The Opéra de Toulon has named two principal conductors effective September 2021.

The company announced that Polish conductor Marzena Diakun will be the chief conductor for symphonic activity and Italian Valerio Galli will head all operatic activity.

The duo will succeed Maestro Jurjen Hempel who held the position of Chief conductor since 2018.

Diakun has already led the Toulon Opera Symphony Orchestra in the concert with Richard Galliano in 2020 and will return to the company for a program of Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, and Duparc. Meanwhile Galli is one of the most promising conductors of his generation and has conducted “Madama Butterfly” and “L’Elisir d’Amore” with the company. He will lead Ravel’s “L’Heure Espagnole” and Puccini’s “La Bohème” next season.