Bernd Loebe
Intendant & General Manager
© Felix Grünschloß
Bernd Loebe was born on December 15 1952 in Frankfurt, where he studied law and the piano. From 1975 – 1980 he wrote regularly about music and opera for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Neue Musikzeitung and Opernwelt magazine and worked freelance for Leo Karl Gerhartz at the Hessische Rundfunk (radio), where he started working full time in 1979. During his time there he produced and introduced very successful series about opera and reported on performances at international festivals including Bayreuth and Salzburg. In November 1990 he took up the post of Artistic Director at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. He worked with Keith Warner and Antonio Pappano on a new production of Wagner's Lohengrin at the 1999 Bayreuth Festival. He is much sought-after as a jury member for leading singing competitions (including those in Gütersloh, Barcelona & Busseto). Since being appointed Intendant in Frankfurt in September 2002 the house has been voted »Opera House of the Year« six times ( by critics from Opernwelt magazine), the last time in 2023, and his contract as Intendant has been extended to 2028. Oper Frankfurt was voted Opera Company of the Year 2013 at the first ever International Opera Awards in London, and Bernd Loebe won their 2018 Leadership in Opera Award. He was vice-president of the Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste, chairman of the Deutsche Opernkonferenz for 13 years and Intendant and General Manager of the Triol Festival in Erl from 2019 to 2024.