Performance Database

The German baritone Michael Volle is one of the most sought-after singers in his vocal range worldwide, owing to his exceptional vocal talent and powerful stage presence. Inspired by his teachers Josef Metternich and Rudolf Piernay, he has conquered the stages of the most prestigious international opera houses as a dramatic baritone, while maintaining and nurturing his passion for the more intimate concert and lied-repertoire.

After engagements at the opera houses in Mannheim, Bonn, Düsseldorf, and Cologne, he became a member of the ensembles at the Zurich Opera House and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Guest performances have taken him to all major opera houses in Germany and abroad, including Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Dresden, London, Paris, Barcelona, Vienna, Milan, Florence and New York, as well as significant festivals such as Bayreuth, Salzburg, Bregenz, and Baden-Baden.

Most recently, Mr. Volle appeared both at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Maggio Musicale in Florence in the title role of Verdi’s Falstaff, as well as in the role of Hans Sachs in a new production of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Vienna State Opera. In Milan, the audience reception and the critical acclaim for his Pater ecstaticus in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and for his Jochanaan in Salome were equally impressive. At the Hamburg State Opera, he excelled alongside Klaus Florian Vogt in the role of Wolfram in Wagner’s Tannhäuser.

Future engagements for the title role in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer will take him to this year’s Bayreuth Festival, to the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. In Zurich, he will be seen and heard as Danilo in a new production of Lehár’s operetta Die lustige Witwe. At the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, he will for the first time present Schubert’s Winterreise in a staged production. Under the musical direction of Lorenzo Viotti and in a staging by Barrie Kosky, he will sing the roles of Gianni Schicchi and Michele in a new production of Puccini’s operatic triptych Il trittico in Amsterdam.

Michael Volle has a broad repertoire, ranging from Mozart (Count, Don Giovanni, Don Alfonso), Strauss (Mandryka, Jochanaan, Barak, Orest) and Wagner (Dutchman, Wolfram, Sachs, Amfortas, Wotan/Wanderer), via Verdi (Falstaff, Iago, Nabucco) and Puccini (Scarpia, Marcello, Jack Rance, Gianni Schichi), to Mussorgsky (Boris Godunov) and Berg (Wozzeck, Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper). Furthermore, he regularly performs in concert and collaborates with major orchestras and conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Antonio Pappano, Valery Gergiev, Simon Rattle, Thomas Hengelbrock, Franz Welser-Möst, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kirill Petrenko, and many others.

Not only on the opera and concert stages, but also as an enthusiastic lieder singer, Michael Volle showcases his talent and regularly performs song recitals together with the exceptional pianist Helmut Deutsch.

Numerous CD and DVD recordings document his work. In 2009, he was awarded the German Theatre Prize “DER FAUST,” and the magazine “OPERNWELT” named him “Singer of the Year” in the 2007/2008 and 2013/2014 seasons. As a well-deserved recognition of his outstanding achievements on stage, the exceptional artist was awarded the prize for “Best Male Singer” at the “Oper! Awards 2023”, by the trade press for the third time after 2008 and 2014.