William Spaulding

Born in Washington D.C., he studied at the University of Maryland and the Hochschule in Bremen, completing his conducting degrees at the Hochschule in Vienna. He was appointed Associate Chorus Master at Vienna Volksoper in 1997. He went on to become Principal Chorus Master of the Liceu in Barcelona, and was Chorus Director at Deutsche Oper Berlin (2007–16), where he was also appointed Kapellmeister in 2012, conducting such works as The Barber of Seville, Nabucco, Verdi’s Requiem and Carmen. Under his leadership, the Chorus were awarded numerous prizes by Opernwelt and the Foundation ‘Pro Europa’. He has also conducted the Grant Park Festival Chorus in Chicago and the Berlin-based RIAS Kammerchor. He joined The Royal Opera as Chorus Director in September 2016, and in this role has moderated and presented several Insights events in the Linbury Theatre. He has been Guest Chorus Master with the London Symphony Chorus, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, and makes his RBO Main Stage conducting debut in 2026 with La traviata. In addition to his conducting, he also performs a solo dramatic recital of John Milton's Paradise Lost, lastly at the Actors' Church in Covent Garden.