Julius Rudel (6 March 1921 – 26 June 2014) was an American opera and orchestra conductor. He was born in Vienna and was a student at the city's Academy of Music, but emigrated to the United States at the age of 17 in 1938 after the country was annexed by Germany.

He studied conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. After completing his music studies, he joined the New York City Opera.

Professional career

New York City Opera

After 1944, he began a 35-year career with that company which continued until 1979. After rising to Principal Conductor and General Director in 1957, he brought the company international acclaim with his innovative programming (including three seasons of all-American operas in 1958, 1959, and 1960), and formed a partnership with Beverly Sills, who became the leading soprano of the NYCO. It was Rudel who led the company to their new home at the State Theater in Lincoln Center in 1966, opening with Ginastera's Don Rodrigo starring the young Plácido Domingo.

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

In 1979, he accepted the position of Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, succeeding Michael Tilson Thomas and led that orchestra through the 1985 season.

Other positions

Rudel conducted major orchestras and operas throughout the world. Between 1958 and 1963 he conducted frequently for the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company, also serving as the company's Artistic Director for part of that time. In 1978, he first conducted at the Metropolitan Opera, making his debut with Werther. He also won a Grammy Award.

He was the first Music Director of both Washington's Kennedy Center and the Wolf Trap Opera Company, and from 1962 to 1976 he was Music Director of the Caramoor Festival.

He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.

In 2009 he was honored by the US National Endowment for the Arts for his many contributions to opera. He died in Manhattan on 26 June 2014.

New York City impresario

Recordings

Audio

• Floyd: The Sojourner and Mollie Sinclair (Neway, Treigle; 1963) [live] VAI
• Handel: Giulio Cesare (Sills, Wolff, Forrester, Treigle; 1967) RCA
• Ginastera: Bomarzo (Novoa; 1967) CBS
• Massenet: Manon (Sills, Gedda, Souzay, Bacquier; 1970) Westminster
• Offenbach: Les contes d'Hoffmann (Sills, Marsee, Burrows, Treigle; 1972) Westminster
• Donizetti: Anna Bolena (Sills, Verrett, Burrows, Plishka; 1972) Westminster
• Bellini: I puritani (Sills, Gedda, L.Quilico, Plishka; 1973) Westminster
• Boito: Mefistofele (Caballé, Domingo, Treigle; 1973) EMI
• Massenet: Thaïs (Moffo, Carreras, Bacquier, Díaz; 1974) RCA

• Charpentier: Louise (Sills, Gedda, van Dam; 1977) EMI
• Lehár: Die lustige Witwe: excerpts (Sills, H.Price, Titus; 1978) EMI
• Massenet: Cendrillon (Welting, von Stade, Gedda; 1978) CBS
• Verdi: Rigoletto (Sills, Kraus, Milnes, Ramey; 1978) EMI
• Weill: Der Silbersee (Grey; 1980) Nonesuch

Video

• Donizetti: Roberto Devereux (Sills, Marsee, J.Alexander, Fredricks; Capobianco, 1975) [live] VAI
• Verdi: La traviata (Sills, H.Price, Fredricks; Capobianco, 1976) [live] VAI
• Massenet: Manon (Sills, H.Price, Fredricks, Ramey; Capobianco, 1977) [live] Paramount
• Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila (Verrett, Domingo, Brendel; Joël, 1981) [live] Kultur
• Giordano: Andrea Chénier (Tomowa-Sintow, Domingo, Zancanaro; Hampe, 1985) [live] Kultur