Die Zauberflöte

Magnus Dietrich studied at the University of Music and Theatre Munich, was a member of the Opera Studio of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and is a prizewinner of the German National Singing Competition as well as winner of the Brixen Classics Young Artists Award 2022. Since the 2023/24 season, he has been an ensemble member of the Oper Frankfurt, where he has appeared, among others, as Count Hohenzollern ("The Prince of Homburg"), Emilio ("Partenope"), Leander ("Maskerade"), and in "Der Rosenkavalier". His repertoire ranges from Mozart’s Tamino ("The Magic Flute") and Belmonte ("Die Entführung aus dem Serail") to Wagner’s Steersman ("The Flying Dutchman") and Walther von der Vogelweide ("Tannhäuser") to Strauss’s Leukippos ("Daphne"). Highlights of his career so far include Tamino at Mozart Week Salzburg, at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and at the Semperoper Dresden, Alfred ("Die Fledermaus") under Marc Minkowski at the Musikfest Bremen, as well as Schubert’s "Winterreise" in the choreographed version by Christian Spuck. He made his international debut as Jacquino ("Fidelio") at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. His concert engagements include the "St John Passion" with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the "St Matthew Passion" with the Munich Bach Choir and Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s "Lobgesang", and Mozart’s Requiem with the Munich Symphony Orchestra. In 2025/26, he will sing at Oper Frankfurt, among others, Ferrando in the new production of "Così fan tutte", Pang in "Turandot", and will appear in the double bill "Der Zar lässt sich fotografieren/Die Kluge".

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."

Tobias Kehrer was born in Dessau and completed his musical training at the Berlin University of the Arts. Early engagements took him to the Chemnitz Opera House, the Aalto-Theater Essen, and to Valencia. Since the 2012/13 season, he has been a permanent ensemble member at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he has sung the major roles of his fach, including Commendatore, Sarastro, Sparafucile, Colline, Orest, Rocco, Osmin, Fafner ("Das Rheingold"), Titurel, and Daland. In addition, he has performed at the Metropolitan Opera (Sarastro), the Salzburg Festival (Police Commissioner in "Der Rosenkavalier", Truffaldin in "Ariadne auf Naxos"), the Glyndebourne Festival (Osmin), the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (Osmin), the Lyric Opera of Chicago (Fafner), the Opéra National de Paris (Sarastro), La Scala in Milan (Osmin), and the Bayreuth Festival (Titurel, Night Watchman, Hunding), and he is also a regular guest at the Staatsoper Dresden.

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."

Regula Mühlemann was born in Lucerne. She studied singing with Barbara Locher. In 2018, the soprano was awarded the Opus Klassik as Young Artist of the Year. Highlights of her past seasons include her role and house debut as Susanna (“Le nozze di Figaro”), Adina (“L’elisir d’amore”), and Blonde (“Die Entführung aus dem Serail”) at the Vienna State Opera, Susanna (“Le nozze di Figaro”) during the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin Festival Days under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, as well as her role debut as Ilia (“Idomeneo”) in concert performances at the Baden-Baden Festival Theatre under the musical direction of Thomas Hengelbrock, Gilda in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” at Theater Basel, Adele in Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” at the Vienna State Opera and at Teatro Maggio Musicale in Florence under the musical direction of Zubin Mehta, Juliette (“Roméo et Juliette”) at the Lucerne Theatre, Echo (“Ariadne auf Naxos”) at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, and as Pamina in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte” in summer 2022, as well as Marie (“La fille du régiment”) at the Opera de Monte Carlo. Regula Mühlemann’s debut album “Mozart Arias” won the German Record Critics’ Award in 2017. Further albums include “Fairy Tales” and “Lieder der Heimat.” She has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Nello Santi, Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Pablo Heras-Casado, Ivor Bolton, Christian Thielemann, and Gianandrea Noseda, and has performed in the most prestigious concert halls in Europe. At Zurich Opera House, she most recently appeared as Susanna (“Le nozze di Figaro”) as well as in a lieder recital.

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.

Jasmin Delfs, born in Eutin, received her vocal training at the Lübeck Academy of Music. Her repertoire includes roles such as Blonde ("Die Entführung aus dem Serail"), Queen of the Night ("The Magic Flute"), Marzelline ("Fidelio"), and Susanna ("Le nozze di Figaro"). She is a four-time prizewinner of the Maritim Competition, was awarded the Under 25 Prize at the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino in 2021, and won third prize as well as a special prize at the International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera Pietro Antonio Cesti. In 2022, she was a participant in the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival, where she made her debut as the Queen of the Night in the new production of "The Magic Flute" at the Haus für Mozart and appeared as a Flower Maiden in "Parsifal" at the Grosses Festspielhaus. From 2021 to 2023, she was a member of the International Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, where she sang roles such as Papagena, Najade ("Ariadne auf Naxos"), and Vespina ("L’infedeltà delusa"). She has appeared as a guest at the Vienna State Opera (Queen of the Night in "The Magic Flute for Children"), the Staatstheater Darmstadt, the Isarphilharmonie Munich, the Berlin Philharmonie, and the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. In concert, she has performed, among others, under Kirill Petrenko at the Bavarian State Opera in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony and in Schoenberg’s "Jacob’s Ladder" at the Berlin Philharmonie, also under Petrenko. Since the 2024/25 season, she has been an ensemble member of the Semperoper Dresden, where she has already appeared in "The Love for Three Oranges", "The Child and the Magic Spells", in "Saul", as the Queen of the Night, Marzelline ("Fidelio"), and Adele ("Die Fledermaus").

The coloratura soprano Alina Wunderlin, born in Frankfurt am Main, gained international attention in 2024 as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s "The Magic Flute" at the Glyndebourne Festival. Her repertoire ranges from works of the Renaissance and Baroque to the French and Italian traditions, as well as contemporary music. In the past season, she made her debut as Ännchen ("Der Freischütz") at the Hamburg State Opera and as Morgana ("Alcina") at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz. She also performed as the Queen of the Night at the Komische Oper Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and the Stuttgart State Opera. With Les Musiciens du Louvre, she sang Adele ("Die Fledermaus"), among others, at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Liceu Barcelona, and the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville. In 2025/26, she made her house debut at the Theater an der Wien as Adele in "Die Fledermaus" (director: Stefan Herheim), performed as the Queen of the Night at the Oslo Opera, the Semperoper Dresden, and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, as well as Dorinda in Handel’s "Orlando" with Les Musiciens du Louvre under Marc Minkowski in Paris (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées) and Barcelona (Liceu). In 2026, she will return to Glyndebourne as Zerbinetta in a new production. Her recordings include several CDs of Brahms songs with pianist Ulrich Eisenlohr as well as a CD recording of "Carmina Burana" under Paavo Järvi at the Tonhalle Zurich. She has worked with conductors such as Marc Minkowski, Philippe Herreweghe, Paavo Järvi, Petr Popelka, Rubén Dubrovsky, Konstantin Trinks, and Yoel Gamzou, as well as with directors such as Lydia Steier, Josef E. Köpplinger, Ben Baur, Andreas Kriegenburg, and Peter Konwitschny.

Yannick Debus studied voice at the Lübeck University of Music, the Basel Academy of Music and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. His first engagements included the Father in "Hansel and Gretel" at Schloss Weikersheim, Guglielmo in "Così fan tutte" at the Chamber Opera Schloss Rheinsberg, the Emperor in Ullmann’s "Emperor of Atlantis" as well as Figaro in Milhaud’s "La mère coupable" at Theater Basel and Emireno in Handel’s "Ottone" at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music. From 2020 to 2022 he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House. He has a close collaboration with René Jacobs, under whose direction he has appeared, among others, as Jesus ("St John Passion") at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, as Apollo (Handel’s "Apollo e Dafne"), as Kilian and Ottokar ("Der Freischütz") including at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, in Handel’s "Israel in Egypt" at the Philharmonie de Paris, the Konzerthaus Freiburg and the Berlin Philharmonie, as well as in the title role of Monteverdi’s "Orfeo" with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, including at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Philharmonie de Paris and at the Liceu in Barcelona. Also with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, he sang Jesus ("St Matthew Passion") under Francesco Corti on tour, including in Frankfurt, Madrid, Budapest, Zurich and Seoul. Since the 2024/25 season he has been a member of the ensemble of the Zurich Opera House. There he has recently sung Harlequin ("Ariadne auf Naxos"), Lesbo ("Agrippina"), the title role in Wolfgang Rihm’s "Jakob Lenz", Schaunard in "La bohème", Lescaut in Massenet’s "Manon" and Dr Falke in "Die Fledermaus".

Karima El Demerdasch is a German-Egyptian mezzo-soprano. She studied in Cairo and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with John Evans. In 2024, she was a finalist at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and in 2023 participated in the Georg Solti Accademia. In Guildhall School productions, she performed roles such as Prince Orlofsky ("Die Fledermaus") and Dido ("Dido and Aeneas"). In a 2023 production by Opera Kipling, she sang the title role in "La Cenerentola" at the Upstairs at the Gatehouse theatre in London. In 2025, she took part in the Young Singers Project of the Salzburg Festival and made her debut at London’s Barbican Hall. Since the 2025/26 season, she has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House.

The mezzo-soprano Dominika Stefańska studied in Łódź and was a member of the Warsaw Opera Academy. She was a finalist at the Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition 2021. At the Łódź Opera, she performed the roles of Volpino ("Lo speziale") and Mrs. Reich ("The Merry Wives of Windsor"), as well as a nymph ("Rusalka") at the Poznań Opera. As a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House, she appeared, among others, as Hippolyta in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream", as well as in "Jim Knopf" and "Sweeney Todd". Starting from the 2026/27 season, Dominika Stefańska will become a permanent ensemble member at the Zurich Opera House.

Nathan Haller is from Canada and studied voice at the Juilliard School in New York. In 2013, he participated in the International Meistersinger Academy in Neumarkt. From 2015 to 2017, he was a member of the OperAvenir Studio at Theater Basel, where he sang roles such as Tamino ("The Magic Flute"), Romeo ("Romeo and Juliet"), and Oronte ("Alcina"). In 2016, he appeared as Belmonte ("The Abduction from the Seraglio") at the Akko Opera Festival in Israel, and in 2017/18 as François in Leonard Bernstein’s "A Quiet Place" at Neue Oper Wien. Further engagements took him to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Vienna Volksoper, the Malmö Opera, and Deutsche Oper am Rhein. On the concert stage, he performed at the New York Festival of Song at Carnegie Hall and in Handel’s "La Resurrezione" with William Christie. He made his debut at the Zurich Opera House in 2018 in Schreker’s "Die Gezeichneten" and returned the following year as Albazar ("Il turco in Italia") as well as later in the title role of Mitterer’s "Tapferen Schneiderlein". Since the 2021/22 season, Nathan Haller has been a member of the Zurich Opera House ensemble. Here, he has recently sung roles including Mercure in Rameau’s "Platée", Gobin/Un giovane/Adolfo in Puccini’s "La rondine", Boni ("Die Csárdásfürstin"), Pong ("Turandot"), a Dance Master ("Ariadne auf Naxos"), as well as Andrès in "Les Contes d’Hoffmann", First Jew ("Salome"), Victorin ("Die tote Stadt"), Raoul de St. Brioche ("Die lustige Witwe"), Goro ("Madama Butterfly"), Valzacchi ("Der Rosenkavalier"), and Dr. Blind ("Die Fledermaus").

Andrew Moore, an American bass-baritone from New Jersey, received his training at Rutgers University (Mason Gross School of the Arts) and at the renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 2019, he reached the New England Region Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, where he was awarded the Susan Eastman Encouragement Award. Further important artistic milestones included the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco as well as the Santa Fe Opera, where he appeared as an Apprentice Singer in "La bohème", "Così fan tutte", and "Jenůfa". From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House. He was subsequently engaged in the company ensemble, which he has belonged to since the 2022/23 season. There, he has appeared as Figaro ("Le nozze di Figaro"), Paolo Albiani ("Simon Boccanegra"), Don Fernando ("Fidelio"), De Brétigny ("Manon"), Marullo ("Rigoletto"), Paris ("Roméo et Juliette"), Marchese d’Obigny ("La traviata"), Pritschitsch ("Die lustige Witwe"), Johann ("Werther"), and Fix ("In 80 Tagen um die Welt"). His recent international engagements include his debut with the Warsaw Philharmonic as bass soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as well as his Salzburg debut as Marchese d’Obigny ("La traviata"). In summer 2026, he will appear at the Salzburg Festival as Johann ("Werther"). His repertoire also includes roles such as Leporello ("Don Giovanni"), Guglielmo ("Così fan tutte"), and Rocco ("Fidelio").

Evan Gray is a Swiss bass-baritone from Winterthur. He began his musical training as a treble with the Zürich Boys’ Choir and later transitioned to the bass voice. After initial vocal studies at the Winterthur Conservatory, he continued his education at the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. His roles to date include the Forester ("Das schlaue Füchslein"), Figaro ("Le nozze di Figaro"), and Leporello ("Don Giovanni"). As an accomplished recitalist, he has performed Schubert’s "Winterreise" and Vaughan Williams’ "Songs of Travel" multiple times and has collaborated with artists such as Julius Drake and Robert Holl. From 2023 to 2025, he was a guest at the Marlboro Music Festival, where he developed a close artistic relationship with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, who has invited him back for the summer 2026 edition. Since the 2025/26 season, Evan Gray has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House.

Salvador Villanueva is a Mexican tenor. He completed his vocal training at the Universidad de Sonora and subsequently at the Mexican Opera Studio, where he sang roles including Goro in "Madama Butterfly" and Remendado in "Carmen." In the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, he was a member of the Opera Studio at the Amsterdam Opera, performing roles such as Gastone ("La traviata"), Borsa ("Rigoletto"), the tenor role in Tom Johnson’s The Four Note Opera, and the Sailor ("Dido and Aeneas"). In 2024, he returned to Mexico to sing the title role in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Salvador Villanueva was a finalist in singing competitions in Mexico City and ’s-Hertogenbosch. He has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House since the 2025/26 season.

Der Tölzer Knabenchor wurde 1956 von Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden in Bad Tölz gegründet. Bereits im gleichen Jahr wurde er zu ersten Rundfunkkonzerten eingeladen und in den darauffolgenden Jahren folgten erste Konzertreisen durch Europa. Ab 1963 war Carl Orff regelmässiger als Dirigent beim Chor zu Gast. In den 80er-Jahren haben Konzertreisen den Chor sowohl in die USA, als auch nach Asien geführt, was ihm weltweite Bekanntheit einbrachte. Seither singt er immer wieder an Festivals, wie den Bayreuther Festspielen, den Berliner Festwochen, den Bregenzer Festspielen, den Händel-Festspielen in Halle, der Münchner Opernfestspielen und den Salzburger Festspielen. Der Chor sang zudem bei der Eröffnungsfeier der Olympischen Sommerspiele 1972 im Olympiastadion in München unter der Regie von Carl Orff. Auch bei der Eröffnungszeremonie zur Fussball-Weltmeisterschaft in Deutschland 2006 waren sie beteiligt. 2014 übernahmen die Gesangspädagogen Christian Fliegner und Clemens Haudum die musikalisch-künstlerische Leitung des Tölzer Knabenchores, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden ist weiterhin als künstlerischer Mentor tätig. Seit 2014 richtet der Chor ein Knabenchorfestival in Bad Tölz aus, bei dem international bekannte Chöre, wie die Wiener Sängerknaben, die Augsburger Domsingknaben, die Zürcher Sängerknaben und die Wiltener Sängerknaben, auftreten. Einzelne Mitglieder des Tölzer Knabenchores treten auch immer wieder solistisch in Opernproduktionen auf, wie in der aktuellen Spielzeit in der Zauberflöte an der Bayerischen Staatsoper München.