Cardillac

Since graduating from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, bass-baritone Gábor Bretz has performed regularly at the Hungarian State Opera, where he sings the major roles of his repertoire. His highlights also include Don Quichotte (Paris Opéra, Bregenz Festival), Heinrich der Vogler in Lohengrin (Staatsoper Unter den Linden, La Monnaie/De Munt, London’s Covent Garden), Grigoris in Martinů’s Greek Passion (Salzburg Festival), Jochanaan (Salzburg Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence), Don Pizarro (Theater an der Wien, Opéra Comique in Paris), Scarpia (Theater an der Wien, Teatro Comunale di Bologna), Escamillo (Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bavarian State Opera, among others), Sarastro (La Monnaie/De Munt), Ferrando in Il trovatore (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden), Philip II in Don Carlos (Hamburg State Opera), and the four villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann (La Monnaie). He has appeared as Bluebeard with the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 2024–2025, he returned to Brussels as the Wanderer in Pierre Audi’s new production of Siegfried conducted by A. Altınoglu, after portraying Wotan there in Castellucci’s new productions of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre. Other projects this season include the Water Spirit in Tcherniakov’s new production of Rusalka at Teatro San Carlo, Mundruczó’s new production of Salome in Geneva, as well as Gurnemanz, Philip II, Méphistophélès, and the title role in Bluebeard’s Castle at the Hungarian State Opera. Gábor Bretz is a professor of singing at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest.

Anett Fritsch, born in Saxony, studied at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University of Music in Leipzig. In 2001, she won first prize at the Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig as well as the international competition of the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg in 2006 and 2007, where she sang the roles of Despina (Così fan tutte) and Adina (L’elisir d’amore). From 2009 to 2015, she was a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf/Duisburg, where she performed roles such as Pamina, Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites), Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), and Marie (La Fille du régiment). She made her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival as Almirena (Rinaldo), at the Theater an der Wien as Merione (Telemaco), at the Bavarian State Opera as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), at La Scala as Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), and in 2014 also as Donna Elvira at the Salzburg Festival, where she returned as Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro). Additionally, she made her debut as Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) in Michael Haneke’s production at the Teatro Real Madrid; this production was also performed at Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and at the Vienna Festival. She also sang Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro) in Madrid and at the Theater an der Wien, Marzelline (Fidelio) and Ilia (Idomeneo) in Madrid, Pamina at the Theater an der Wien and the Vienna Volksoper, Ginevra (Ariodante) and Donna Elvira in Amsterdam, as well as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) in Toulouse. She toured throughout Europe as Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) under the baton of René Jacobs with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra.

Michael Laurenz began his singing career as Tamino at the Schlossfestspiele Wernigerode. This was followed by engagements with the Stuttgart Philharmonic and the Kammeroper München. As a member of the International Opera Studio Zurich (2008–2010), he sang roles including the title role in Offenbach’s Barbe-Bleue and Siegfried in Oscar Straus’ Die lustigen Nibelungen. In 2010, he was engaged at the Opernhaus Zürich, where he performed roles such as Arbace (Idomeneo), Lindoro (Haydn’s La fedeltà premiata), Dr. Cajus (Falstaff), Dance Master (Ariadne auf Naxos), Valzacchi (Der Rosenkavalier), Iwan (Die Nase), Abdisu (Palestrina), Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), The Shabby One (Lady Macbeth von Mzensk), David (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Aegisth (Elektra), Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte), Pirzel (Die Soldaten), and the title role in Robin Hood. Michael Laurenz regularly appears at the major opera houses and festivals across Europe, including the Bregenz Festival, the Paris Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and the Bavarian State Opera. Recent highlights include Valzacchi (Der Rosenkavalier) in Amsterdam, Andres (Wozzeck) at La Scala Milan, Mackie Messer at the Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau, Aegisth (Elektra) and Albert Gregor (Die Sache Makropulos) at the Vlaamse Opera, Dance Master (Ariadne auf Naxos) in Glyndebourne, Willy (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny) in Zurich, Basilio (Le nozze di Figaro) at the Cologne Opera, and Flute (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) at the Theater an der Wien. He is a member of the ensemble at the Vienna State Opera, where he was recently heard in Arabella, Die Zauberflöte for children, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Orest.

Stanislav Vorobyov is a native of Russia and studied at the Moscow Conservatory. He was a member of the International Opera Studio and has been part of the ensemble at Zurich Opera House since the 2018/19 season. In Zurich, he has appeared in roles such as Colline (“La bohème”), Alidoro (“La Cenerentola”), High Priest (“Nabucco”), Notary (“Der Rosenkavalier”), Reinmar von Zweter (“Tannhäuser”), Faust (“The Fiery Angel”), Zaretsky (“Eugene Onegin”), Cesare Angelotti (“Tosca”), Fifth Jew and First Nazarene (“Salome”), Lord Rochefort (“Anna Bolena”), Doctor Grenvil (“La traviata”), Crébillon (“La rondine”), and Zuniga (“Carmen”), as well as Roberto (“I vespri siciliani”), Roucher (“Andrea Chénier”), and the Police Commissioner (“Der Rosenkavalier”). He also sang Don Basilio (“Il barbiere di Siviglia”) at the Bregenz Festival, Nourabad (“Les Pêcheurs de perles”) at Opera Vlaanderen and in Luxembourg, and Ombra di Nino (“Semiramide”) at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. At the Bregenz Festival, he also appeared as Uncle Bonzo in “Madama Butterfly” and as Il capitano/L’ispettore in Umberto Giordano’s “Siberia.” In 2024, he was additionally heard as Colline (“La bohème”) at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and ROHM Theatre Kyoto.

Sebastian Kohlhepp was born in Limburg an der Lahn and studied with Hedwig Fassbender in Frankfurt. This was followed by permanent engagements at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the Vienna State Opera, and the Stuttgart Opera. Since the 2017/18 season, he has been working as a freelance artist. Among the most important stations of recent years are his debut at the Opernhaus Zürich (Don Ottavio), Lehár’s Giuditta and Schön ist die Welt at the Bavarian State Opera, Tamino at the Vienna State Opera and the Semperoper Dresden, Castellucci’s Requiem at the Palau de les Arts Valencia, Ferrando at the Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, his role debut as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Salzburg Easter Festival, Belmonte at the Salzburg Mozart Week, Jason (Medea) at the Stuttgart Opera, and Tamino at the Theater an der Wien. He recently enjoyed great success as Manolios (The Greek Passion) at the Salzburg Festival as well as Narraboth in his debut at La Scala Milan. As a concert singer, he has collaborated with the Staatskapelle Dresden, the SWR Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, working with conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Sylvain Cambreling, Teodor Currentzis, Adam Fischer, Pablo Heras-Casado, Philippe Herreweghe, Manfred Honeck, Kent Nagano, Andris Nelsons, François-Xavier Roth, Christian Thielemann, Lorenzo Viotti, and Franz Welser-Möst. In the 2023/24 season, he makes his role debut as Idomeneo at the Cologne Opera and sings Belmonte at the Vienna State Opera as well as David at the Teatro Real Madrid.

Mezzo-soprano Dorottya Láng was born in Budapest and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. From 2012 to 2014, she was a member of the ensemble at the Vienna Volksoper, then moved to the National Theatre Mannheim for the 2014/15 season, and from 2015 to 2018 belonged to the ensemble of the Hamburg State Opera. Since then, she has worked with conductors such as Adam Fischer, Marc Albrecht, Sakari Oramo, Ivan Fischer, Cornelius Meister, Kent Nagano, and Theodor Currentzis, as well as with orchestras including the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Her operatic repertoire includes roles such as the Composer ("Ariadne auf Naxos"), Octavian ("Der Rosenkavalier"), Venus ("Tannhäuser"), Brangäne ("Tristan und Isolde"), Hänsel ("Hänsel und Gretel"), Marguerite ("La damnation de Faust"), Waltraute ("Die Walküre"), and Adriano ("Rienzi"). She has appeared, among others, at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo, the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Ruhrtriennale, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and at the Baden-Baden Festival Theatre with the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko. Concerts have taken her to the BBC Proms, Budapest’s Palace of Arts, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and the International Song Festival in Oxford. Her most recent engagements include the alto part in Mahler’s "Das Lied von der Erde" with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Composer with the Nederlandse Reisopera, and Venus in Budapest.

The bass Brent Michael Smith is from the United States. He studied voice at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and at the University of Northern Iowa, as well as piano at Hope College in Michigan. He was a finalist in the Queen Sonja International Music Competition (2021) and a semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions (2020), and he has been a prizewinner at international singing competitions such as the Grand Rapids Opera Competition, the Giargiari Bel Canto Competition, the Opera Birmingham Competition, the Opera Index Competition, and the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino. He has also received scholarships from the Loren L. Zachary Society and the Young Patronesses of the Opera Competition in Miami. In the United States, he has sung Zuniga ("Carmen"), Friedrich Bhaer (Mark Adamo’s "Little Women"), and Ashby ("La fanciulla del West") at Michigan Opera, Antonio ("Le nozze di Figaro") at Toledo Opera, Ariodante ("Xerxes") at the Glimmerglass Festival, Lakai ("Ariadne auf Naxos") at the Santa Fe Opera, as well as Celio (Prokofiev’s "The Love for Three Oranges") and Peter Quince ("A Midsummer Night’s Dream") at Opera Philadelphia. During the 2020/21 season, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House and joined the ensemble in the following season, 2021/22. Since then, he has appeared at the Zurich Opera House in roles such as Sparafucile ("Rigoletto"), Raimondo ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), Prince Gremin ("Eugene Onegin"), Frère Laurent ("Roméo et Juliette"), Fafner ("Das Rheingold"), and Cesare Angelotti ("Tosca").