Zürich Opera Chorus

The Chor der Oper Zürich, with its 60 permanent members and participation in up to 160 performances per season, forms a central pillar of the artistic ensemble of the Zurich Opera House. Under the roof of Switzerland’s most tradition-rich opera house, it brings together singers of the highest professional standard, whose musical and stylistic versatility is combined with dramatic expressiveness and a spontaneous joy in performance. The chorus members regularly also demonstrate their artistic caliber as soloists. In its international composition, the chorus reflects the ambition and radiance of Zurich Opera, which has been demonstrated through numerous DVD recordings and was honored in 2014 with the award “Opera Company of the Year”. The chorus members received important musical impulses through their work with conductors such as Nello Santi, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Franz Welser-Möst, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Valery Gergiev, Daniele Gatti, Zubin Mehta, and Fabio Luisi. They developed their acting skills in dialogue with directors such as David Pountney, Robert Wilson, Harry Kupfer, Peter Stein, Peter Konwitschny, and Andreas Homoki. Guest performances have taken the chorus to Tokyo (“Der Rosenkavalier” and “La traviata”), London (“Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”, “Tannhäuser”, “Der fliegende Holländer”), Paris (“La cenerentola”, “Fierrabras”), Athens (“Carmen”, “Idomeneo”), and to Rome, where it performed Mozart’s “Coronation Mass” at a papal Mass celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Swiss Guard. As the “International Chamber Vocalists”, the Chor der Oper Zürich participated in the 2014 ECHO Award–winning new recording of Vincenzo Bellini’s “Norma”.