Riccardo Muti, born July 28, 1941 in Naples, is an Italian conductor of Neapolitan and Apulian origin. He is invited to conduct the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic in 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2018 and 2021. Riccardo Muti is one of the most regular guest conductors of the New York Philharmonic and the National Orchestra of France.

Christian Thielemann has been one of the great German conductors of our time for years. Born in 1959 in what was then West Berlin, he began his professional career in his native city at the Deutsche Oper under none other than Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989). Via various stations in Karlsruhe and Düsseldorf, among others, he moved to Nuremberg in 1988 as - at that time - the youngest General Music Director. Nine years later, Thielemann returned to Berlin to the Deutsche Oper, then led the Munich Philharmonic from 2004 to 2011, in each case also in the positions of general music director. Thielemann has been involved with the Bayreuth Festival since 2010. In 2015, he was appointed music director there. In the 2012/13 season, he moved to Dresden to join the Sächsische Staatskapelle, and in 2013 he additionally took on the position of artistic director at the Salzburg Easter Festival. Christian Thielemann maintains close ties with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras.
Thielemann has received numerous awards and honors for his achievements, including his honorary doctorate from the Hochschule für Musik ´Franz Liszt` Weimar, the Richard Wagner Prize, the Prize of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Semper Opera, and honorary membership of the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Gustav Mahler Association Hamburg.

Anja Kampe studied at the universities of Dresden and Turin and has made a name for herself in the classical music scene, especially with her Wagner interpretations. Born in 1968, the soprano from Thuringia first attracted international attention when she appeared alongside Plácido Domingo in the role of Sieglinde at the Washington Opera. Kampe subsequently took her roles of Kundry, Brünnhilde, Senta or Isolde to the most renowned opera houses in the world, from the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Berlin State Opera to the legendary Bayreuth Festival. Furthermore, the soprano from Thuringia celebrated successes in the roles of Katerina Ismailova and Minnie (La Fanciulla del West), Leonore (Fidelio) or Lisa (Queen of Spades), among others.
In 2018 the soprano was appointed Bavarian Chamber Singer. Kampe thus joins the ranks of successful artist colleagues such as Anja Harteros, Diana Damrau, Christian Gerhaher and Jonas Kaufmann.

Engagements take the Westphalian-born bass Georg Zeppenfeld to all the world’s renowned stages, including Bayreuth, London, Milan, Munich, New York, Salzburg and Vienna. In 2015 Zeppenfeld was awarded the title of Kammersänger of the Semperoper Dresden, where he is a regular guest.
With his charismatic stage presence, the singer, born in 1970, inspires audiences in major opera productions as well as in concert. His broad role and vocal repertoire includes the parts of Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Rocco (Fidelio), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Sparafucile (Rigoletto) and Lodovico (Otello). In addition, Zeppenfeld has celebrated great successes with his Wagner interpretations, including the roles of Veit Pogner and Hans Sachs (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Landgraf Herrmann (Tannhäuser), King Heinrich (Lohengrin), King Marke (Tristan) and Daland (Der fliegende Holländer).
In the course of his song and concert activities, Zeppenfeld has worked successfully with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Daniele Gatti, Andris Nelsons, Kirill Petrenko, Antonio Pappano, and Christian Thielemann.