Dirk Kaftan

Dirk Kaftan (born 1971) is a German opera and concert conductor.

Career Born in Marburg, West Germany, Kaftan grew up in Wittlich and Canada. At the age of 18 he began employment as a repetiteur at the Theater Trier. Kaftan then studied sound engineering (Tonmeister) at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold.

Kaftan was Erster Kapellmeister at the Graz Opera from 2006 to 2009. From 2009 to 2014 he was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) in Augsburg. His contract with the Theater Augsburg was to have run till 2016; however he vacated the Augsburg post early to return to Graz Opera as their GMD. His debut in June 2013 was a performance of Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder with soloists, the expanded opera chorus, the Wiener Singverein and the Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester. In September 2025, the city of Bonn announced the approval of the most recent extension of Kaftan's contract as GMD, through 31 July 2032.

Recordings Kaftan's recordings include the operas Der ferne Klang by Franz Schreker, recorded live in Augsburg in 2011, and Jenůfa by Leoš Janáček, recorded during staged performances in Graz in 2015.