Panajotis Iconomou (born May 22, 1971 in Munich) is a German bass-baritone of Greek parentage.
A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende Holländer, Wotan/Der Wanderer in the Ring Cycle and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Wagner labelled these roles as Hoher Bass —see fach for more details.
Iconomou was born in Munich. He joined the Tölzer Knabenchor in 1980 and toured Europe as a boy. He made notable appearances in 1985 at the Salzburger Festspiele with Hans Graf, J.S. Bach's St John Passion and St Matthew Passion with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus Musicus Wien at the styriarte Bach Festival]] in Graz, and the same program with Peter Schreier and Kurt Moll at the Stuttgart Bach Festival the same year. He was a boy soloist in several recordings in the series of the Complete Cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, conducted by Harnoncourt. [1]
The Tölzer Knabenchor is a German boys' choir founded in 1956 in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz and, since 1970, based in Munich.
Hans Graf is an Austrian conductor.
The Passio secundum Joannem or St John Passion, BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during Bach's first year as director of church music in Leipzig and was first performed on April 7, 1724, at Good Friday Vespers at the St. Nicholas Church.
After his voice broke in 1986, he became a bass and became noted in the 1990s for his Bach and Mozart recitals. He joined the National Opera Studio of London in 1997. [1] In 2001 he represented Greece at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
The National Opera Studio in London, England was established in 1977 by the Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at Morley College in Lambeth until 2003, when it gained use for the first time of its own dedicated premises in Chapel Yard, Wandsworth. Former directors are Kathryn Harries, Donald Maxwell, Richard van Allen, and Michael Langdon, and its Head of Music is Mark Shanahan. It is responsible for the training of approximately twelve singers each academic year, as well as four piano répétiteurs. Its funding comes in part from the six main UK opera companies – Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera North and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and it is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (2018-2022). Representatives from each company sit on the final audition panel for selection of each year's intake. The nine-month course usually includes residencies at three of the national opera companies, as well as opera scenes performances in London throughout the year.
