"There is no immediate urgency" to replace him, "as I have confidence in the ability of our musical forces to maintain the highest level of requirement during this period," said the director general of the Opera, Alexander Neef.

"I like to make decisions after a good moment of reflection," he added. "You have to find the right person for this role. It also takes broad shoulders to take on the diversity of the missions of this post and especially the administrative aspect."

"It is with a heavy heart, and after careful consideration, that I announce my resignation from the position of music director of the Paris Opera in order to spend more time with my family," said the Venezuelan conductor, who arrived in the French capital in 2021 for a six-year contract, in a statement from the Opera.

"We are living in a time that, I believe, has deeply and intimately changed our beings," said the 42-year-old maestro, married since February 2017 to Spanish actress Maria Valverde. "I have no other plans than to be with my loved ones."

"It's a question about work-life balance," Neef told AFP. "We all asked ourselves this question after the pandemic."

"I regret that he took this decision after two years," said the leader, who "can understand and respect this decision which is personal".

"I will be happy to receive him as chief guest," he added. "It would be a shame if his history with the Opera ended there."

"Deep gratitude"

Gustavo Dudamel "has forged a special relationship with the musicians of the Orchestra, the artists of the Choirs, the singers and the artistic teams, a relationship marked by mutual respect and desire to offer together the most beautiful shows", also responded Alexander Neef in the press release of the Opera.

"The recent success of +Nixon in China+ is one of the most vivid examples of this. Gustavo Dudamel is a great musician. I express my deep gratitude to him for the work accomplished during his mandate," the director wrote.

Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, at the Opéra Bastille, on September 1, 2022 in Paris © JOEL SAGET / AFP/Archives

In February, the New York Philharmonic appointed the conductor as its future artistic and musical director from 2026, which was considered a big blow in the music transfer window.

Gustavo Dudamel, one of the world's highest-paid and best-known conductors, has also conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009.

A fervent advocate of wider access to music, this son of a trombonist and a singing teacher is a pure product and one of the most illustrious representatives of "El Sistema", the National System of Youth Orchestras of Venezuela, a famous popular classical music education project founded in 1975.

Recognizable by his curly hair, he conducted the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra for a duet with Coldplay at the Super Bowl halftime concert in the United States in 2016.

© 2023 AFP