Das Rheingold

Michael Volle, after engagements at the opera houses in Mannheim, Bonn, Düsseldorf and Cologne, was a member of the ensemble of the Zurich Opera House and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In 2008 and 2023, the magazine Opernwelt named him "Singer of the Year"; in 2009 he was awarded the German Theatre Prize "Der Faust", and in 2023 he received an Oper!Award in recognition of his achievements. As a guest artist, he received invitations to the state operas in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna, to the Semperoper Dresden, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Opéra de Paris, the Royal Opera London, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Liceu in Barcelona, La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as well as to the Salzburg, Bregenz and Bayreuth Festivals. Michael Volle has made a name for himself particularly as a Wagner singer, as well as with the roles of Richard Strauss and the interpretation of the great Italian baritone roles, including the operas of Verdi. More recently, he appeared in David McVicar’s "Ring" at La Scala in Milan, and returned in the title role of "Falstaff" at the Berlin State Opera, where he also performed Wotan/The Wanderer. As part of the 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival, he will sing two "Ring" cycles there in 2026 as well as Amfortas ("Parsifal"). At the Zurich Opera House, he has been heard, among others, as Eugene Onegin, Yeletsky ("The Queen of Spades"), Roland ("Fierrabras"), Sixtus Beckmesser, Hans Sachs ("The Mastersingers of Nuremberg"), Golaud ("Pelléas et Mélisande"), Wolfram ("Tannhäuser"), the Dutchman, Nabucco and Boris Godunov, and in the 2026/27 season he will sing Wotan/The Wanderer in "The Ring of the Nibelung" in Zurich as well as on tour in Paris and New York.

Daniel Schmutzhard begann bereits während seiner Schulzeit mit einer Gesangsausbildung am Tiroler Landeskonservatorium Innsbruck und setzte sein Studium später an der Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien fort. Von 2005 bis 2011 war er an der Wiener Volksoper engagiert, von 2011 bis 2018 an der Oper Frankfurt. Als Don Giovanni, Graf (Le nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Marcello (La bohème), Heerrufer (Lohengrin), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Albert (Werther), Olivier (Capriccio), Escamillo (Carmen), Ford (Falstaff), Rodrigo (Don Carlo), Eugen Onegin, Nathanael (Der Sandmann) u.a. sang er dort die grossen Rollen seines Fachs. Am Theater an der Wien übernahm er in der Saison 2021/22 die Rolle des Corpo in der Neuproduktion von Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo. Mit dem Concerto Köln unter Kent Nagano debütierte er als Alberich in konzertanten Aufführungen von Wagners Rheingold und an der Komischen Oper Berlin in der Titelpartie von Weinbergers Schwanda, der Dudelsackpfeifer in einer Neuinszenierung von Andreas Homoki. Zuletzt sang er die Partien Eisenstein, Herr Fluth und Danilo Danilowitsch an der Volksoper Wien, in Beethovens 9. Sinfonie in der Victoria Hall Genève sowie in Werken von Schumann und Beethoven in Boulogne-Billancourt. Neben seiner umfangreichen Operntätigkeit hat er sich ausserdem als Konzertsänger einen Namen gemacht und ist u.a. im Wiener Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, Berliner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Kölner Philharmonie, Pariser Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Grand Théâtre Aix-en-Provence und bei den Salzburger Osterfestspielen aufgetreten.

Johan Krogius began his musical training in the boys’ choir of the Domkantorei Cantores Minores in Helsinki. He later studied in Helsinki and Stockholm, won the Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition in 2021, and in the same year was awarded first prize at the Helsinki Song Competition. In opera, he has sung roles such as Jaquino ("Fidelio") and Pong ("Turandot") in Helsinki, First Man and Juhana in "The Last Temptations" at the Opera in Jyväskylä, Don Ottavio ("Don Giovanni") at the Finnish National Opera, Kuska ("Chowanschtschina") with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen in Helsinki and Stockholm, and Tamino ("Die Zauberflöte") at the Opera in Tampere and at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, where he also performed as Don Ottavio and Ismaele ("Nabucco") in 2024 and as Macduff ("Macbeth") in 2025. From 2022 to 2024, he was a member of the International Opera Studio of the Berlin State Opera, where he performed roles including Leukippos (Strauss’ "Daphne"), Tamino, First Armored Man and First Priest ("Die Zauberflöte"), Innkeeper and Major-domo to Faninal ("Der Rosenkavalier"), Trojan ("Idomeneo"), Parpignol ("La bohème"), and Borsa ("Rigoletto"). As a guest, he returned to the Berlin State Opera as Tybalt ("Roméo et Juliette"), among others. On the concert stage, he has appeared with the Jyväskylä Sinfonia, the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, the Tapiola Sinfonietta, and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and made his debut in 2024 with Mozart’s "Requiem" at the Berlin Philharmonie. Since the 2025/26 season, he has been a member of the ensemble at the Opera House Zurich, where he has performed in "Der Rosenkavalier," "Tosca," and "Carmen."

Matthias Klink was a member of the ensemble of the Städtische Bühnen Köln from 1996 to 1998 and of the Staatsoper Stuttgart from 2006 to 2010. Guest engagements have taken him to Hamburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, the three major opera houses in Berlin, and La Scala in Milan. Since his Salzburg debut in 1999 in the world premiere of Berio's "Cronaca del luogo", Matthias Klink has been a regular guest there and sang Ein Gast/Apollon in the 2010 world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm's "Dionysos". As Tamino ("Die Zauberflöte") he appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Salzburg Festival, in Aix-en-Provence, at the Ruhrtriennale, and at the Metropolitan Opera. His repertoire also includes roles such as Don José, Alfredo ("La traviata"), Tom Rakewell ("The Rake’s Progress"), and Hoffmann. In the 2014/15 season Matthias Klink rejoined the ensemble of the Staatsoper Stuttgart. For his acting and singing performance as Gustav von Aschenbach in "Der Tod in Venedig" he was named Singer of the Year by the magazine "Opernwelt" in 2017 and received the German Theatre Prize DER FAUST in 2018. At Zurich Opera House he was recently heard as Loge in "Das Rheingold". Alongside his operatic work, Matthias Klink is also regularly heard as a concert and recital singer. Performances have taken him to Avery Fisher Hall in New York, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Cologne Philharmonie, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Liederhalle Stuttgart. In 2018 he was awarded the title of Kammersänger in Stuttgart.

Claudia Mahnke studied singing at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden. From 1996 to 2006, she was a member of the ensemble at the Stuttgart State Opera, where she appeared, among others, in the title role of Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s "Simplicius Simplicissimus". In 2013, she made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Fricka, Waltraute and Second Norn in a new "Ring" cycle under Kirill Petrenko. Since the 2006/07 season, she has been a member of the ensemble at the Frankfurt Opera. Her most recent roles there include, among others, Herodias in "Salome", the Foreign Princess in "Rusalka", Marie in "Wozzeck", Sélika in Meyerbeer’s "L’Africaine", Charlotte in "Werther", Lucretia in "The Rape of Lucretia", Dido in "Les Troyens", Concepción in "L’Heure espagnole", Judith in "Herzog Blaubarts Burg" and Marguerite in "La damnation de Faust". Recent highlights include her role debut as Countess Geschwitz in "Lulu" and as Giselle in Magnard’s "Guercœur" at the Frankfurt Opera, her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Magdalene in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" under Antonio Pappano, Herodias at the Vienna State Opera and the Hamburg State Opera, Fricka at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, as well as her acclaimed debuts as Amneris in "Aida" and Mère Marie in "Dialogues des Carmélites". She holds the honorary titles of Kammersängerin of the Stuttgart State Opera and the Frankfurt Opera.

The Australian soprano Kiandra Howarth studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of the Griffith University and at the Mozarteum Salzburg, and was a member of the Young Artist Program of Opera Australia, the Salzburg Festival, and the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London. Since then, she has sung the major roles of her repertoire at numerous international opera houses and festivals. Highlights include Donna Anna (“Don Giovanni”) in Basel, Luxembourg, Guangzhou, and Nancy; Pamina and First Lady (“The Magic Flute”) at the Bavarian State Opera, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and the Royal Opera House; Dorotka (“Schwanda the Bagpiper”) at the Komische Oper Berlin; Freia (“Das Rheingold”) at the Zurich Opera House and the Royal Opera House; as well as appearances in “7 Deaths of Maria Callas” at the Bavarian State Opera. Since 2021, she has been a permanent ensemble member of the Staatsoper Hannover, where she has performed roles such as Fiordiligi (“Così fan tutte”), Desdemona (“Otello”), the Countess (“Le nozze di Figaro”), Alcina, Mimì (“La bohème”), Madame Lidoine (“Dialogues des Carmélites”), and Rusalka. In the 2023/24 season, she returned as Freia at both the Royal Opera House and in Zurich. She also made her house debuts as Desdemona at Oper Leipzig and as Magda (“La rondine”) with Victorian Opera. Most recently, she made her role debut as Arabella at Bühnen Bern and as the Marschallin in “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Staatsoper Hannover. In the 2025/26 season, further important debuts will follow: Manon Lescaut at Bühnen Bern, as well as Liù (“Turandot”) and Marietta (“Die tote Stadt”) at the Staatsoper Hannover.

Noa Beinart wurde in Tel Aviv geboren und war von 2020 bis 2023 Ensemblemitglied an der Wiener Staatsoper. Dort war sie als Erda in sämtlichen Aufführungen des Ring-Zyklus, als Gaea in Daphne, als Maddalena in Rigoletto, als Dritte Dame in Die Zauber­flöte, als Annina in Der Ro­senkavalier, als Mary in Der Fliegende Holländer, als Auntie in Peter Grimes sowie als Suzuki in Ma­dama Butterfly zu erleben. Zuvor war sie Mitglied des Opernstudios an der Bayerischen Staatsoper München und ist Absolventin der Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. Sie gab ihr Debüt an der Berliner Staatsoper Unter den Linden als Erste Norn in der Götterdämmerung. Weitere Wagnerpartien waren u.a. Grimgerde (Die Walküre) an der Opéra National de Paris und Schwertleite, ebenfalls in der Walküre, am Opernhaus Zürich. Im Sommer 2021 sang sie unter der Leitung von Franz Welser-Möst als Zweite Magd (Elektra) erstmals bei den Salzburger Festspielen und kehrte im Sommer darauf als Dritte Dame in einer Neuproduktion von Die Zauberflöte dorthin zurück. 2024 debütierte sie als Erste Magd in Christof Loys Neuproduktion von Elektra am Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, und als Erste Norn bei den Bayreuther Festspielen. Aussserdem trat sie mit dem Sydney Symphony Orchestra als Erda in einer konzertanten Aufführung von Das Rheingold unter der Leitung von Simone Young auf – eine Rolle, die sie in der Spielzeit 2024/25 zurück an die Wiener Staatsoper führt.

Christopher Purves began his musical career as a chorister at King’s College in Cambridge and later was a member of the experimental rock group Harvey and the Wallbangers before turning to opera singing. He sang, among others, Balstrode in "Peter Grimes" at the Bavarian State Opera, at Teatro alla Scala and at Teatro Real Madrid, Alberich in Wagner’s "Ring" cycle for the Zürich Opera House, the Houston Grand Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Canadian Opera Company and the Royal Opera House, Nick Shadow in "The Rake’s Progress" at Teatro Colón, the title role in Handel’s "Saul" at the Théâtre du Châtelet, at the Houston Grand Opera, at the Adelaide Festival and at the Royal Theatre Copenhagen, as well as the Forester in Janáček’s "Das schlaue Füchslein" at the Canadian Opera Company. Closely associated with contemporary repertoire, he created roles in numerous world premieres. He sang Walt Disney in the world premiere of Philip Glass’ "The Perfect American", Protector in George Benjamin’s "Written on Skin" at the Royal Opera House, as well as roles in works by Sir James MacMillan, including "The Sacrifice", "Ines de Castro" and "Parthenogenesis". On the concert stage, he was heard, among others, in Elgar’s "The Kingdom" at the BBC Proms and in Handel’s "Messiah" on a European tour with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée.

Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke studierte an der Wiener Musikhochschule bei Kurt Equiluz und Gerhard Kahry. 1997 debütierte er an der Opéra national de Paris, wo er u.a. als Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte), Capito (Mathis der Maler) und Mime (Der Ring des Nibelungen) zu erleben war. Diese Partie sang er auch an der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Berliner Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Mailänder Scala, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Real, Théatre du Capitole de Toulouse, Canadian Opera Company und De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam. 1999 debütierte er beim Glyndebourne Festival, wo er seither mehr als 130 Vorstellungen gesungen hat (u.a. Hexe in Hänsel und Gretel, Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos, Podestà in La finta giardiniera). Er gastierte bei den Bregenzer Festspielen, beim Festival d’Aix-en-Provence und bei den Salzburger Festspielen (Pirzel in Zimmermanns Die Soldaten). Weitere Stationen waren 2013 sein Debüt an der Met als Valzacchi (Der Rosenkavalier) und 2016 an der Royal Opera Covent Garden als Iwan in Schostakowitschs Die Nase. Jüngst sang er die Titelpartie in Offenbachs Blaubart und Pluto (Orpheus in der Unterwelt) an der Komischen Oper Berlin, Aegisth (Elektra) und Herodes (Salome) an der Wiener Staatsoper, Wenzel (Die verkaufte Braut), Franz I. (Kreneks Karl V.), Herodes und Pendereckis  Die Teufel von Loudun an der Bayerischen Staatsoper, den Schäbigen (Lady Macbeth von Mszenk) an der Opéra Bastille, den Hauptmann (Wozzeck), Rheingold-Mime und Herodes in Zürich, Monostatos und Valzacchi in München, Hauptmann in Toulouse, Herodes am Bolshoi-Theater sowie Dallapiccolas Il prigioniero in der Berliner Philharmonie. 2021 wurde er zum Bayerischen Kammersänger ernannt, 2022 zum Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres von Frankreich. Ausserdem erhielt er das österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst.

Brent Michael Smith is from the USA. 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 won prizes in various international singing competitions. Additionally, he received scholarships from the Loren L. Zachary Society and the Young Patronesses of the Opera Competition in Miami. In the United States, he sang roles including 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, the Lackey ("Ariadne auf Naxos") at 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. In 2020/21, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House and was subsequently admitted to the ensemble the following season. At the Zurich Opera House, he has since appeared as Sparafucile ("Rigoletto"), Raimondo ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), Prince Gremin ("Eugene Onegin"), Friar Laurence ("Roméo et Juliette"), Fafner ("Das Rheingold"), Cesare Angelotti ("Tosca"), and in "Cardillac."

After studying instrumental pedagogy with a focus on guitar, Kathrin Zukowski studied singing at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold and subsequently opera and music theatre at the Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich. From 2018 to 2020, she was a member of the Opera Studio at the Cologne Opera and has been part of its ensemble since the 2020/21 season. There, she appeared, among others, as Pamina in "Die Zauberflöte", Susanna in "Le nozze di Figaro", Gretel in "Hänsel und Gretel", Micaëla in "Carmen", as well as Konstanze in the studio production of "Die Entführung aus dem Serail". In the 2022/23 season, she made her debut as the Infanta in "Der Zwerg" and as Cleopatra in "Giulio Cesare in Egitto"; in 2023/24, further role debuts followed as Adina in "L’elisir d’amore", Ilia in "Idomeneo", and Eurydice in the world premiere of Ondřej Adámek’s "Ines". Guest engagements have taken her to the opera houses in Bielefeld, Braunschweig, Hanover, and Karlsruhe, as well as to the reopening of the Margrave's Opera House in Bayreuth as Arbace in Johann Adolf Hasse’s "Artaserse". In addition, she performed with the Tonkünstler-Orchester under Alfred Eschwé at the Musikverein Vienna and in Grafenegg, as well as in the role of Grilletta in "Lo speziale" at the Haydn Festival in Brühl. In the 2024/25 season, she gave, among others, role debuts in the title role of "Lucia di Lammermoor", as Ighino in "Palestrina" at the Vienna State Opera, and as Beauty in a concert performance of Handel’s "The Triumph of Time and Truth" with the Bach Consort Vienna.

Siena Licht Miller, a German-American mezzo-soprano, studied voice at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She completed her training with courses at Opera Philadelphia, the Santa Fe Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Aspen Music Festival. She is a fellow of the Bagby Foundation and a prizewinner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Marilyn Horne Rubin Foundation, and the Gerda Lissner Foundation. Highlights of her career so far include role debuts as Hermia in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Second Lady in “Die Zauberflöte,” and one of the two solo parts in the world premiere of Philip Venables’ “Denis and Katya” at Opera Philadelphia. At the Aspen Opera Center, she sang the title role in Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les sortilèges” under the direction of Robert Spano. She regularly devotes herself to art song, performing in the “The Song Continues” series at Carnegie Hall in honor of her mentor Marilyn Horne and touring the U.S. with a recital alongside pianist Kevin Murphy. In the 2020/21 season, she was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House, performing in productions such as “Maria Stuarda,” “Simon Boccanegra,” “Viva la mamma,” “Salome,” “Odyssey,” the ballet “Monteverdi,” “L’italiana in Algeri,” and as Flosshilde in “Das Rheingold.” Since the 2022/23 season, she has been a member of the Zurich Opera House ensemble and has recently appeared in “Barkouf,” “Salome,” “Anna Karenina,” “Lakmé,” “La rondine,” “Die Walküre,” and “Götterdämmerung,” as well as in the title role of Handel’s “Serse” at Theater Winterthur.