Conductor Mikko Franck was a prodigy, leading orchestras across Scandinavia and beyond by his early twenties. He has been active in both orchestral music and opera, with a large repertory in the latter field. By the early 2000s, Franck had conducted major orchestras across Finland, elsewhere in Scandinavia, and abroad. In 2002, Franck was appointed music director and chief conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra, and that year he issued his debut recording featuring Sibelius' En Saga and Lemminkäinen Legends. In 2006, Franck was appointed general music director of the Finnish National Opera. He left the Finnish National Opera in 2013, moving in 2015 to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; he remained in that position as of the mid-2020s. His performances of Debussy's C'est L'extase and La Mer were released in 2023.