Reinhard Seehafer was born in Magdeburg, Germany, studied conducting, composing and piano in Berlin and Weimar with Kurt Masur and Rolf Reuter and qualified as a conductor with Leonard Bernstein and Otmar Suitner. Even as student he was awarded with the Felix-Mendessohn-Bartholdy Prize in 1980. In 1982 he created a sensation with Giacomo Puccini, “Madame Butterfly” at the Komische Oper Berlin, and was immediately engaged there. He worked with directors and choreographers such as Harry Kupfer, Joachim Herz and Tom Schilling.
In 1989 he became principal conductor and artistic director of the opera house of Gorlitz. In 1991, together with the director of the opera house Gorlitz ,Wolf-Dieter Ludwig, Reinhard Seehafer cofounded the cross- cultural project EUROPERA where he was musical director and principal conductor until 1998. In the same year he founded the Europa Philharmonie, where he was the music director till 2013. From 1994 – 2000 Reinhard Seehafer was principal conductor of the State Youth Orchestra of Saxony and from 2000 – 2006 he assumed the position of artistic director of the International Summer Music Academy Schloss Hundisburg.
Since 2014 he has been Artistic Director of the “Altmark Festspiele” in Saxony – Anhalt.
Reinhard Seehafer is a welcome guest at International Opera Houses, Festivals and Orchestras. He has led many renowned orchestras like Staatskapelle Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Weimar, Dresden Philharmonic, Robert Schumann Philharmonie, Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt, Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Lodz, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, National Orchestra of Bolshoi Theatre Minsk, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Colombia, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Amazonas Philharmonic Manaus, Orchestra dell ‘Arena di Verona, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Moments Musicaux Taipei, Hermitage Orchestra St. Petersburg, Philharmonic and Opera house Wroclaw, Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico and in China, the UAE, the US and Japan.
As an opera conductor, Reinhard Seehafer conducted around 800 performances of more than 40 different operas. His repertoire ranges from the traditional to new productions and premieres such assuch as La Boheme, Margarete, Tosca, La Traviata, Fidelio, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, Albert Herring, Otello, Jenufa, Der Freischutz, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Carmen, Orpheus and Eurydice, Romeo and Julia, Turandot, Rothschild’s Violin, Candide and Rigoletto.
Also as pianist and chamber music partner concertized Reinhard Seehafer
internationally in France, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy with soloists of Berlin’s Opera Houses, the Semperoper Dresden, the Staatskapelle Weimar and the Gewandhaus Quartet Leipzig.
In his compositional work, Reinhard Seehafer has dedicated himself to various genres and styles. In addition to chamber music and opera, large symphonic works hold a central position in its activities as a composer. His major works include the composition “Parable” called after Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise” had his world premiere at the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing, China, the Trio „Six variations sur une theme des trouveres” (Bargemusic Festival New York 2004), „Amadeus-Fantasy" (Latina Musikfestival Italien 2006), „Land of Enchantment” (Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra/USA 2007), Piano Quintet (New York 2011). In 2007, Reinhard Seehafer created a newly reconstructed version of Germany’s first opera, “Dafne” which was lost during the Thirty Years’ War, on the basis of the original libretto by Martin Opitz to music by Heinrich Schutz. From 2009 – 2012 he was appointed the composer-in-residence by SAP Symphony in Germany.
In 2010 he was awarded the Gellert Prize for his extraordinary artistic
accomplishments in Central Germany.
