Tannhäuser

The bass Christof Fischesser, born in Wiesbaden, studied singing with Martin Gründler at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main. In 2000 he won first prize at the Federal Singing Competition in Berlin, which was followed by an engagement at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. In 2004 he moved to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin; from 2012 to 2015 he was a member of the ensemble at the Zurich Opera House, with which he has maintained a close collaboration ever since. Guest engagements have taken him, among others, to the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, the Opéra national de Paris, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Semperoper Dresden, the Opéra de Lyon, the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Houston Grand Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as to the opera houses of Antwerp, Copenhagen and Gothenburg. His wide-ranging repertoire includes roles such as King Marke in "Tristan und Isolde", Landgrave in "Tannhäuser", King Henry in "Lohengrin", Gurnemanz in "Parsifal", Sarastro in "The Magic Flute", Figaro in "Le nozze di Figaro", Rocco in "Fidelio", Banquo in "Macbeth", Méphistophélès in "Faust" and Baron Ochs of Lerchenau in "Der Rosenkavalier". Numerous CD and DVD recordings document his artistic work. At the Zurich Opera House he has appeared, among others, as King Henry, Orest in "Elektra", Kaspar, Daland, Gremin, Gurnemanz, Marchese di Calatrava and Padre Guardiano in "La forza del destino", Hunding in "Die Walküre" as well as Jacopo Fiesco in "Simon Boccanegra".

Eric Cutler, born in Iowa, completed his studies at Luther College and the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Met. In 2005, he won the Tucker Award. He appears at international opera houses including the New York Met, the Bavarian State Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, the Paris Opera, La Fenice in Venice, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, the Canadian Opera Company, the Santa Fe Opera, as well as at the Salzburg and Glyndebourne festivals. After beginnings in the Mozart and Bel Canto repertoire as well as lyrical roles by Bellini, Donizetti, Bizet, and Gounod at, among others, the New York Met, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, the Royal Opera House, the Paris Opera, and the Salzburg and Glyndebourne festivals, he now especially sings roles of the youthful heroic fach. Recent highlights include the Emperor in Richard Strauss’s “Die Frau ohne Schatten” (Semperoper Dresden), Florestan in “Fidelio” (Dutch National Opera & Ballet), Max in Weber’s “Der Freischütz,” and Erik in “Der fliegende Holländer” (Bavarian State Opera). The latter he also sang in 2023 in New York in a co-production of the Met with the Abu Dhabi Festival and the Opéra de Québec. Earlier highlights included the title role in Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” (Brussels and Dresden) and Bacchus in “Ariadne auf Naxos” (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence). At the Zurich Opera House, he was most recently seen as Siegmund in “Die Walküre” and returned in 2025 as Paul in Korngold’s “Die tote Stadt.”

Recent engagements led Christina Nilsson to her debuts at the Bayreuth Festival as Freia (“Das Rheingold”) and Third Norn (“Götterdämmerung”), as Elisabeth (“Tannhäuser”) and Aida at the opera houses in Frankfurt (Main) and Berlin. She also made her role debut as Chrysothemis (“Elektra”) at the Royal Opera Stockholm and debuted as Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Other important engagements include Rosalinde (“Die Fledermaus”) at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich as well as Aida at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London and the Semperoper Dresden. The Swedish soprano achieved her international breakthrough in the 2017/18 season as Aida at the Royal Opera Stockholm, where she subsequently performed numerous major roles such as Tosca, Ariadne, and Countess Almaviva (“Le nozze di Figaro”). On the concert stage, Christina Nilsson recently sang Schoenberg’s “Gurre-Lieder” under Alan Gilbert with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Verdi’s Requiem under Andres Orozco-Estrada with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony under Alan Gilbert with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. The multiple award-winning soprano completed her vocal studies at the University College of Opera in Stockholm. In summer 2025, she will sing Eva in “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” for the first time at the Bayreuth Festival under the musical direction of Daniele Gatti.

Rachael Wilson, an American mezzo-soprano, studied at the Juilliard School and was a member of the opera studio at the Bavarian State Opera, where she joined the ensemble in 2015. She made her professional debut in 2012 at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria. Since 2019, she has been a member of the Stuttgart State Opera ensemble. In the 2021/22 season, she made her role debut as Fricka (Das Rheingold) there and sang, among others, the title role in Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans as well as Charlotte (Werther). In the same season, she debuted at Teatro Real in Madrid as Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) and also performed this role at the Bavarian State Opera. Furthermore, she portrayed Kay in The Snow Queen at the Opéra national du Rhin and sang the role in a concert performance with the Dutch Radio Orchestra under Kent Nagano at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Her repertoire also includes the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), and Fatime (Weber’s Oberon), for which she won the Bavarian Festival Prize. Her concert activities have taken her to the Philadelphia Kimmel Center with Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle and to Avery Fisher Hall with Handel’s Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno. In the 2022/23 season, she has performed Charlotte in Stuttgart, given a song recital at the Ruhrtriennale, appeared as Bianca in a concert performance of Zemlinsky’s Eine florentinische Tragödie with the Munich Radio Orchestra, and performed as Balkis (Barkouf) at the Zurich Opera House.

Christian Gerhaher studied medicine and singing and completed his training with masterclasses by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Inge Borkh. During his studies, he formed a close partnership with pianist Gerold Huber. For more than 30 years, the duo has set standards in song interpretation. Collaborations with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Herbert Blomstedt, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Andris Nelsons, Antonio Pappano, Kirill Petrenko, Simon Rattle, and Christian Thielemann have taken him to orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic. He is a regular guest at festivals in Edinburgh, Lucerne, Salzburg, the Rheingau Music Festival, and the BBC Proms. His most important opera roles include Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Posa (Don Carlo), Germont (La traviata), Il Conte di Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Orfeo, Don Giovanni, Simon Boccanegra, Pelléas, Henze’s Prinz von Homburg, and Lenau in Holliger’s Lunea. His portrayal of Wozzeck at the Zurich Opera House is considered a milestone. Together with Gerold Huber, he has released song cycles by Schubert and Mahler. Their recording Robert Schumann: Alle Lieder was awarded an OPUS Klassik in 2022. Most recently, he released Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in the piano version as well as his first book, Lyrisches Tagebuch, a compendium on song interpretation. Christian Gerhaher is a professor of song interpretation at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich and teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

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").

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."

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").

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."

Yewon Han is a South Korean soprano. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Seoul National University and continued her training in the Young Artist Program of the Korea National Opera Studio, as well as from 2022 to 2024 in the International Opera Studio in Zurich. She has interpreted a wide range of roles in Korea and Europe, including Lauretta in "Gianni Schicchi", Papagena in "Die Zauberflöte", Adele in "Die Fledermaus", Romilda in "Serse", Li Si in "Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer", Titania in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream", and Najade in "Ariadne auf Naxos". In 2025, she appeared as Ophelia in "Hamlet" at the Buxton International Festival. She has received numerous awards, including first prize at the 60th Concurso Tenor Viñas (2023), third prize at the International Singing Competition Neue Stimmen (2022), as well as several first prizes at major singing competitions in South Korea. Since the 2025/26 season, she has been a permanent ensemble member of the Zurich Opera House and has recently been seen there in "Hänsel und Gretel", "Manon", and "Carmen".