Domingo Hindoyan will be the musical director of the Opera the 2026-27 season

By Ronald Blum
New York (AP) – Domingo Hindoyan has been appointed as the new musical director of the Los Angeles Opera, starting a five-year contract on July 1, 2026.
The 45-year-old Venezuelan-Armenian, who is married to soprano Sony Yoncheva, was named to the position on Friday evening. He has been holding the position since the 2006-07 season and announced his departure at the end of the 2025-26 season last March.
“It is a city known for innovation, for taking risks in productions and musically,” Hindoyan said in New York, where his wife performs at the Metropolitan Opera. “The idea is to bring new works, commissions, and contemporary pieces, creating a balance between the classic and the most innovative we can offer.”
Hindoyan will oversee two productions in the 2026-27 season and three in each of the subsequent four seasons, according to Los Angeles Opera President Christopher Koelsch. Koelsch also expressed his hope that Hindoyan will collaborate on productions with Yoncheva, who has never been part of a company production.
Like other arts organizations, the Los Angeles Opera has faced rising costs due to the pandemic and had to cancel a couple of world premieres for financial reasons. Tenor and director Plácido Domingo played a significant role in fundraising for the company during his tenure as general director from 2003 to 2019.
“As a musical director, and really any musician’s work, it’s about caring for this art form as much as possible,” Hindoyan stated. “It’s not just about what happens on stage or in private study, but also about engaging with the community and connecting with donors.”
Hindoyan, born in Caracas, is a former violinist who trained in the Venezuelan music education system, which played a crucial role in the careers of Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare. He previously worked as an assistant to Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.
“Given Barenboim’s extremely high standards, I was impressed that he got the job and held onto it,” Koelsch remarked. “Then I saw a performance of ‘Tosca’ and was immediately struck by the elegance of his conducting technique and the crystal-clear communication of his intentions.”
Hindoyan has been the principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since the 2021-22 season. He made his debut with the Los Angeles Opera last November conducting Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” (“Romeo and Juliet”).
“There’s a warmth and natural charisma about him. In my experience, he almost always brings out the best in people,” Koelsch noted. “For me, the ‘Roméo’ performance was evidence of how these qualities resonated within our organization, how he worked with the orchestra, chorus, management, and audience.”