Farhads Stade has studied choir conducting at the Latvian Music Academy under prof. Imants Kokars, and received his Master’s degree in symphonic conducting at the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy under prof. Juozas Domarkas. He further developed his professional skills studying with Tadeusz Wojciechowski and prof. Yuri Simonov.
Stade started working at the Latvian National Opera in 1995 as assistant to Aleksandrs Viļumanis, but became a conductor a year later. The many productions in his repertoire include the ballets The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Anna Karenina, Tchaikovsky, Bolero…, Raymonda, Giselle, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, La bayadère, Coppélia as well as, amongst others, the operas Carmen, Salome, and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.
He has conducted guest performances by the Latvian National Opera and Ballet in Finland, Norway, Estonia, Russia, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the UK and other countries. He has collaborated with the Slovene National Theatre Maribor where he worked on the ballet Le Corsaire and the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.
Stade also conducts choirs, and his achievements in this field have been recognised at both national and international competitions. The conductor is a member of the artistic board for the XII and XIII Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival.