Nicholas Carter Takes Office in Melbourne
Nicholas Carter, who served as chief conductor and co-artistic director of the Bühnen Bern until 2025, has been appointed principal guest conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
The appointment comes after he was named General Music Director of the Stuttgart State Opera and State Orchestra, effective with the 2026–27 season—making him the first Australian to hold this position at an opera house with a history spanning more than 400 years.
Carter previously served as music director at both the Hamburg State Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and served as chief conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2019. From 2018 to 2021, he was principal conductor at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt and with the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra, and most recently, from 2021 to 2025, he served as principal conductor and co-opera director at the Bühnen Bern.
