In 1975–1980 he worked for the music section of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and for Neue Musikzeitung and Opernwelt. He was head of the opera section of Hesse Radio, and from 1990 a member of the artistic management of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels.
He has been the director of the Oper Frankfurt since 2002. Already after his first season there, critics writing for Opernwelt voted this theatre “Opera House of the Year”. The following years brought it top places on specialist periodicals’ ranking lists. Since he took over, the number of subscribers has grown substantially and attendance reaches 85%; his contract, already extended twice, now runs until 2018.
Bernd Loebe is consistently implementing his programme, focusing on maintaining a permanent cast of soloists while regularly inviting leading artists from all over the world for guest performances. Stage directors who collaborate regularly with the Oper Frankfurt include Claus Guth, Christof Loy, Keith Warner, and Richard Jones; besides the opera house’s music director Sebastian Weigle, many other prominent conductors stand at the podium. The Opera Studio founded at the Oper Frankfurt in the 2008/09 season aims to help young singers launch their careers by providing professional teachers to help them hone their skills, at the same time enabling the opera house’s management to establish a long-term relationship with particularly talented members of the young generation.
In 2009 Bernd Loebe became vice-president of the German Academy of Stage Arts, and a year later – chairman of the German Opera Conference. He is often invited to sit on the juries of international vocal competitions, including Neue Stimmen and the International Singing Competition of Toulouse.
