Biography

What particularly impressed was the way that Leroy-Calatayud made space for individual instruments and voices to shine. He would take down the level to allow a softer voice to be heard, allow the brass to come in with a subito fortissimo that would have satisfied Wagner, then take it straight down to make way for a woodwind solo. It’s the first time I’ve heard this conductor and I want to hear more.

Werther, théâtre des Champs-Elysées
bachtrack, 23.03.2025

Born and raised in Lausanne to a French father and a Bolivian mother, Marc Leroy-Calatayud will begin his tenure as the inaugural Music Director of the Opéra de Tours in the 2026/27 season, following his appointment as Principal Guest Conductor in 2025/26. Previous titled positions include Associate Conductor of L’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and Artist-in-Residence with the Orchestre National de Cannes.

In his inaugural season in Tours, Marc will conduct productions of Don Giovanni, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Lucia di Lammermoor, alongside numerous symphonic programmes, an opera gala with Pretty Yende, and extensive community outreach projects. Elsewhere, he will make his debuts with Opéra de Monte-Carlo (Carmen), Theater Basel (La fille du régiment) and Teatro Real Madrid in an opera gala with Benjamin Bernheim. Symphonic engagements include debut appearances with the Orchestre national de Metz and Orchestre de Picardie, alongside returns to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, Orchestre National Avignon-Provence and L’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève (Thaïs).

Recent highlights include a critically acclaimed run of Werther at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with Les Siècles, and his debut at the Wiener Staatsoper (Gounod, Roméo et Juliette). Marc also made his return to the National Ballet of Japan (Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella), his staged opera debut at Opéra National de Lorraine (Dialogues des Carmélites), opera gala performances in Bilbao with Xabier Anduaga and Nadine Sierra, and his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in John Cranko’s Onegin. He also conducted a concert performance of La voix humaine with Patricia Petibon at the Opéra National de Lyon, performances of Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète with Marina Viotti, John Osborn and the L’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève in both Geneva & Paris and made his debut at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie in a gala concert with Benjamin Bernheim and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie.

Other symphonic highlights include appearances with the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and L’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève.

Recent orchestral collaborations also include the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, Opéra de Massy, Opéra de Saint-Étienne, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Kanazawa Orchestra Ensemble on an extensive tour of Japan, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestra della Toscana and Ensemble Modern Frankfurt.

Marc is a conducting fellow of the Akademie Musiktheater Heute (2018–2021) and studied conducting in Vienna and Zürich with Mark Stringer and Johannes Schlaefli.

Aug. 2026