Axel Kober (born 10 February 1970) is a German conductor. Since 2009 he has been the music director of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. [1]
Kober was born in Kronach and studied conducting under Peter Falk and Günther Wich at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. His first professional engagement was with the Mecklenburg State Theatre in 1994. From 1998 to 2003 he was the chief conductor of the Theater Dortmund, where he conducted several rarely performed operas, including the German premiere of Charpentier's Julien . [2] Following a 4-year stint at the National Theatre Mannheim (2003–2007) where he served as its chief conductor, and two years as music director of the Leipzig Opera (2007–2009), he was appointed music director of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. In 2013, the bicentenary of Wagner's birth, Kober made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival conducting Tannhäuser and conducted it again at the 2014 festival. [3] [4]
Christian Thielemann is a German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden and the director of the Salzburg Easter Festival.
The Deutsche Oper am Rhein is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, play both opera and symphonic repertoire.
Charles Alexander Joel is a British/German pianist and conductor.
Hannelore Bode is a German operatic soprano. She performed at the Bayreuth Festival from 1968 to 1978, including Elsa in Lohengrin, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and several parts in the 1976 Jahrhundertring, including Sieglinde in Die Walküre. She performed internationally and recorded operas with conductors such as Eugen Jochum, Silvio Varviso and Pierre Boulez.
Hans Wallat was a German conductor, GMD in Bremen, at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater Dortmund and Deutsche Oper am Rhein. A specialist for the stage works of Richard Wagner, he appeared at the Bayreuth Festival and internationally.
Astrid Schirmer is a German operatic soprano and an academic teacher. She sang mostly dramatic parts at major German opera houses and appeared at the Bayreuth Festival.
Johannes Martin Kränzle is a German baritone in opera and concert who has made an international career. For years a member of the Oper Frankfurt, he was chosen as Singer of the Year in 2011 after creating the leading role in Wolfgang Rihm's Dionysos at the Salzburg Festival. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House as Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte, and at the Bayreuth Festival as Beckmesser in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2017.
Christof Loy is a German stage director especially for opera, whose work received several awards. A freelance director, he has staged operas from Baroque to premieres of new works at major European opera houses and festivals. He is known for directing works by Mozart.
Albert Dohmen is a German operatic bass-baritone who is known internationally for performing leading roles by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. He has also worked in concert halls and given lieder recitals.
Bohumil Herlischka was a Czech opera director. After years at the National Theatre, he worked from 1957 predominantly in German opera houses, introducing a style later known as Regietheater. He directed several productions at the Oper Frankfurt and developed a close connection to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein where he staged operas by Leoš Janáček, presenting a cycle of six operas in the 1977–78 season. He staged Schoenberg's Moses und Aaron at the Hamburg State Opera, including a tour to Israel. He focused on rarely played works such as Meyerbeer's Le prophète at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and on contemporary opera such as Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District and the world premiere of Alexander Goehr's Behold the Sun.
Frank Philipp Schlößmann is a German scenic designer focused on operas who has worked at major opera houses and festivals internationally. He staged Janáček's Jenůfa at the Metropolitan Opera, Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at both the Bayreuth Festival and Der Ring in Minden, and the world premiere of Heinz Holliger's Lunea at the Opernhaus Zürich.
Ulrich Windfuhr is a German conductor.
Michael Volle is a German operatic baritone. After engagements at several German and Swiss opera houses, he has worked freelance since 2011. While he first appeared in Mozart roles such as Guglielmo, Papageno and Don Giovanni, he moved on to title roles such as Verdi's Falstaff, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Alban Berg's Wozzeck. He has performed at major opera houses in Europe and the Metropolitan Opera, in roles including Mandryka in Arabella and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. His awards include Singer of the Year by Opernwelt and Der Faust.
Ruthild Engert-Ely was a German operatic mezzo-soprano and alto.
Simone Schröder is a German contralto in opera and concert, and an academic teacher. She has been associated with the Bayreuth Festival from her student days in 1992, performing in three different productions of Parsifal. She has appeared regularly at the Staatsoper Berlin and the Semperoper, and appeared as a guest at opera houses including La Scala in Milan, New National Theatre Tokyo and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.
Karl-Heinz Lehner is an Austrian operatic and concert bass-baritone.
Constantin Trinks is a German conductor.
Claus Guth is a German theatre director, focused on opera. He has directed operas at major houses and festivals, including world premieres such as works of the Munich Biennale, and Berio's Cronaca del luogo at the Salzburg Festival in 1999. Guth is particularly known for his opera productions of the works of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. He has received two Faust awards, for Daphne by Richard Strauss in 2010, and for Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, both at the Oper Frankfurt.
Linda Watson is an American dramatic soprano and academic voice teacher. She made her career based in Germany where she studied and began as a mezzo-soprano at the Theater Aachen. She has performed worldwide, including at the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. She focused on dramatic roles by Wagner, including Brünnhilde and Isolde, and Strauss, including Ariadne and the Dyer's Wife. She was awarded the title Kammersängerin in Germany in 2004 and in Austria in 2020.
Roland Böer is a German conductor with a focus on opera. He has worked at leading European opera houses, including the Oper Frankfurt where he began as répétiteur in 1996, was Kapellmeister from 2002 to 2008, and has often appeared as a guest. He was artistic director of the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte in Montepulciano from 2015 to 2020.