The conductor Gustavo Gimeno, who will assume the musical direction of the Teatro Real starting next September, has been honored with the Order of Civil Merit, granted by King Felipe VI, in recognition of «Gimeno’s extraordinary contributions to music, his role in enhancing Spanish culture on the world stage, and his notable artistic achievements and leadership in the classical music world.»
The Spanish Ambassador to Canada, Alfredo Martínez, was responsible for awarding the insignia to the maestro at an event held at the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, just moments before the Toronto Symphony Orchestra took the stage to perform Mahler’s Fourth Symphony under Gimeno’s baton.
The Order of Civil Merit, established in 1926 by Alfonso XIII, is one of Spain’s highest civilian decorations and is awarded for exceptional services to Spain in various fields, such as culture, science, and diplomacy.
Gustavo Gimeno has been the musical director of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra since 2015 — a position he will bid farewell to at the end of this season — of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 2020, and will take on the role of musical director of the Teatro Real for the 2025-2026 season.
He has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Radio France Philharmonic, and the Santa Cecilia National Academy Orchestra, and has collaborated with artists of the caliber of Krystian Zimerman, Daniel Barenboim, Gautier Capuçon, Anja Harteros, Leonidas Kavakos, Bryn Terfel, Yuja Wang, Daniil Trifonov, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Martin Grubinger, among others.
As an opera conductor, he has performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Opernhaus in Zurich, and the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia. At the Teatro Real, he has conducted ‘The Fiery Angel’ (2022), Nina Stemme’s concert, ‘The Feast of the Apostles’ (2024), and ‘Eugene Onegin’ (2025).
On March 29th, maestro Gimeno will return to the Teatro Real to conduct a concert dedicated entirely to Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and Richard Strauss (1864-1949), featuring the Wagnerian voices of soprano Gabriela Scherer and tenor Michael Volle, alongside the Teatro Real’s Resident Orchestra. The program, starting with the overture of Tannhäuser, will include arias and duets from ‘The Flying Dutchman’, ‘Tannhäuser’, and ‘Arabella’, as detailed by the Teatro Real.
Michael Volle is considered the best Wagnerian interpreter today. His powerful baritone voice has embodied characters like Hans Sachs, Wotan, Amfortas, and the Flying Dutchman, with major theaters and festivals around the world requesting his presence.
On the other hand, Swiss soprano Gabriela Scherer has delivered intense performances in operatic roles by Gluck, Mozart, Puccini, Strauss, Verdi, and Wagner. While she initially started as a mezzo-soprano, her inclination towards Mozartian roles like Pamina, the discovery of Strauss’s Ariadne – during performances of Ariadne auf Naxus where she played the Composer – and a career pause for personal reasons redirected her towards soprano roles.