Biography
Michael Nündel is the designated Music Director of the Musikalische Komödie. His tenure will begin with the 2024/25 season.
He completed his extensive musical training in conducting and piano at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin until 1999 and subsequently at the Schola cantorum basiliensis in Basel until 2003. In the field of music theatre, he has repeatedly been entrusted with the musical direction of productions with prominent casts, including Brecht/Weill's »Happy End« at the Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau, Robert Wilson's »Dr. Caligari« at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin and at the Berliner Ensemble, »The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein« and »La Périchole« by Offenbach. From 2007 to 2014, Michael Nündel was engaged at the Kiel Theatre, where he became 2nd Kapellmeister in 2012. There he conducted numerous musical theatre productions, including operas by Strauss, Mozart, Handel, Verdi, Puccini and Tchaikovsky as well as the major musical productions »Ninotchka«, »Sweet Charity«, »West Side Story« and »Crazy for You«. He was also entrusted with rehearsing and directing the musicals »Kiss Me, Kate«, »Hello Dolly«, »The Black Rider« and the operettas »Im Weißen Rössl« and »Orpheus in der Unterwelt«. Michael Nündel made his first guest appearance with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015. Shortly after, he accompanied the Dutch mezzo-soprano Rosanne van Sandwijk on the fortepiano in a highly acclaimed interpretation of Schubert's »Winterreise« at the 2015 Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam.
From 2015 to 2021, Michael Nündel was engaged as 1st Kapellmeister at the Staatstheater Darmstadt. Here he conducted several productions including »Faust«, »Bluebeard's Castle«, »Evita«, »Flashdance« and »Cabaret«, as well as numerous ballet premieres including »A Midsummer Night's Dream«, »Eine Winterreise« and »Liliom«. He was musically in charge of Handel's »Orlando«, »Footloose«, »Kiss Me Kate«, »Die Fledermaus«, »The Last Five Years«, the youth opera »Tschick« and the interdisciplinary production »Die Dreigroschenoper«. Michael Nündel is currently a guest artist at numerous theatres. In March 2022, he made his debut with the musical direction of the Shakespeare ballet evening »Was Ihr wollt« at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, in Wiesbaden he is directing the current production of »Cabaret«, and in Plauen the production of »Addams Family«. He also remains associated with the Staatstheater Darmstadt, where he was directing »Saturday Night Fever« in the last season, in the current season »Jekyll & Hyde« and next spring »Das Weisse Rössl«. In November 2022, Michael Nündel made his debut at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, where he took over the musical direction of the ballet evening »Giselle«.
In Leipzig, the future Music Director Michael Nündel is already the musical director of the successful production »The Producers«.