operas, 47 large scale choral/orchestral works and numerous symphonic and chamber works with companies in Europe, the United States, and Australia.  His active conducting schedule has included engagements with Opera Australia, Welsh National Opera, The Minnesota Opera, New York City Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Rome Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, Sydney Opera House Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, Barossa Festival Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Sinfonia Australis, Orchestra of the Antipodes and Chatham Baroque.  

Mr. Walker has recorded 26 CDs and DVDs of the works of Beethoven, Mahler, Mozart, Orff, Fauré, Puccini, Verdi, Purcell, Handel, Bach, and others.  His CD collaboration with Teddy Tahu Rhodes garnered the ARIA award for Best Classical Music Album of 2004 and his DVD of the Emperor Concerto, on CD as part of the complete set of the Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5, won the international DVD Association Award for Music Excellence for 2005.  Releases of additional works including Handel’s Semele and Purcell’s The Fairy Queen have won consistent high praise in musical journal reviews. 
As Artistic Director of Washington Concert Opera, Mr. Walker has cast and conducted highly applauded performances of under-performed works such as Béatrice et Bénédict, Stiffelio, Roberto Devereux, La Donna del Lago, Esclarmonde, Luisa Miller,and Tancredi. As Co-Artistic Director of Pinchgut Opera, he has cast and conducted baroque and early works including Semele, The Fairy Queen, L’Orfeo, and Dardanus with Sinfonia Australis and the Orchestra of the Antipodes (on period instruments).
Mr. Walker's commitment to contemporary composition and performance is evidenced by many critically acclaimed premieres of significant international compositions in his native Australia. He has conducted Arvo Pärt's St John Passion, Poulenc's Figure Humaine, Iannis Xenakis' Idmen A and B, and more than 70 premiere performances of new Australian works, many with The Contemporary Singers which he co-founded.

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