Axel Kober

Brief profile

From 2009 to 2024 Axel Kober was General Music Director of Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf/Duisburg, where he set a distinctive course in a wide repertoire and continuously developed the house, orchestra and ensemble through his ideas and tireless commitment. Outstanding productions include Wozzeck, Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Peter Grimes, Castor et Pollux, Káťa Kabanová, the world premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Gesicht im Spiegel, a newly edited production of Tristan and Isolde as well as the complete Der Ring des Nibelungen released on CD in Spring 2021.

Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra further intensified the collaboration and appointed Kober as chief conductor in 2017, and further, from 2019-2025 he was GMD of the orchestra.

As guest conductor, Axel Kober built a special relationship with the Vienna State Opera, where he made his debut in 2016. In addition to his euphorically received Ring cycle in 2019 and the immediate re-invitation to further Ring cycles in 2022, he conducted there Hansel and Gretel, Der Rosenkavalier, Arabella, Fidelio, Mahler’s 4th, Tosca and Turandot, Macbeth, Tannhäuser and Parsifal.

In addition to his engagements in Vienna, the 2025/26 season will see Axel Kober’s returns to Deutsche Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Semperoper Dresden and Zurich Opera House. On the concert platform, he will perform, among others, with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, and at Musikverein Vienna with Bruckner Orchester Linz.

After studying conducting in Würzburg, first engagements took Axel Kober to Schwerin and Dortmund, before he became deputy, later acting as GMD in Mannheim and music director of Oper Leipzig, where he also regularly conducted concerts with Gewandhausorchester.

Axel Kober on Dr. Raab & Dr. Böhm

We asked Axel Kober five questions and wanted at least four answers. One of the questions was, for example: What annoys you about the classical (music) industry?

Five questions for Axel Kober