OtvÖs, Gábor

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OtvÖs, Gábor

OtvÖs, Gábor, Hungarian-born German conductor; b. Budapest, Sept. 21,1935. He began his training at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Following the abortive Hungarian Revolution in 1956, he pursued studies in Venice and Rome. In 1958 he became a conductor at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, and served as its music director in 1960–61. From 1961 to 1967 he was chief conductor of the Hamburg Sym. Orch. He held the title of first conductor and deputy Generalmusikdirektor of the Frankfurt am Main Opera from 1967 to 1972. In 1969 he made his debut with the N.Y.C. Opera. On Oct. 27, 1971, he made his first appearance with the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. conducting Carmen, returning there in 1973 and 1974. From 1972 to 1981 he was Generalmusikdirektor of Augsburg. In subsequent years, he appeared as a guest conductor with opera companies and orchs. In 1998 he became principal conductor of the Orquesta Filarmònica de Santiago in Chile.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire