The Flanders Opera Symphony Orchestra was formed in early 1989 after a series of auditions for an international jury. The orchestra made its début in 1989 in a concert featuring the mezzo-soprano Agnes Baltsa in Ghent City Hall. Since then the orchestra has performed numerous successful opera productions such as a complete Puccini cycle, a Janáček cycle (both directed by Robert Carsen) and Wagner’s Ring directed by Ivo Van Hove. The orchestra has also performed several twentieth-century operas and several world premières, including Les Liaisons dangereuses by Piet Swerts, Achilleus by Wim Henderickx, Richard III by Giorgio Battistelli and La Strada, based on Fellini, by the Flemish composer Luc Van Hove. Music directors of the Flanders Opera Symphony Orchestra have included Rudolf Werthen, Stefan Soltesz, Marc Minkowski, Massimo Zanetti and Ivan Törzs. Silvio Varviso was permanent guest conductor at the Flanders Opera from 1993 until 2006. The Flanders Opera Symphony Orchestra frequently performs under guest conductors, including Ingo Metzmacher, Simone Young, Elgar Howarth, Graeme Jenkins, Pinchas Steinberg, Roy Goodman, Imre Palló, Jos van Immerseel, Evelino Pidó, Bernhard Kontarsky, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Andreas Spering, Michael Hofstetter, Luca Pfaff and Paolo Carignani.
