Contralto and conductor Nathalie Stutzmann is well-known for her charismatic performances on the stage and at the podium. After establishing an international career on the recital, concert, and opera stage, she has become a regular guest conductor with ensembles across North America and Europe, is the chief conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, and founded and conducted the Orfeo 55 orchestra. A 1989 recording of Handel's Amadigi di Gaula, HWV 11, helped launch Stutzmann's international performing and recording career. Her opera repertoire leans heavily on French opera, especially as Geneviève in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande. In 2021, she took on the role of principal guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra. That year, Stutzmann conducted Orfeo 55, sang on the album Contralto, and was named music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, becoming the second woman to hold the directorship of a major American orchestra.