Kent Nagano is a renowned conductor working all over the globe. Born in the United States, he grew up in Morro Bay, a fishing village on the west coast of California. After gaining success as a conductor in the US, he was appointed music director at the Op¿ National de Lyon in 1988, where he served until 1998. From 1991 to 2000, he stood at the helm of the Hall¿rchestra in Manchester, and in 2003 he was appointed first music director of the Los Angeles Opera. From 2000 to 2006 he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin before becoming general music director at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (until July 2013) and music director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montr¿. In 2015, he began his tenure as general music director and chief conductor of the Hamburg State Opera. Inge Kloepfer, born in Munich, is a prize-winning and bestselling author and journalist writing for Germany¿s leading papers. She lives in Berlin.