Born in Copenhagen in 1973, he was Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera 2000–11 (when productions included a full Der Ring des Nibelungen) and Director of The Royal Opera 2011–17. He is currently Chief Executive of the Royal Danish Theatre. He has directed for The Royal Opera, La Scala, Milan, Vienna State Opera, Theater an der Wien, Deutsche Oper Berlin and opera companies in France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Iceland, Austria, Russia, Australia, Japan and the USA. For The Royal Opera he has directed Eugene Onegin and Król Roger (also Opera Australia), Don Giovanni, L’Ormindo (at Shakespeare’s Globe) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Recent engagements elsewhere include Tosca for the Royal Danish Opera. He has directed massive outdoor productions of Carmen (Bregenz Festival) and The Hobbit (Royal Danish Theatre). In 2027 he directs a new production of The Rake’s Progress for La Scala, Milan. His feature film Juan, a modern cinematic interpretation of Don Giovanni, was released on DVD in 2012 in the UK. He has received a knighthood and the ‘Ingenio et Arti’ medal for artistic achievement from Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.