Composer and conductor Amaury du Closel was born on February 6, 1956. Son of Alain Barbat du Closel, he studied composition with Max Deutsche and conducting in Mons with Alexandre Myrat, before taking to the podium in Strasbourg in 1983 to conduct the music composed by Carl Davis for Abel Gance's film Napoléon. Assistant conductor at the Opéra lyrique de Nancy, he won the 2nd Conductors' Competition in Lugano (Switzerland) and conducts numerous orchestras around the world. He directed the Opéra Nomade de Versailles, before founding the Voix Etouffées ensemble in 2003, to promote the works of composers persecuted by Nazism during the Second World War. In addition to his work as a composer, which includes the chamber opera Bluebeard's Castle (1978), concertos, chamber music, silent film music and vocal pieces, Amaury du Closel conducts scores by Weber, Mahler, Shreker and Schönberg, as well as by Malipiero. He also recorded with trumpeters Eric Aubier and Guy Touvron, and in 2018 founded a new orchestra, Les Métamorphoses. He died on October 7, 2024 at the age of 68.
