Grammy nominee and Echo Klassik winner George Petrou, is a distinguished conductor with a remarkable international career.

He has particular interest in music of the 18th and 19th c. and is currently considered as one of the leading Baroque and Rossini specialists. However, his repertoire is very wide including 20th c. and contemporary music.

George Petrou was born in Greece. He studied at the Athens Conservatoire, the Royal College and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is the artistic director of the renowned Athens based orchestra "Armonia Atenea", with which he tours and records extensively, performing both on period or modern instruments. Since June 2020 he is the Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of the Greek Radio. From the season 2021-2022 he will be the Artistic director of the "Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen". Additionally, he has developed a vivid interest in staging and has recently signed several successful opera and musical theater productions, including "Alcina", "Kiss me Kate", "West side story", "Sweeney Todd", "Company" and the "Godson", the most celebrated Greek operetta.

Recent highlights include Traviata at Théâtre du Capitole du Toulouse, Porpora's Carlo il Calvo at the Bayreuth Baroque festival, Serse at the International Handel Festival of Karlsruhe, La Donna del lago in Zagreb and Wiesbaden, Porpora's Polifemo in Salzburg Pfingstfestspiele, Orlando furioso in Teatro Real, Madrid and Theater an de Wien, Porpora's Orfeo in Martina Franca, Barbiere di Siviglia in Netherlands Reisopera, Handel's Alcina at the Athens Festival.

He has been a regular guest of major opera houses including the Oper Leipzig, the opera de Strasbourg, the opera de Nice, the Theater an der Wien, the opera de Lausanne, the Korea National Opera, the Teatro Petrucelli, the Teatro Verdi di Trieste, the Theatre Champs Elysees, the opera Royale de Versailles, the Royal opera in Stockholm, the Greek National Opera etc He has performed at major festivals including the Salzburg Pfingsfestspiele, the BBC PROMS, the Klara festival in Brussels, the Handel festivals of Halle and Karlsruhe.

As a guest conductor he has been working with renowned orchestras including the Gewandhaus, the Orchestre Nationale de Capitole du Toulouse, the Filarmonica Toscanini, the Concerto Koln, the New Russia Symphony, the Royal orchestra of Stockholm, the Symphony orchestra of the National Arts Center of Canada, the Pomeriggi Musicali of Milan, the North Duch Symphony, the Berner Symphoniker, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie, the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, the B-Rock, the Pοmo d'Oro, the Orchestre Symphonique de Nice, the Bratislava Philharmonic, the Athens State Orchestra, the National Greek Radio Symphony.

George Petrou has been a very active recording artist, having released over 20 titles, collaborating with the world's major recording companies, including Deutsche Gramophone, DECCA, MDG, OHEMS Classics. All his recordings have received the highest critical acclaim from the international press (Preis der Deutsche Schalplattenkritik, Choc-Monde de la Musique, Gramophone-Editor’s Choice, Diapason d’Or, BBC Mag/Recording of the Month, CD of the week-Sunday Times, Recording of the month in Musicweb, Crescendo Bestenliste Platz 1, etc.). Tamerlano received the prestigious ECHO KLASSIC 2008, Ottone was noninated for a Grammy, Alessandro was the "Recording of the Year" at the International Opera Awards and the was voted by the veiwers of Mezzo as opera of the Year 2013 recieving more than 250,000 votes.

He was recently honored as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London (ARAM) and was awarded the title of "Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres" from the French government.

July 2021