News

My first, exciting season at the Hanover State Opera came to a lovely end with a final, wonderful performance as Fritz in “DIE TOTE STADT.” After the summer break, the 2026–27 season offers me a wide variety of roles, ranging from the modern chamber operetta „ICH, ICH, ICH“ to the contemporary family opera „RÄUBER HOTZENPLOTZ“, from the Rossini bel canto classic „LA CENERENTOLA“, to the romantic heartbreaker „PIQUE DAME“. I’m therefore looking forward to getting to know the “Ballhof” venue in Hanover, to my long-awaited (Doctor!) Giovanni debut, to officially be allowed to play “Kasper,” to the Russian language that flows so smoothly through my vocal tract, and to new emotional worlds and stage designs, to new teams, and of course to you—my loyal, ever-present, and supportive culture fans from near and far. Please keep in mind the dual casts for „PIQUE DAME,” „LA CENERENTOLA,” and „DON GIOVANNI” if you plan to attend—all dates are already available on the State Opera’s website and will remain online here on my website through the end of 2026.

E.W. Korngold’s „DIE TOTE STADT” waited over 100 years to be performed at the Hannover State Opera. Its premiere there finally took place in mid-May 2026 amid significant media attention. Two live radio streams from Deutschlandfunk Kultur and NDR Klassik broadcast across Germany and reported on our premiere under the musical direction of Maria Hartmuth. The production, directed by the young director Ilaria Lanzino, featured an exciting new concept in which the focus is not on the suffering Paul—but rather on Marie’s backstory and the circumstances surrounding her death. This allowed us to explore as many aspects of her character as possible, with the smaller roles all embodying different facets of her personality—and all of us wearing the same blonde wig. My Fritz had a poetic „theater-within-theater” moment shortly before Maries death with his aria „Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen” (“My Longing, My Delusion”).

Puccini’s famous opera „TURANDOT,” featuring the hit “Nessun dorma,” has been a part of my life since 2014. Even before I began my studies, I had performed in three other „TURANDOT” productions—at the Theater Hof, the Bregenz Festival, and the Leipzig Opera—and as a result, there are only a few works I know as well as this one. In Saarbrücken in early 2025, I was finally able to realize my dream and make my debut in the role of Grand Minister Ping. Fortunately, however, I hadn’t worked on Jakob Peters-Messer’s production at the Saarländisches Staatstheater just to put it aside as quickly as possible. Because artistic director Bodo Busse decided to take this very same production with him to the Hanover State Opera. For me, this meant that familiar stage routes and sets came together with many new colleagues and a new musical director, Masaru Kamakura. All performances are already sold out.

Since summer, we have been sorely missing the French border, so we are simply bringing France to Lower Saxony: in mid-February, the fantastic Opera Ball took place under the theme of Piaf’s chanson “Padam!”. Thanks to the incredibly impressive efforts and concept of Felix Schrödinger, Luzi Nehls-Neuhaus, and Pascal Seibicke, the opera house was transformed into Paris, a historic ceremonial hall, a small café, a patisserie, the Louvre, etc. Thousands of people were guests on dozens of stages and dance floors until the early hours of the morning. The star guest and presenter of the evening was Katherine Mehrling. I performed as a soloist in the opening and midnight shows—under the direction of Stephan Zilias—on the main stage, accompanied by live cameras as a double for the chansonier Serge Geinsbourg.

My second production at the new theater at the end of November was Cole Porter’s classic musical “ANYTHING GOES,” featuring many popular classic jazz hits by Sinatra & Co. Within the season’s structure, it occupies the position of “entertaining musical theater” – a role that the American boulevard comedy, with its penchant for puns and some silliness, definitely lives up to. With so many punchlines, we were delighted to have director Adriana Altaras, who herself is an actress on major theater stages and regularly appears on TV. The leading roles are played by Bettina Mönch, Christof Messner, and Julia Sturzlbaum, among others. Once again, I get to show off my comedic talent as the nerdy Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, sing, and maybe even perform my own tango dance number… Will my foot be up to it after last summer’s stage accident? It’s worth coming by to find out.

In mid-October, I made my debut at the Hanover State Opera. My first role, Masetto in DON GIOVANNI, was a good introduction to help me get used to the conditions of a new venue. Masetto is often sung by bass-baritones, which is why I am all the more delighted to be able to explore this lower register. In addition, Masetto’s inner conflict between his great love for Zerlina and her infidelity on their wedding day is a compelling character study. The live drawings by Anni von Bergen are a particularly exciting feature of this new production, directed by Bastian Kraft and conducted by Mario Hartmuth. I find the concept particularly suitable for an introduction to the opera genre, which is probably why it is almost always sold out.

For the 2024-25 season, I was honoured with the SponsorClub Award from the Saarländisches Staatstheater in the opera category. Due to my health circumstances, the award ceremony took place in my absence at a gala dinner at Halberg Castle, so I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the SponsorClub from afar. I am incredibly happy – especially as the youngest member of the ensemble – about this recognition of my artistic work at the end of my time here in Saarbrücken. Congratulations also to the winners in the other categories, Fabian Gröver and Nicola Strada.

At the age of twelve, I sang the “Zweiter Knabe” in ‘THE MAGIC FLUTE’ at the Theater Hof. Since then, I have been eagerly awaiting my first Papageno: In mid-June 2025, the time had come at the Saarländisches Staatstheater, and I was able to work with Austrian director Susanne Lietzow to develop my own unique, all-encompassing version of this character. Her team and I already knew each other from our wonderful collaboration on ‘DON PASQUALE’ in 2022, so we were able to work together even more closely and deeply. I wasn’t prepared for such an enthusiastic media response, but I couldn’t have imagined a better way to say goodbye to Saarbrücken. Saarländischer Rundfunk broadcast a very detailed report on the new production and my departure with Bodo Busse to Hanover, which can be viewed HERE.

It has been official since the press conference at the beginning of May: from the 2025/26 season, I will be joining the solo ensemble of the Hanover State Opera as a lyric baritone. I am very much looking forward to joining the team of Bodo Busse’s new artistic director there from August 2025. There have already been intensive preparations, discussions and several trips to Lower Saxony in recent months. Naturally, the anticipation of this also makes me excited. I had my first assignment at the new theater on May 11th at the almost sold-out presentation of the 2025/26 repertoire. It continues at the end of August with the theater festival for the season opening. Who will I be seeing in Hanover soon?

I was recently invited to be interviewed twice on different podcasts. At the beginning of February, I was a guest on “Theaterstimmen”, the new podcast format of the Saarländisches Staatstheater. In it, I talked at length with host Lea-Marie Albert about creative silliness and the big and small questions of everyday artistic life. In “Backstage – der Kulturpodcast”, together with Leni Bohrmann, the focus was more on my artistic career, my voice and our current tour through Germany with the Erich Kästner and Georg Kreisler program. Both media provide an intimate insight into my thoughts and work and can be found on all popular streaming platforms such as Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcast, Amazon music etc.