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SONIA BEN-SANTAMARIA
conductor

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RECENT AND UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS

- Syrse & Pérez Sámano's Hôtel Moctezuma, at the Opéra national de Montpellier (2027);

- Concert with the Orchestre national de Metz Grand Est (2027);

- Concert de Noël: Britten's Simple Symphonie Op. 4 and Two Portraits, Elgar's Serenade for Strings in E Minor, and other composers, at the Opéra-Orchestre national de Montpellier (2025);

- À la Recherche de l'Air Perdu, with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (2025);

- Marie-Ève Signerole's Negar, at the Opéra national de Montpellier (2024);

- Britten's A Young Person's Guide to Orchestra Op. 34, with the Orchestre National de Lille (2024);

- Concert L'Orchestre Pour Tous, with music from Mozart, Beethoven, Bizet, and Stravinsky, at the Opéra national de Montpellier (2024).

BIOGRAPHY

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Named a Rising Star of Classical Music by BBC Music Magazine following her acclaimed performances of Un ballo in maschera at Opera Holland Park, French conductor Sonia Ben-Santamaria made history as the first female conductor appointed as a Link Artist at the Royal Ballet & Opera House, Covent Garden, and subsequently as the first Associate Conductor of Opera North - landmark roles that have helped reshape the representation of women conductors in the United Kingdom.

 

Sonia’s artistry stems from her formative years as a repetiteur and vocal coach, where she collaborated with leading opera houses such as English National Opera and Welsh National Opera.

 

Her versatility extends seamlessly into the symphonic realm. As a symphonic and opera conductor, she has led many of the most prestigious ensembles, including the Dallas Opera Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.

 

In the 2025/26 season, Sonia conducted the Christmas Concert at the Opéra Orchestre national de Montpellier, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in À la Recherche du Temps Perdu. At the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Sonia is assisting Titus Engel in Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels. 

 

Since 2022, Sonia Ben-Santamaria has been Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Institut Supérieur des Arts et du Design de Toulouse in partnership with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, and she was invited as member of the jury in the 2025 Conducting Concours International de Genève, presided by Bertrand de Billy.

 

Next season,  Sonia will return to the Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier and make her debut with the Orchestre National de Metz Grand Est.

REVIEWS

"Sonia Ben-Santamaria directs this diverse ensemble, a collection of excellent musicians, with the precision of a goldsmith, while at the same time maintaining a link with a deported scene to which she turns her back."
Yannick Boussaert - Forum Opéra

"The mere thought of cutting Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, the perfect opera, down to size – any size – deals a blow to the soul. (...) Updated to 1960s suburbia, with most anachronisms except that awkward matter of the duel excised, it somehow conveys the work’s key emotions, even if the connective tissue, namely the glory of Tchaikovsky’s orchestration, is lost. Sonia Ben-Santamaria conducted from the piano with great flair."
Fiona Maddocks - The Guardian

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