Per-Otto Johansson has served as General Music Director of the Landestheater Detmold since 2022, where he has established himself as a compelling artistic leader with a distinct focus on music theatre. Under his direction, the company has seen a series of highly regarded productions, including Madama Butterfly, Serse, and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, as well as Turandot, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Dead Man Walking.

In the upcoming season, he will conduct new productions of La Bohème, Peter Grimes, and Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin, further expanding the theatre’s stylistic and dramaturgical range. His recent production of Candide in March 2026 at the Aalto-Theater Essen was met with great reviews alongside his work with Il viaggio a Reims in Detmold.

With a particular affinity for French, Russian, and Scandinavian repertoire, Per-Otto Johansson continues to shape a distinctive artistic profile, combining technical precision, emotional intensity, and a keen sense of dramaturgy.

Mr. Johansson has conducted more than ninety opera productions internationally and is widely recognized for his ability to forge a vivid and organic connection between pit and stage. His recent engagements include productions such as Die Zauberflöte, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and L’elisir d’amore, as well as appearances at the Royal Swedish Opera and a successful debut at Theater Aachen with Káťa Kabanová.

As a symphonic conductor, Mr. Johansson has collaborated with major Scandinavian ensembles, including the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Malmö, Norrköping, and Gävle Symphony Orchestras, as well as prominent Danish orchestras such as the Copenhagen Philharmonic and the Odense Symphony Orchestra.

Recent concert highlights include works such as Symphonic Dances, Ma mère l’Oye, Symphony No. 5, The Swan of Tuonela, Karelia Suite, and Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, performed with distinguished soloists including Liza Ferschtman.

At the close of the 2025/26 season, he will conduct a program featuring Alban Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder with Swedish soprano Maria Bengtsson, alongside Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9.

His work has received critical acclaim in leading publications such as Oper! Das Magazin, Das Opernglas, and Das Opernmagazin, which have praised his interpretative sensitivity, expressive depth, and strong theatrical instinct.

In the Netherlands, he maintains close artistic relationships with Opera Zuid and leading orchestras such as the Residentie Orkest, Phion, and the Noord Nederlands Orkest.

Born in Sweden, Mr. Johansson began his musical studies at the Malmö Academy of Music before graduating with distinction from the Royal Danish Conservatory, where he studied conducting with Michel Tabachnik. He further refined his artistic profile in masterclasses with Kurt Sanderling, Pierre Boulez, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Manfred Honeck.