Michel Plasson
Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor. Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. He studied briefly in the United States, including time with Charles Münch. He became the music director of the city of Metz for 3 years. In 1968, Plasson became principal conductor of the Orchestre et Chœurs du Capitole de Toulouse. His recordings with the orchestra include orchestral works, and operettas of Jacques Offenbach, including "Orphée aux enfers", "La Vie  parisienne", "La Périchole" and "La belle Hélène", and Bizet's "Carmen". Plasson resigned as principal conductor in 2003 and now has the title of "Honorary Conductor", or conductor emeritus. From 1994 to 2001, he was principal conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic. Guest appearances include Grand Théâtre de Genève, De Nederlandse Opera (Amsterdam) and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Plasson's son Emmanuel Plasson is also a conductor. Selected discography. Plasson's recordings were mainly made for EMI/Virgin, and focused upon works by French composers. Among these recordings, his interpretations for the operatic works by Offenbach, Gounod and Massenet  were generally considered as excellent by critics. Berlioz Bizet Chabrier Debussy Delibes Duruflé Fauré Gardel Gounod Lalo Landowski Magnard Massenet Offenbach Orff Ravel Saint-Saëns Verdi