LÉONARD GANVERT
Conductor
French conductor Léonard Ganvert is renowned for his extensive experience in the diverse symphonic, operatic, and choreographic repertoires, both classical and contemporary.
Founder (2002) and music director of the orchestra Les Concerts d’Athalie, he has received numerous awards (Lions Clubs International, Lilly Partnership in Diabetes, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet Foundation for Vocation).
In 2006, leading the musicians of the Paris Opera Orchestra, he gave a concert at the Palais des Congrès in Paris and recorded a CD, the proceeds of which benefited diabetes research. Léonard continues to conduct his ensemble, which performs regularly in Paris. Notable projects include Offenbach’s Ba-Ta-Clan in 2016 and the complete incidental music for Mendelssohn’s Athalie in 2023.
Léonard has conducted musicians from the Paris National Opera Orchestra, the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra ICO della Magna Grecia (Italy), the Oviedo Philharmonic (Spain), the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgaria), the Auvergne Orchestra, the Conservatoire Laureates Orchestra, the Conservatoire Orchestra, the Janáček Philharmonic of Ostrava (Czech Republic), the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, and the North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra. Ensemble Court-Circuit, Ensemble Fa, and the Orchestre de Bretagne.
Among his various artistic activities, Léonard is currently founding a company that brings together solo singers and professional instrumentalists of different generations, dedicated to the transmission of the French light repertoire.
From May to July 2023, Léonard conducted the Route lyrique at the Lausanne Opera (Offenbach's L'Île de Tulipatan) and, in April 2026, Humperdinck's Hänsel & Gretel at the Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing (Les Variétés lyriques company).
He has conducted La Traviata with the Opera è mobile company in Paris (at the Musée d'Orsay as part of a Curieuse Nocturne), as well as in London and Shanghai, and Norma in concert version (also in Paris). Léonard arranged and conducted an original soundtrack to accompany a live performance of the Austrian silent film *The City Without Jews*. Numerous screenings took place in Belgium and France between 2020 and 2023.
Since 2018, Léonard has been a regular guest conductor for the Ballet Nice Méditerranée at the Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur (Gounod’s *Faust*; Messager’s *Les Deux Pigeons*; Ravel’s *En Sol*; Gershwin’s *Pas de Dieux*; Minkus’s *Don Quichotte*, also touring Spain; Rachmaninov’s *Rhapsody*; Thiriet, Kosma, Bloch’s *Démons et Merveilles*; and Delibes’ *Coppélia*). This experience is a natural extension of his classical dance training and his passion for the choreographic repertoire.
Then, between 2011 and 2015, Léonard assisted Jesús López Cobos at the Wiener Staatsoper (La Cenerentola, Rossini), at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (La Gioconda, Ponchielli), at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (I Puritani, Bellini), at the Lausanne Opera (L'Elisir d'Amore, Donizetti and Manon, Massenet), at the Festival de Verbier (L’Elisir d’Amore, again) and for concerts with the Orchester de la Suisse Romande and with the Orchester de Paris. As assistant conductor, Léonard worked with Kenneth Weiss on Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (2010, CNSMDP) and with Laurent Gay on Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in French (2011–2012, La Chaux-de-Fonds – Amphitheatre of the Opéra Bastille in Paris – Royal Opera of Versailles).
Léonard received the Prix d’Honneur [conducting] at the 32nd Masterplayers International Music Competition 2012 (Lugano, Switzerland). He has participated in various international competitions (Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Belgium) and was one of the three finalists in the 2nd Concorso Nino Rota (Italy, October 2017). He is a graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (Prizes in Conducting, Musical Analysis, Orchestration, and Aesthetics) and Sorbonne University (Master’s degree in Music Management and Administration).
“The Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Léonard Ganvert, is like a jewel box for this fairytale set to the music of Léo Delibes. All the musicians received a long and enthusiastic ovation from an audience still under its spell, and Léonard Ganvert himself received a standing ovation from all the performers. It’s Christmas at the Opera!”
Catherine Pellegrin, Résonances Lyriques,
December 22, 2022
“The direction of this magnificent work by Léo Delibes is entrusted to Léonard Ganvert, who, like the composer, appreciates ballet music. The mazurkas and czardas soar brilliantly, the graceful waltzes seduce with elegance, while the piccolo, triangle, and strings provide the rhythm for the automata’s dance. Under Léonard Ganvert’s direction, the Nice Opera Orchestra delivers a superb performance of Léo Delibes’s rich and entertaining music.”
SATINE, Résonances Lyriques, October 13, 2024
“From the very first notes, the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra sounds sumptuous and detailed, thanks to the precise and uncluttered conducting of Léonard Ganvert, who, having previously led the performance, knows the score better than anyone. Throughout, he finds a balance between elegance and character, flamboyance and the sometimes martial spirit of an orchestra brimming with conquering energy. These dual and complementary qualities form the basis of the great appeal of the score composed by Delibes in 1870.”
Alexandre Pham, ClassiqueNews, October 17, 2024
