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German conductor Nikolas Nägele’s 2022/23 season marked important debuts with the KBS Symphony Orchestra Seoul, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, and Royal Opera House Muscat (Oman), as well as returns to Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Müpa Budapest, and Festival Granda in Lima, Peru.

In the 2023/24 season Nikolas will conduct Grieg's Peer Gynt at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, La Cenerentola at Teatro Municipale of Athens as well as education concerts with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester.

Nikolas’ 2021/22 season began with Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony in Cagliari, following a successful debut at Teatro Verdi in Trieste with Strauss’s Tod und Verklärung, Zemlinsky’s Psalm 13, and Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with soloist Misha Maisky. After a New Year’s Concert in Athens, Nikolas returned to Teatro Filarmonico in Verona with a new production of La scala di seta, following Salieri’s La scuola de’ gelosi at Teatro Regio in Turin and Die Zauberflöte at Oper Leipzig with the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Highlights of the 2019/20 and 20/2021 seasons include a re-invitation to Deutsche Oper Berlin for Un ballo in Maschera, collaboration with director Pier Luigi Pizzi for Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto at Teatro Regio in Turin, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, as well as symphony concerts at Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Palace of Arts in Budapest and Teatro Filarmonico in Verona. Nikolas also conducted a gala concert with Juan Diego Flórez at the Ravello Festival and celebrated his house debut at Opernhaus Zürich with L’elisir d’amore.

During his tenure as Kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (2017-2019) Nikolas conducted numerous operas including Die Fledermaus, Die Zauberflöte, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen, La Traviata, and Un ballo in maschera, in addition to various concerts. 

Nikolas made his company debut at the 2017 Salzburg Easter Festival as musical assistant to Christian Thielemann for his production of Die Walküre. In the summer of 2017 Nikolas made his debut at the Martina Franca Musical Festival conducting Gianni Schicchi. He continued his collaboration with Thielemann at the 2018 Bayreuth Festival for his production of Tristan und Isolde.

In 2021 and 2022 Nikolas was re-invited to the Bayreuth Festival to work alongside Pietari Inkinen on a new production of the Ring Cycle.

Winner of the prestigious 2013 Aspen Festival Conducting Prize and the 2012 James Conlon Conducting Prize, Nikolas worked as assistant conductor to his mentor Robert Spano at the Aspen Music Festival and conducted a subscription concert during the 2014 festival season.

Born in Radolfzell am Bodensee in southern Germany, Nikolas studied conducting, piano, and clarinet at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and in Leipzig.