Michael Hofstetter is a German conductor, noted for his performances in authentic period style. He studied at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in his hometown of Munich, concentrating on organ, piano, and conducting. Working in theaters in Wiesbaden and Giessen, he began conducting operatic performances, in addition to teaching at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. He received the Robert Stolz Medal for his contributions to operetta, though his opera repertoire runs from Handel and Hasse to Wagner and Verdi. Hofstetter has worked with the major opera companies and productions around the world, including the Hamburg State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Stuttgart Opera, the German Opera Berlin, the Staatstheater Hannover, the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona, the English National Opera, the Welsh National Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, and the Salzburg Festival. In 2008, he received the Horst Stein Prize for his work with the Ludwigsburg Castle Festival. Since 2012 he has served as the musical director of the Stadttheater Giessen. He has recorded on Oehms Classics, CPO, Haenssler, Orfeo, Naxos, Audite, Virgin Classics, and Berlin Classics, among others.