Biography (read more)
Nathalie Stutzmann (born Nathalie Dupuy, 6 May 1965, in Suresnes, France) is a French contralto and conductor born to musical parents; her mother was soprano Christiane Stutzmann and her father bass Christian Dupuy. She studied first with her mother, then at the Nancy Conservatoire and the École d’Art Lyrique of the Paris Opera under Hans Hotter, debuting as a concert singer at the Salle Pleyel in 1985, and later turned to conducting in the early 2000s under mentors including Seiji Ozawa and Simon Rattle.
Renowned as a singer for her interpretations of French mélodie and German lieder, Stutzmann founded and led the period-instrument chamber orchestra Orfeo 55 from 2009 until 2019, performing as both soloist and conductor. She has since become one of the leading female conductors of her generation, serving as Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 2022, principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the second woman ever to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival, alongside a substantial discography of vocal recordings for EMI, Erato, and Deutsche Grammophon.
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