Christoph Prégardien, tenor

Precise vocal control, clear diction, intelligent musicality, and an ability to get to the heart of everything he sings all ensure Christoph Prégardien’s place among the world’s foremost lyric tenors. Especially revered as a Lieder singer, he appears internationally at festivals devoted to the art of song such as Schubertiade Schwarzenberg/Hohenems, Oxford International Song Festival, Leeds Lieder and LiedBasel. A particular highlight of the current season will be the world premiere of Die Schöne Müllerin/These Fevered Days in Nuremberg with Ensemble Kontraste, for which Johannes Maria Staud newly orchestrated Schubert’s cycle, adding seven new songs on poems by Emily Dickinson. Further recitals will take him to Groningen, Amsterdam, and on tour to Taiwan and Singapore. He will also appear in orchestral programmes in Brno, Essen, and Leipzig.

Christoph Prégardien has worked with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic, Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France as well as with the Boston and San Francisco Symphonies, alongside conductors such as Barenboim, Metzmacher, and Thielemann. His wide orchestral repertoire includes the great baroque, classical, and Romantic oratorios and passions as well as works from the 17th and 20th centuries. In opera, his roles have included, among others, Tamino, Almaviva, Fenton, Don Ottavio, Titus, Ulisse, and Idomeneo.

His extensive experience singing the Evangelist roles, together with his close working relationship with renowned conductors have provided the perfect base for his increasing dedication to conducting the works of J.S. Bach. Following the success of his conducting debut in 2012, he now regularly conducts ensembles like the Balthasar Neumann Choir, Dresdner Kammerchor, Collegium Vocale Gent, and RIAS Kammerchor.

The singer has recorded much of his repertoire on a discography of over 150 albums, many of which have received numerous international awards. His most recent releases include an album with pianist Christoph Schnackertz featuring songs by Paderewski, Moniuszko and Duparc, and a new recording of Schubert’s Schwanengesang and Schumann’s Liederkreis, Op. 39, with Julius Drake.

Following many years at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Zurich and a professorship at the Academy of Music in Cologne, he continues to give masterclasses for young singers around the world.