Pablo Heras-Casado is awarded Best Conductor of the Year by the OPER! AWARDS 2025 in a festive gala ceremony on 21 February at La Monnaie / De Munt in Brussels.

The OPER! AWARDS are Germany’s only publicly awarded international opera prize. It is awarded annually to the world’s best artists and creatives of the international opera scene, working on or behind the stage. The awards are presented across 20 categories by a jury of music journalists at a gala event.

It is, in fact, a conductor’s job to organize time, sensibly – something often overlooked in the age of influencers. One of the few greats in his field, in demand worldwide, still upholding this aspect of craftsmanship. He is often considered a specialist, and indeed he possesses deep expertise reaching from historically informed performance to contemporary music. Yet, his artistry extends far beyond: a libero, with enormous musical-rhetorical versatility. Equally at home in the opera pit and on the concert podium, he is well-versed in the German as well as in the Italian, French, and Spanish repertoire. He has recently released the recording of his brilliant 2024 Bayreuth debut with Parsifal and is currently working in Paris on his second Ring production: the unique, the cool, clear-headed, and sensual Pablo Heras-Casado.