Born and raised in Switzerland, Patrick Furrer studied the piano in Zurich and conducting in Bern, Vienna and the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen. After leading a local youth orchestra and several choirs in Switzerland, Mr Furrer embarked on his professional career in the 1997/98 season at the Basel Opera, where he was engaged as a répétiteur and conductor, working on productions including ELEKTRA, TURANDOT, OTELLO, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO, Bruno Maderna’s SATYRICON, Zimmermann’s DIE SOLDATEN, Frank Martin’s CORNET, and JENUFA. Forthcoming engagements during the 2019/20 season include his debut at the Metropolitan Opera conducting THE FLYING DUTCHMAN. Following Basel he was appointed 1. Kapellmeister to the Innsbruck Opera, where he conducted HANSEL AND GRETEL, Krenek’s JONNY SPIELT AUF, UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, Prokofieff’s ROMEO AND JULIET, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, COSI FAN TUTTE, OTELLO, THE MAGIC FLUTE and WERTHER. Mr Furrer has worked extensively as a guest conductor including performances of ELISIR D’AMORE at the Volksoper Vienna, DON GIOVANNI at the Lucerne Opera, RIGOLETTO at the St. Gallen Opera, UN BALLO IN MASCHERA and THE MAGIC FLUTE in Mannheim, and HANSEL AND GRETEL in Nürnberg. A return to the Theater Basel included performances of Othmar Schoeck’s PENTHESILEA, LA BOHÈME, and THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, and LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN at the Zurich Opera House. In 2015 he began his collaboration with the Academy for Performing Arts in Hong Kong with a new production of DIE FLEDERMAUS. Since then he regularly returns for symphonic performances with the Academy Symphony Orchestra where his concerts have included Mahler Symphonies No.5 and No.9, Petrushka, and Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche. At the Northwestern School of Music he recently conducted a new production of Berlioz’s BÉATRICE ET BÉNÉDICT and will return this season for their production of LA BOHÈME. In 2002 he conducted the opening ceremony of the Swiss National Exposition. Mr Furrer’s concert career has included engagements with the Tonhalle-Orchestra Zurich, the Symphony Orchestras of Basel, Bern, St.Gallen, and Biel, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, the Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester, and the “Orchestre du Conservatoire National de Paris. As an assistant conductor, he collaborated with many great maestros and singers. In the 2010/11 season he began his engagement as assistant conductor / cover conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, where he has worked on many productions. At the Salzburg Festival he worked in the same capacity on DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NURNBERG, IL TROVATORE and WOZZECK. In December 2021 Maestro Furrer made his Metropolitan Opera conducting debut with THE MAGIC FLUTE, and later this season he will also conduct DON CARLOS.