Claire Gibault
artistic and musical director of the Paris Mozart Orchestra co-founder and co-director of La Maestra
Claire Gibault began her career at the Opéra National de Lyon before becoming the first woman to conduct the Filarmonica della Scala and the musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic. She was music director of Musica per Roma, and alongside her own flourishing career she spent a number of years as assistant to Claudio Abbado, collaborating with him at Milan’s La Scala, Vienna’s Staatsoper and London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden. In 2004 she helped Abbado found the Orchestra Mozart di Bologna.
Over the years, Claire has conducted at some of the world’s most renowned opera houses, theatres and festivals, and was invited to conduct orchestras such as Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM (Mexico), Orchestra Verdi Milano, Orchestra della Toscana, Lausanne Sinfonietta and Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana.
In 2011, Claire Gibault founded the Paris Mozart Orchestra, with which she recently performed at Berlioz Festival, Maison de la Culture de Bourges, Philharmonie de Paris, Bozar Brussels and Folle Journée de Nantes.
Equally committed to creation and passionate about transmission, she regularly collaborates with contemporary composers such as Graciane Finzi, Silvia Colasanti, Fabio Vacchi, Edith Canat de Chizy, Philippe Hersant, Alexandra Grimal and Manon Lepauvre, and gives conducting masterclasses in France and abroad. She is also the co-founder and co-director of La Maestra International Competition and Academy for Women Conductors, which will have its 4th edition in February 2026 at the Philharmonie de Paris.
In 2023, Claire Gibault was among the 40 Forbes France women of the year and won the 1st Category Prize at the Chaumet Echo Culture Awards, which rewards committed projects led by women. Shewas made an Officer of the Legion of Honour by the French governement and was awarded the title of Commander of the Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture.