After training at the Music Academy of his native city Baku, the baritone Evez Abdulla joined the ensemble of the National Opera of Azerbaijan. His repertoire covers roles such as Amonasro in «Aida», Conte di Luna in «Il Trovatore», Alfio in «Cavalleria Rusticana», Escamillo in «Carmen», Sharpless in «Madama Butterfly» as well as the title roles in Tchaikovsky’s «Eugene Onegin» and Verdi’s «Rigoletto». He has made guest appearances as Germont in Riga and at Glyndebourne, as Aleko and Macbeth in the opera of the same name at the Opéra National de Lyon and the Ravenna Festival. In the 2013/2014 season Evez Abdulla was an ensemble member at Oper Bonn where he could be heard as the Protector in George Benjamin’s «Written on Skin», Scarpia in «Tosca» and Athanaël in Massenet’s «Thais». His most recent guest roles include Iago in «Otello» at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago de Chile, Gryaznoy in «The Tsar’s Bride» at the Berliner Staatsoper and Ruprecht in «The Fiery Angel» at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and the Komische Oper Berlin. For the 2016/2017 season he became an ensemble member at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, where his singing roles include Siegfried in «Genoveva». In 2017 he will make his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam in a world premiere by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh.

After first training as a bookseller, the Lucerne-born mezzo soprano began choral studies at the Lucerne School of Music with Prof. Liliane Zürcher. She is now continuing her studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel under Marcel Boone. She has also completed masterclasses with Margreet Honig, Paul Triepels, Tanja Ariane Baumgartner and Mariette Nollen. Laura Binggeli has expanded her repertoire of Lieder with Edward Rushton, Roger Vignoles and Ralf Gothoni.

She is also a passionate devotee of professional ensemble singing. She sings with the Vokalensemble Orpheus (DE), Larynx (BS) and the Davos Festival Chamber Choir. In 2012 Laura Binggeli was heard in a staged version of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s «American Indian Songs». Laura Binggeli had her first experience of a breeches role in 2013 with Hänsel in Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairy tale opera «Hänsel und Gretel». The mezzo soprano appears regularly as a soloist in church and chamber concerts.

Simon Bode was born in Hamburg in 1984 and trained at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hanover. The tenor made his debut in 2011 as Belmonte («Die Entführung aus dem Serail») at Frankfurt Opera, where he belonged to the international opera studio, before being invited to join their company of soloists. Simon Bode was nominated as Young Singer of the Year by the critics’ panel of «Opernwelt» magazine for his performance as The Young Man in the world premiere of Peter Eötvös’ «The Golden Dragon» at Frankfurt Opera. Simon Bode makes regular guest appearances at Staatsoper Hannover, and other engagements have included Staatstheater Braunschweig, the  Opéra national de Bordeaux, the Bregenz Festival the Wigmore Hall, London. In addition to opera his great loves are Lieder and chamber music. He is a regular guest at such prestigious festivals as Heidelberger Frühling, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Weilburger Schlossfestspiele. He has also made numerous CD and radio recordings.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel Simon Bode can be seen as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s «Don Giovanni».

Katarina Bradić was born in Prokuplje, Serbia, and trained as a singer at Novi Sad Music Academy and the Vienna Conservatoire. She first rose to international fame during the 2009/2010 season as a member of the ensemble at der Vlaamse Opera, where her roles included Olga in «Eugene Onegin», Suzuki in «Madame Butterfly» and Medea in Cavalli’s «Giasone». In the summer of 2010 she made her debut as Carmen – now one of her most important roles and one she has performed in Tallinn, Erfurt, at the Komische Oper Berlin and in Oslo. Katarina Bradić is also sought after the world over for the baroque repertoire and has been heard in the title role of Francesco Pistocchi’s «Il Narciso» in Cologne, as Amastre in Handel’s «Xerxes» at the Komische Oper Berlin, the Bergen Festival, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and at Graz Opera. In the summer of 2015 she made her debut as Bradamante in «Alcina» at the Festival in Aix-en-Provence.

In the 2106/2017 season at Theater Basel Katarina Bradić appears as Bradamante in Handel’s «Alcina».

After training as a singer, the tenor Karl-Heinz Brandt was initially engaged by Stadttheater Aachen and the Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen before becoming a company member at Theater Basel in 1998. Guest performances have taken him to the state theatres in Karlsruhe, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Nuremburg and Hanover as well as to the Semperoper Dresden, Komische Oper Berlin and the Opéra de la Bastille in Paris. Karl-Heinz Brandt has worked with directors including Herbert Wernicke, Christoph Nel, Peter Konwitschny, Philipp Stölzl and Calixto Bieito. In Christoph Marthaler’s hit production «Meine faire Dame» he has performed at the Théâtre National de L’Odéon and both the Avignon and Edinburgh Festivals. He is a sought-after concert and oratorio singer who has sung at the Alte Oper Frankfurt with the baroque orchestra «La Stagione Frankfurt» under Michael Schneider, at the Tonhalle in both Zurich and Düsseldorf, at the Philharmonie in both Cologne and Berlin, at the Palais de la Musique in Strasbourg with the Stuttgart Chamber Choir and Baroque Orchestra under Frieder Bernius, in Bamberg both with the Bamberger Symphoniker under Hans Zender and in Mozart’s «Requiem» as a memorial concert for the conductor Sinopoli who died in 2001. At Theater Basel Karl-Heinz Brandt has appeared in productions including: «Don Carlos», «L'Orfeo», «Sekretärinnen», «Lulu», «From the House of the Dead», «Carmina Burana», «Wozzeck» and «Katja Kabanova». He was seen most recently in the world premiere «Anschlag» by Michael Wertmüller (director: Georges Delnon), a co-production with the Lucerne Festival, which was also invited to the MaerzMusik Festival in Berlin.

The soprano Ye Eun Choi was born in Incheon, South Korea, and trained as a singer at the Korean National University of Art. In the summer of 2015 she graduated from the Master’s programme in Opera Singing from the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main. The young soprano made her first stage appearances while still a student in Seoul. She is the winner of numerous singing competitions. In September 2015 she sang the part of Silvia in a production of Haydn’s opera «L´isola disabitata» at the Rheingau Music Festival. Ye Eun Choi is currently undertaking postgraduate studies in Opera Singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main.

The soprano has been a member of Theater Basel’s opera studio OperAvenir since the 2016/2017 season.

The Bolivian bass began training as a singer with Katia Escalera in Bolivia and Charles Roe in Arizona, USA. Since 2012 he has been a student of Marcel Boone at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel. José Coca Loza has completed masterclasses with Silvana Bazzoni Bartoli as part of the Menuhin Festival. He was the winner of the Quest For The Best competition for young singers in Tucson, Arizona in 2011 and won third prize in the Oper Schloss Hallwyl competition in Switzerland in 2014. 

He has already made numerous opera appearances in the USA and Bolivia, with parts including Laeka («Incallajta» by Atiliano Auza Leon), Mr Kofner (Menotti’s «Consul»), Betto (Puccini’s «Gianni Schicchi») and Balthazar (Menotti’s «Amahl and the Night Visitors»). José Coca Loza made his operatic debut in Switzerland in 2013 as Sparafucile in «Rigoletto» in Haldenstein and at the Tonhalle, Zurich. Subsequent roles have included Fauteuil in Ravel’s «L’enfant et les sortilèges» and in Boieldieu’s «La dame blanche». In 2015 he performed with the festival orchestra in the closing concert of the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad and also sang at the Tiroler Festspiele’s Christmas Gala conducted by  Gustav Kuhn.

The British bass-baritone Nicholas Crawley was trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has been an ensemble member of Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Nederlandse Reisopera in Holland, where his roles have included Don Basilio («Il barbiere di Siviglia»), Sleep, Corydon, Winter («Fairy Queen») and Petrus, Bass («St. John Passion»). Nicholas Crawley has made guest appearances at the English National Opera, London, Grange Park Opera and Holland Park Opera. He has performed as a concert soloist at St Martin in the Fields, St John’s Smith Square, Cadogan Hall and the Philharmonie Essen, with engagements including Verdi’s «Requiem», Handel’s «Solomon», Bach’s «Christmas Oratorio» and Mozart’s «Requiem».

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel Nicholas Crawley sings the roles of Masetto in «Don Giovanni» and Parsi Rustomji / Krishna in Philip Glass’ «Satyagraha».

Before training as a singer, Tasmanian-born Bryony Dwyer served for several years with the Royal Australian Navy, appearing during this time as a singer with the Navy Band at military memorial events in many Australian states and in Europe. While studying singing at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music the soprano sung roles including the Governess in Britten’s «The Turn of the Screw» and played the Vixen in Janáček’s «The Cunning Little Vixen» for the Sydney Chamber Opera. Bryony Dwyer also gave regular concerts with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. At home in Tasmania, she has worked with the Tasmanian Chamber Orchestra, singing Belinda in Purcell’s «Dido and Aeneas». On completing her training, the soprano went straight to the Vienna State Opera, first with a scholarship for winning Opera Foundation Australia's «Vienna State Opera Award 2012» and then from the 2013/2014 season as a member of the company. Here Bryony Dwyer could be seen in roles including Giannetta in «L'elisir d'amore», Barbarina in «Le nozze di Figaro», Papagena in «Die Zauberflöte» and Jouvenot in «Adriana Lecouvreur». Bryony Dwyer made her debut at Cologne Opera in 2015 as Ännchen in «Der Freischütz». The soprano became a member of the opera studio OperAvenir at Theater Basel in the 2015/2016 season.

Young Israeli soprano Hila Fahima is an ensemble member at Wiener Staatsoper, where she has appeared as Gilda/«Rigoletto», Princesse Eudoxie/«La Juive», Oscar/ «Un Ballo in Maschera», Pousette/«Manon», Frasquita/«Carmen», Clorinda/«La Cenerentola», Waldvogel/«Siegfried», Sophie/«Werther», Servilia/«La clemenza di Tito», Fiakermilli/«Arabella», Najade and Zerbinetta/ «Ariadne auf Naxos», Nanetta/«Falstaff» and Sidonie in Gluck’s «Armide», conducted by Marc Minkowski.

Recent highlights include a house debut at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse as Blondchen/«Die Entführung aus dem Serail», La Pastourelle/«L'Enfant et les Sortilèges» at Glyndebourne Festival, Poulenc’s Gloria at the Prague Spring Festival, her debut at Oper Graz as Die Königin der Nacht/«Die Zauberflöte», a role she has also performed at the Waldbühne in Berlin, the Deutsche Oper Berli and the Aalto Theater Essen, «Ein junger Hirt» in a concert performance of «Tannhäuser» at the BBC Proms with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, concerts with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in their «Podium der Jungen» series, Amore in «Orfeo et Euridice», Oscar/«Un Ballo in Maschera and Gilda/«Rigoletto», all at The New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv.

The 2017/18 season includes the Faure Requiem with the French Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under Mikko Franck, Handels «Arodiante» on a tour with Les Arts Florissants and a return to Deutsche Opera Berlin as Gilda/«Rigoletto».
 

Holger Falk began his singing career with the Regensburger Domspatzen and subsequently trained as a singer in Würzburg and Milan. In addition to the classical and baroque repertoire, the baritone has specialized in contemporary music. Numerous parts have been composed for him and he has performed world premieres of stage works by Eötvös, Furrer, Aperghis, Wertmüller, Mernier, Srnka, Tarnopolski, Müller-Wieland, Panisello and Schleiermacher as well as a range of classical roles from Monteverdi’s «Orfeo» to Wolfgang Rihm’s major operas. Invitations have taken him to opera houses including the Teatro Real Madrid, the Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Hamburg, Frankfurt Opera, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Theátre des Champs Elysees in Paris, the Theater an der Wien and the National Opera in Warsaw. Holger Falk has also performed Lieder at concert halls throughout Europe. His discography includes recordings of all 115 mélodies for a male voice by Francis Poulenc and the mélodies and chansons of Erik Satie, recordings of songs by Wolfgang Rihm, Hanns Eisler and Josef Matthias Hauer – all released by MDG.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel, Holger Falk appears as Kassandra und Déesse Athena in Xennakis‘ «Oresteia».

The baritone was born in Milan in 1991 and trained as a singer with Gianluca Valenti at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatoire in Milan. In 2014 Riccardo Fassi was awarded the prize as Best Young Singer at the respected Italian singing competition «AsLiCo». The baritone made his operatic debut in the title role of Cimarosa’s opera «L’impresario in Angustie» at the Circolo Filologico, Milan. He has since been heard on wide range of operatic stages across Europe, including as Figaro («Le nozze di Figaro») and Le Bailli («Werther») at the Tenerife Auditorium, as Figaro once again in Bologna, as Count Rodolfo («La Sonnambula») and Samuel («Un ballo in maschera») at the Teatro Jovellanos in Gjion and as Guglielmo («Così fan tutte») in Granada. Riccardo Fassi made his debut at the Opera Lombardia 2014 as Masetto («Don Giovanni»). And in 2015 he made his role debut as Papageno («The Magic Flute») at the Royal Opera House of Muscat. Most recently, in December 2016, the young baritone made his debut at the Vienna State Opera as Pistola («Falstaff»).

The German-Mexican mezzo soprano Maren Favela began her training as a singer at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg and this was subsequently completed at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main. From 2011 to 2013 Maren Favela was a member of Frankfurt Opera’s opera studio where she made repeated solo appearances. Further engagements have led the mezzo sporano to Lucca Opera Festival (Rosina in «Il barbiere di Siviglia»), Opera de Oviedo (Zerlina in «Don Giovanni») and the Théatre de Limoges. In the course of the 2015/16 season she made her debut in Schönberg’s «Moses und Aron» at the Opéra national de Paris, and also with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra as Mercédès in Bizet’s «Carmen».

From the 2016/2017 season, Maren Favela is a regular company member at Theater Basel, appearing in the following roles: Curra («La forza del destino»), Carrie Pipperidge («Carousel»), Zerlina («Don Giovanni») and Kasturbai («Satyagraha»).

The tenor Dmitry Golovnin did not discover singing until the age of 27. He had previously studied the trumpet in his home city of St. Petersburg and been engaged as a trumpeter by  the Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg’s Glink Chapel and the brass section of the Mariinsky Theatre. After studying as a vocalist with S. K. Burejew he moved on to William Workman at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg. Dmitry Golovnin also received further musical inspiration from Franz Grundheber, Elena Obraztsova and Badri Maysuradze. After his first roles at the opera houses of Hamburg and Lübeck, the tenor made his debut in Seville and Lübeck in 2003/2004 in the role of Don José in «Carmen». Dmitry Golovnin has been a company member of the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg since 2007, where he sings roles including Alfredo in «La Traviata», Tsarevich in «Boris Godunov», the Prince in «Rusalka», Cavaradossi in «Tosca», Vaudémont in «Iolanta», Gustavo in «Un ballo in Maschera», Turiddu in «Cavalleria Rusticana» and Pinkerton in «Madame Butterfly». Dmitry Golovnin was nominated for the coveted Golden Mask Award in the category «Best Opera Singer» for Erik in «The Flying Dutchman».
Guest engagements have taken him to stages such as the Komische Oper Berlin, the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and the Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. He has also been seen as Prince Myshkin in the world premiere of «The Idiot» at Nationaltheater Mannheim, the Painter in Olga Neuwirth’s «American Lulu» at the Theater an der Wien, Andrei Khovansky in «Khovanshchina» at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp and as Dante in «Francesca da Rimini» at the Opera La Monnaie in Brussels.

Canadian tenor Nathan Haller trained as a singer at the Juilliard School in New York with Edith Wiens and is the winner of the Novick Career Advancement Grant. His repertoire includes Tamino («Die Zauberflöte») and Albazar («Il Turco in Italia»); and he has been heard recently in both roles in Italy.
In recent years Nathan Haller has worked with several distinguished conductors from the field of ancient music: William Christie («La Resurrezione» by Handel and «Actéon» by Charpentier), Gary Thor Widow («St. Matthew Passion»), Richard Egarr («Hail to St. Cecilia» by Purcell) and Helmuth Rilling («Mass in B-minor»). He has sung in numerous concerts with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Michael Hofstetter. Other concert engagements have included the New York Festival of Song at Carnegie Hall, the Alice Tully Hall and the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Nathan Haller has taken part in the International Meistersinger Academy, where he gave concerts with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester under Paul Hostetter and others.  In the summer of 2014 he sang with Juri Gilbo and the Russian Chamber Philharmonic of St. Petersburg at the Schaffhauser Opera Gala and toured as a solist with Masaaki Suzuki performing Bach cantatas in Boston, New York, Leipzig and London.

The soprano Meike Hartmann was born in Tübingen and graduated from the Music Academies in Cologne and Freiburg with Dorothea Wirtz before taking her stage exam in Stuttgart with Ulrike Sonntag. Further significant impulses were masterclasses by Helmut Deutsch, René Jacobs, Klesie Kelly-Moog, Elisabeth Glauser and Dame Felicity Lott. She is currently continuing her vocal training with Margreet Honig in Amsterdam.

While still a student she took part in numerous opera productions, singing roles which included the First Lady in «The Magic Flute», Alice Ford in «Falstaff», Princesse Laoula in Chabrier’s operetta «L’Étoile» and Giulietta in Bellini’s «I Capuleti e i Montecchi». Initial engagements during her studies took her to the Aachen City Theatre, Constance Chamber Opera, the Théâtre de Vevey and, most recently, Stuttgart State Opera.

Meike Hartmann was a member of the opera studio OperAvenir at Theater Basel during the 2014/2015 season, where her roles included Créuse in Charpentier’s «Médée» alongside Magdalena Kozená. This production was broadcast by MEZZO and CLASSICAL TV. She also sang the Female Chorus in Britten’s «The Rape of Lucretia», 1st Maid in Strauss’ «Daphne» and F3 in Ruzicka’s «Hölderlin». At the opening of the neuestheater.ch/Dornach she sang Zerlina, Despina and Susanna in «Da Ponte in NY – Music by W.A. Mozart». She is currently performing there as Servilia in «La clemenza di Tito».

Meike Hartmann holds a scholarship from the Swiss DOMS Foundation and is a winner of the Carl Seemann Prize Freiburg in the song duet category

Michael Hauenstein grew up in Möriken AG, Switzerland, and began training as a singer in Milan. He made his debut as Tom («Un ballo in maschera») in 2011 at the Pfalztheater Kaiserlautern. Here he also sang Warlaam in the new production of «Boris Godunov» and Sparafucile («Rigoletto»). Guest engagements have also taken him to opera houses in Halle and Innsbruck. He made his first CD in June 2014 with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Sofia, Bulgaria, which included arias from «Faust», «Eugene Onegin», «Don Carlo», «Nabucco» and «Il barbiere di Siviglia».

At Theater Basel Michael Hauenstein sings the role of the Commendatore in Mozart’s «Don Giovanni».

The Australian soprano Kiandra Howarth was born in 1990 and trained at the Griffith University Queensland Conservatory. The winner of several singing competitions, she was a member of Queensland Opera’s Young Artist Programme and Opera Australia’s Young Artist Programme, in the course of which she made concert appearances with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. A course of advanced studies  took the soprano to the Mozarteum in Salzburg, where her stage appearanes included the Contessa («Le nozze di Figaro»), before she was accepted for the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, London. During this period, roles she sang included Flowermaiden  («Parsifal») and Adina and Gianetta («L’elisir d’amore»).

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel, Kiandra Howarth appears as Donna Anna in Mozart’s «Don Giovanni».

Eve-Maud Hubeaux was born in Geneva in 1988. She studied singing at Lausanne Conservatoire and was trained as an opera singer at the «Atelier Scénique». She was subsequently engaged by Lausanne Opera and by the opera studio at the Opéra national du Rhin. Since then the multi-award-winning mezzo soprano has performed at numerous opera houses at home and abroad. She made her debut at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels as the High Priestess in 2015 in the world premiere of Pascal Dusapin’s «Penthesilea», sang Waltraute («Die Walküre») at Frankfurt Opera, Carmen in Klagenfurt and Mary («Der Fliegende Holländer») at Opéra de Lyon. The young mezzo soprano has also made guest performances at the Festival in Aix-en-Provence and the Opéra national de Paris.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel, Eve-Maud Hubeaux appears as Brigitta in Korngold’s «Die tote Stadt».

Paul Hübner studierte Trompete bei Malte Burba und Mike Svoboda in Mainz und Basel. 2009/2010 war er Stipendiat der Internationalen Ensemble Modern Akademie in Frankfurt.

Als Interpret, Komponist, Improvisationsmusiker und Performer widmet er sich in besonderem Masse der Neuen Musik und konzertiert im In- und Ausland, unter anderem bei der Münchner Biennale, den Wittener Tagen für Neue Kammermusik, beim Warschauer Herbst, dem Lucerne Festival, bei Milano Musica, Wien Modern, AchtBrücken Köln oder der musica viva München, solistisch und in den unterschiedlichsten Kammermusik- und Ensembleformationen. Er spielt mit Ensembles wie dem Ensemble Modern, dem Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, der Staatskapelle Weimar, dem oh-ton Ensemble, zinc&copper, Ictus Ensemble und l’art pour l’art, sowie in seinen eigenen Formationen 3® und mam.manufaktur für aktuelle musik. Er war mehrfacher Stipendiat der Lucerne Festival Academy unter der Leitung von Pierre Boulez und zu Gast bei den Klangspuren Schwaz im Rahmen der Ensemble Modern Akademie unter der Leitung von Michael Gielen.

Zu seiner Arbeit gehört auch das intensive Zusammenwirken mit Komponisten seiner Generation zur Realisation neuer Werke für ein umfangreiches (Blechblas-)Instrumentarium und das Erkunden neuer klanglicher Möglichkeiten in eigenen Kompositionen und Improvisationen, wovon zahlreiche Ur- und Erstaufführungen künden. So brachte er unter anderem Werke von Adriana Hölszky, Georges Aperghis, Jagoda Szmytka, Dmitri Kourliandski, Julio Estrada, Peter Ablinger und Michael Maierhof zur Uraufführung. 2016 erscheint in Zusammenarbeit mit Malte Burba ein umfassendes Handbuch zur Erläuterung experimenteller Spieltechniken für Blechblasinstrumente bei Breitkopf & Härtel. Paul Hübner ist Preisträger verschiedener nationaler und internationaler Wettbewerbe – darunter der Internationale Wettbewerb für zeitgenössische Kammermusik in Krakau, der Wettbewerb für die Interpretation zeitgenössischer Musik Karlsruhe, der ensemblia Kompositionspreis, die Stockhausen-Kurse in Kürten – und Stipendiat der Zukunftsinitiative Rheinland-Pfalz. 2013 wurde er in die Bundesauswahl Konzerte Junger Künstler aufgenommen.

The Finnish soprano Helena Juntunen studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In the course of her engagements at the Finnish National Opera Helsinki and numerous guest performances at prestigious opera house around the world (including the Festival in Aix-en-Provence, Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brüssel, Vlaamse Opera, Savonlinna Festival, Semperoper Dresden) she has developed an extensive stage repertoire which embraces parts by Mozart, Rossini, Bizet, Puccini, Strauss, Szymanowski, Korngold, Berg and Weill in addition to the title roles in works by contemporary Finnish composers.

On the concert platform the soprano is a leading interpreter of Finnish vocal symphonies, particularly the works of Jean Sibelius. Her concert performances have included appearances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and the Berlin Philharmonic under Donald Runnicles.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel, Helena Juntunen appears as Marietta/Marie in Korngold’s «Die tote Stadt».

The Swedish mezzo soprano Katarina Karnéus studied at the Trinity College of Music in London and the National Opera Studio. In 1995 she won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and most recently she was awarded the Litteris et Artibus medal by the Swedish Royal Family for her distinguished performances in 2015. She has made guest performances at leading opera houses around the world including the Metropolitan Opera, New York, the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Opéra national de Paris, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Roles Katarina Karnéus has performed in previous seasons include Donna Elvira («Don Giovanni») in London, Brangäne («Tristan und Isolde») in Stuttgart, Fricka («Das Rheingold» and «Die Walküre») in Barcelona and A Woman («Erwartung») in Gothenburg, where she has been a company member since the 2012/13 season. As a concert performer she has appeared with prestigious orchestras including for example the Berlin Philharmonic under Simon Rattle and the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel Katarina Karnéus will appear in the female title role in «Ariane et Barbe-Bleue».

Merve Kazokoğlu, geboren 1982 in Ankara, erhielt im Alter von 6 Jahren ihren ersten Ballett- und Klavierunterricht. 1993 bis 2000 besuchte sie die Klarinettenklasse des Staatskonservatoriums der Universität zu Istanbul. 1997 bis 2002 erhielt sie Privatunterricht in Ankara sowie in Frankreich bei Alain Boeglin, Dozent an der Fakultät für Musik und Darstellende Kunst der Universität Bilkent.

Nach mehreren Bundespreisen im Bundeswettbewerb Jugend musiziert, u.a. 1. Bundespreis und dem Sonderpreis «Herbert Wurlitzer» in Berlin 2000, absolvierte sie 2002 das Abitur an der Deutschen Schule Istanbul und nahm ihr Klarinettenstudium als Stipendiatin des DAAD (2002 bis 2007) an der Hochschule für Musik Detmold in der Klasse von Prof. Hans Dietrich Klaus auf, wo sie 2007 ihr Diplom erwarb. 2009 schloss sie ihr Kammermusikstudium an derselben Hochschule ab und absolvierte 2012 ihr Konzertexamen in der Klasse Prof. Thomas Lindhorst mit Auszeichnung.

Kazokoğlu war 2007/2008 Stipendiatin der Internationalen Ensemble Modern Akademie in Frankfurt am Main, gefördert von der Kunststiftung NRW, 2008 «Junge Solistin» des Staatlichen Sinfonieorchesters Istanbul, 2011 Preisträgerin der Stockhausen-Kurse in Kürten und Stipendiatin an der Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.Wichtige künstlerische Impulse erhielt sie u.a. bei Charles Neidich, Ernesto Molinari, Suzanne Stephens, Jörg Widmann, Martin Spangenberg, Nina Janssen, Auryn Quartett und Sir András Schiff.

Kazokoğlu spielte bei zahlreichen Ur- und Erstaufführungen mit und nahm an diversen Musikfestivals teil, u.a. Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Quantensprünge ZKM Karlsruhe, ManiFeste Paris, Hamburger Klangwerktage, Kasseler Musiktage, Impuls Festival Graz, Darmstädter Ferienkurse und Young Euro Classic Berlin. Ihre Auftritte wurden u.a. vom  WDR, NDR und Deutschlandfunk ausgestrahlt.

Ihr besonderes Interesse gilt dem Komponisten Karlheinz Stockhausen und dem Musiktheater.

In der Spielzeit 2013/2014 übernahm sie die Hauptrolle in der Kinderoper «Der kleine Harlekin» nach Werken von Stockhausen unter der Regie von Carlus Padrissa (La Fura dels Baus). Die Oper wurde  an der Bayerischen Staatsoper in München, am Natalia Sats Musiktheater in Moskau, am Opernhaus Graz und im Dschungel Wien aufgeführt.

Kazokoğlu übernahm die Rolle der Eva in MICHAELs REISE von Karlheinz Stockhausen am Musikfest Berlin im September 2015 an der Seite des Trompeters Marco Blaauw mit dem Ensemble Musikfabrik.

Kazokoğlu wurde 2014 als internationaler Gast zum Sommerkonzert der Landesregierung NRW im Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen eingeladen. Das Konzert wurde gemeinsam mit der Kunststiftung NRW zu ihrem 25. Geburtstag veranstaltet und vom WDR Fernsehen ausgestrahlt.

www.mervekazokoglu.com  

Stefanie Knorr wuchs in Bietigheim-Bissingen bei Stuttgart auf. Die Sopranistin absolvierte zunächst ein Schulmusikstudium an der Musikhochschule Freiburg mit dem Hauptfach Klavier und Gesangsunterricht bei Patricia Argast und Regina Kabis. Zugleich nahm sie ein Mathematikstudium auf Lehramt an der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg auf, welches sie 2015 abschloss.
Derzeit studiert sie Gesang an der Hochschule für Musik Basel bei Marcel Boone und strebt einen Master of Arts in Musikpädagogik an. Meisterkurse bei Margreet Honig, Paul Triepels und Ralf Gothóni begleiten ihr Studium.
Am Theater Basel debütierte Stefanie Knorr in der vergangenen Saison als Prinzessin in der Kinderoper «Der Teufel mit den drei Goldenen Haaren» von Stefan Johannes Hanke.

Finnish coloratura soprano Anu Komsi is an established name both on the operatic stage and in concert halls, with her extensive repertoire from the Renaissance to the Modern Age.  Her successes include the world premiere of John Zorn’s «La Machine de l’Être» at New York City Opera. She has a paerticularly strong artistic relationship with Esa-Pekka Salonen, performing in the world premieres of his works «Floof» and «Wing on wing» and on the CD recordings. Her recording of Jonathan Harvey’s song cycle «White as Jasmine» won the Gramophone Award for 2008 in the contemporary category.  She made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2012 with Morton Feldman’s «Neither». George Benjamin composed one of the two leading roles in his opera «Into the Little Hill» specially for Anu Komsi, who enjoyed considerable success with this work at leading international festivals.  Kaija Saariaho also composed the «Leino songs» for Anu Komsi. Her operatic repertoire embraces more than 40 roles including Ligeti’s «Aventures» and «Nouvelles aventures», the title roles in James Dillon’s «Philomela» and Stravinsky’s «Le Rossignol» as well as Lulu, Nanetta, the Queen of the Night, Michaela, Zerbinetta, Norina, Gilda and Susanna. She has appeared as Olympia in Offenbach’s «Hoffmanns Erzählungen» at the opera houses in Bremen and Frankfurt. She has been heard at the Opéra Bastille and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, New York City Opera, the Finnish National Opera as well as the opera houses in Stuttgart and Frankfurt. Anu Komsi added a new part to her repertoire in 2013 with Lady Sarashina in Peter Eötvös’ opera of the same name. Her concert repertoire includes works such as Berg’s «Der Wein», Debussy’s «Chansons de Jeunesse», Mahler’s 2nd, 4th and 8th Symphonies, György Kurtág’s «Kafka Fragments» and «Chantefleurs et chantefables» by Witold Lutosławski. She has worked as a concert singer with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ensemble Modern. She has worked with conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington, Sakari Oramo, Franz Welser-Möst, Heinz Holliger, Peter Eötvös, Rudolf Barshai and Alan Gilbert. Anu Komsi is the founder and artistic director of the Kokkola Summer Opera Festival. Here she directed Detlev Glanert’s opera «Drei Wasserspiele» and Vivaldi’s «La verità in cimento» in 2012. The festival was awarded Finland’s State Prize for the Arts in 2008 and in the same year it received the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Prize for Culture.

Pavel Kudinov was born in Dimitrovgrad and studied at the Sobinov Conservatory in Saratov, Russia. He made his debut in Western Europe as Ruslan in Glinka’s «Ruslan and Ludmilla» at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. This was followed by engagements as Sarastro («The Magic Flute»), Selim («Il turco in Italia»), Colline («La bohème») at the Volksoper in Vienna, König Heinrich («Lohengrin») at the Festival des Deux Mondes in Spoleto, Alidoro («La Cenerentola»), Escamillo («Carmen») at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and as Sarastro («The Magic Flute») at the Teatro Regio in Turin and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. He has also sung Polonius («Hamlet»), Luther/Crespel («Tales of Hoffmann») at the Theater an der Wien and Bertrand («Iolanta») in Madrid. Pavel Kudinov regularly works with conductors including Christophe Rousset, Paolo Carignani, Christopher Moulds, Marc Minkowski and Pedro Halffter.

In the 2016/2017 at Theater Basel Pavel Kudinov appears as the Marchese di Calatrava in Verdi’s «La forza del destino».

Cathrin Lange wurde in Aachen geboren und studierte Gesang an der Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen bei KS. Prof. Soto Papulkas und Jagna Sokorska-Kwika. Die Sopranistin besuchte zahlreiche Meisterkurse, u.a. bei Brigitte Fassbaender, Norman Shetler, Julie Kaufmann, Klesie Kelly und Ingrid Kremling.
Seit 2009 ist Cathrin Lange Ensemblemitglied am Theater Augsburg. Dort war sie u.a. in folgenden Partien zu erleben: Gilda («Rigoletto»), Olympia («Hoffmanns Erzählungen»), Adina («L'elisir d’amore»), Mélisande («Pelléas et Mélisande»), Musetta («La Bohème»), Gretel («Hänsel und Gretel»), Sandrina («La finta giardiniera»), Susanna («Le nozze di Figaro»), Zerlina («Don Giovanni»), Adele («Die Fledermaus») und Eliza Doolittle («My fair Lady»). In der Spielzeit 2016/17 singt sie in Augsburg u.a. Ilia («Idomeneo»).
Gastengagements führten Sie u.a. an die Staatsoper Stuttgart, das Aalto Theater Essen, die Oper Graz, das Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, das Theater Ulm und das Salzburger Landestheater.
Die Künstlerin widmet sich neben ihrer Theatertätigkeit auch dem Konzert- und Oratoriengesang. So sang sie u.a. «Ein deutsches Requiem» von Johannes Brahms, «Messias» von Georg Friedrich Hänsel, «Lobgesang» von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, «Kaddish» von Leonard Bernstein, das «Requiem» von Gabriel Fauré, «Carmina Burana» von Carl Orff und die «Mass of the Children» von John Rutter.
Im Jahr 2014 ist sie mit dem Bayerischen Kunstförderpreise 2014 in der Sparte Darstellende Kunst ausgezeichnet worden. 2012 erhielt sie den Theaterpreis Augsburg in der Sparte Musiktheater.

Swiss bass Michael Leibundgut first studied choral direction with Hans-Martin Linde at Basel Music Academy and then singing with Yvonne Prinz (Vienna), Margreet Honig (Amsterdam) and Stefan Haselhoff (Basel). He was a member of the international opera studio at Zurich Opera House and subsequently engaged at Theater St. Gallen, where he sang a wide range of classical roles. He completed masterclasses and worskhops with Dennis Heath, Samuel Ramey, Peter Konwitschny, Mikael Eliasen, Christa Ludwig, and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.
Michael Leibundgut is one of the most sought-after specialists for contemporary music, particularly for the works of Karlheinz Stockhausen. He made a successful debut as Lucifer in «Sonntag aus LICHT» at Cologne Opera in 2011, in «Mittwoch» at Birmingham Opera in 2012 and in «Samstag» as part of Musica Viva with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2013. He has also sung «Havona (the 14th hour of Sound)» for the musical triennial Cologne and Capricorn (from Sirius) and «Havona» once again at the Gare du Nord in Basel.
Michael Leibundgut has been a regular guest performer at Teatro La Fenice, most recently in Luigi Nono’s «Intolleranza 1960» under Lothar Zagrosek and as Father Trulove in «The Rake’s Progress». These will be followed in 2015/2016 by the Speaker in «Die Zauberflöte» and the Oracle in «Idomeneo». He made his US debut in 2014 in Enjott Schneider’s world premiere of Robert Schumann’s «Traumreise» at the Symphony Space in New York.
Significant world premieres is his opera career so far include «La Metamorfosi» at the Maggio Musicale Festival in Florence, Gregory Vajda's «Zauberberg» at the Davos Festival, Aureliano Cattaneo’s «La philosophie dans le labyrinthe» at the Munich Biennale and the Vienna Museumsquartier (with the Klangforum Wien), Luca Mosca’s «Signor Goldoni» at Teatro La Fenice and «Wut» by Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini at Theater Erfurt.
Michael Leibundgut has also performed a wide range of contemporary chamber music – most recently Iannis Xenakis’ «Cassandra» with the Collegium Novum Zürich, and numerous programmes of songs by Wolfgang Rihm and Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini (Theater Basel, Gare du Nord, etc.). He has released a CD of songs by 20th century Swiss composers together with the pianist Ute Stoecklin («Hesperos», Guild Music).

The tenor Aquiles Machado was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. After graduating from the Simón Bolivar Conservatoire in Caracas, he was able to continue his studies with the aid of a scholarship to the Queen Sofia College of Music in Madrid. He made his debut in 1996 in Caracas with «L’elisir d’amore» and made his first stage appearance in Europe the same year in «Macbeth» in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Performances at the world’s great opera houses followed, including the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, La Scala Milan, the Berliner Staatsoper, the Vienna State Opera, Zurich Opera House and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. He has been a prize-winner at the Francisco Viñas competition, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and Plácido Domingo’s Operalia and has been presented with an award by the Parma Lyric Association for his interpretations of the great Verdi roles. Recent appearances include Rodolfo («La bohème») in Rome and Santiago de Chile, the title role in «Don Carlos» in Moscow, Don José («Carmen») in St. Petersburg and Mahón, the Duke of Mantua («Rigoletto») in Ancona and Pamplona and Pinkerton («Madama Butterfly») in Vienna and Naples. Future engagements include a matinée concert in Saarbrücken, a gala concert at the Teatro Regio in Parma, Puccini’s «Messa di Gloria» in Bilbao, a tour of Spain singing the Lieder and performances in «Werther» and «La forza del destino».

Valentina Marghinotti was born in Cagliari. She completed her diploma at Cagliari Conservatoire under Elisabetta Scano. The soprano completed her Master of Arts in Musical Performance at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel with Isolde Siebert in June 2015. She has won prizes at numerous singing competitions including the «Quarta Audizione per Giovani Cantanti della Regione Sardegna» competititon in 2011 and the  «7th International Singing Competition for Baroque Music» in 2015. She made her debut in Cagliari in 2012 in Orff’s «Carmina Burana» and as the lead in the opera «Mirra» by Domenico Alaleona, which she also sang in Bergamo. The same year the soprano sang Marie Salome in the oratorio «La Vierge» by Jules Massenet in Muunich. In 2013 she sang the role of Gilda in «Rigoletto» in Cagliari and made her debut in 2015 as Serpina in Pergolesi’s «Serva Padrona» with the Chamber Academy Basel.

Der amerikanische Posaunist Stephen Menotti lebt heute in Basel. Seine besondere Leidenschaft für Neue Musik führte ihn bereits zu zahlreichen Ensembles, darunter die MusikFabrik, das Klangforum Wien, das Ensemble Modern, das Collegium Novum Zürich, das Ensemble Phoenix Basel und das International Contemporary Ensemble. Nach seinem Abschluss am Oberlin Conservatory arbeitete er zunächst freischaffend in New York, bis er in Basel ein Studium bei Mike Svoboda aufnahm. Dort erhielt er den MA in Performance zeitgenössischer Musik. Seit seiner Teilnahme an den Stockhausen-Kursen in Kürten wirkt er regelmässig bei Aufführungen der Werke Stockhausens mit, etwa bei der Uraufführung von «Sonntag aus ‹Licht›», bei der Musica Viva Aufführung von «Samstag aus ‹Licht›» sowie bei der Uraufführung von «Mittwoch aus ‹Licht›» mit der Birmingham Opera Company. Als vielseitiger Darsteller tritt er als Solist, Kammermusiker, Orchestermusiker und im Theater in unterschiedlichen Zusammenhängen auf. Er ist Gründungsmitglied des Eunoia Quintetts, mit dem er viele Kompositionen in Auftrag gegeben und uraufgeführt hat. Als Solist ist er bei Lucerne Festival, Festival d’Autumne Paris, und Warschauer Herbst aufgetreten, unter anderem mit dem Studio MusikFabrik, dem European Workshop for Contemporary Music sowie dem Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra.

Christian Miedl was born in Passau and trained as a singer at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is a regular concert performer at international venues including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Lucerne Festival, Cité de la Musique Paris, Auditorio della RAI Torino, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Mozart-Woche Salzburg and the National Concert Hall Taipei. He has also performed in numerous world premieres including «Der Maler träumt» by Wolfgang Rihm (Zaterdagmatinee), «Jerusalem» by Ennio Morricone (RAI), «Atlantis» by Péter Eötvös (Festival Musica Strasbourg, Lucerne Festival) and «Tree of Codes» by Liza Lim (Cologne Opera). His parts within the classical repertoire include the title roles in «Eugene Onegin» and «Don Giovanni», Guglielmo, Count Almaviva, Papageno, Dandini, Harlequin and Donner. He has enjoyed considerable success with contemporary opera roles including the title role in Viktor Ullmann’s «Der Kaiser von Atlantis» (Bayerische Staatsoper), Il Malaspina in Salvatore Sciarrino’s «Luci mie traditrici» (Frankfurt Opera), Valmont in Luca Francesconi’s «Quartett» (Malmö Opera) and  Hans Werner Henze’s «Prinz von Homburg» (Staatstheater Mainz / Deutschlandfunk). He has also appeared in productions at La Scala Milan, the Hamburgische Staatsoper, the Opéra national de Lyon and Seattle Opera.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel Christian Miedl appears as Billy Bigelow in «Carousel».

Anaïk Morel was born in Lyon and trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in her home city. She has won prizes in the Pierre Bernac Singing Competition in St Jean de Luz (2004), the International Chamber Music Competititon in Lyon (2006) and the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels (2011). As an ensemble member at the Bayerische Staatsoper from 2008 to 2010 she performed in «Carmen» (Mercedes), «Nabucco» (Fenena), «Luisa Miller» (Federica), «Falstaff» (Meg Page), «Hänsel und Gretel» (Hänsel), «Dialogues des Carmélites» (Soeur Mathilde), «Palestrina» (Silla) and «Die schweigsame Frau» (Carlotta). More recently she has appeared at the Opéra national de Lorraine (as Lazuli in Chabrier’s «L’Étoile» and Boulotte in Offenbach’s «Barbe-Bleue»), at the Saarländisches Staatstheater and Staatsoper Stuttgart (as Marguerite in «La damnation de Faust»), at the Staatsoper Berlin and Teatro alla Scala («Die Walküre») and the Opéra national de Lyon (as Mère Marie de l’Incarnation in «Dialogues des Carmélites»). In the summer of 2014 she performed at the Salzburg Festival in the world premiere of «Charlotte Salomon» by Marc-André Dalbavie.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel Anaïk Morel appears as Preziosilla in Verdi’s «La forza del destino».

The bass baritone Andrew Murphy comes from Dublin, where he also trained as a singer. Andrew Murphy has been a company member at Theater Basel since 2001 and was most recently heard in «Così fan tutte» as Don Alfonso (directed by Calixto Bieito).
From 1986 to 1989 he was a member of the Opera Studio at the Bavarian State Opera. During this time he continued his training with Hans Hotter and Sena Jurinac. He was subsequently with the Vienna Chamber Opera from 1989 to 1992 and taught by Austrian baritone Walter Berry. Andrew Murphy returned to Germany in 1992, staying with the Stadttheater Ulm until 1995. He was subsequently engaged as a company member at Staatstheater Saarbrücken from 1995 to 2001, before finally moving to Theater Basel, whose company he has belonged to ever since. His extensive operatic and concert repertoire includes:  Buonfede («Il mondo della luna»), Figaro and Doctor Bartolo («Le nozze di Figaro»), Leporello («Don Giovanni»), Don Magnifico («La Cenerentola»), Doctor Bartolo («Il barbiere di Siviglia»), Mustafa («L’Italiana in Algeri»), Dulcamara («L’elisir d’amore»), Don Pasquale («Don Pasquale»), Schaunard («La Bohème»), Sixtus Beckmesser («Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg»), Golaud («Pelléas et Mélisande»), Méphistophéles («La damnation de Faust»), Don Alfonso («Così fan tutte») and many more.

Finnish-born tenor Jussi Myllys started his international career in 2005, singing Don Ottavio in Turku and at the Komische Oper Berlin.

From 2006-2009 Myllys was a member of the ensemble of Oper Frankfurt performing in productions such as «Die Zauberflöte», «Billy Budd», «Fidelio», «La Finta Giardiniera» and «Don Giovanni». Guest engagements included «Don Giovanni» in Berlin, «Die Zauberflöte» in Dresden, «Der Fliegende Holländer» in Savonlinna, «Salome» in Geneva and «Falstaff» in Helsinki.

In 2009 he joined the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein performing the main roles of the Mozart repertoire and broadening his repertoire towards Verdi and Strauss. In March 2010 he gave his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich in Peter Eötvös‘ «Tragedy of the Devil», returning in the following seasons as Jacquino/«Fidelio» and Tammu in the world premiere of Widmann‘s «Babylon». As a guest he performed at the Opéra Bastille, Frankfurt Opera, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Komische Oper Berlin.

Recent highlights include «Der fliegende Holländer»/Steuermann in Munich, «Zauberflöte» at Teatro Liceu Barcelona, «Eugene Onegin»/Lenski in Helsinki as well as a concertante performance of «Babylon»/Tammu at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

At this year’s festival in Savonlinna, Myllys will be performing as Belmonte/«Die Entführung aus dem Serail» as well as in the world premiere of Sallinen’s «Castle in the Water».  

Projects in the season 2017/18 include the title role in Lucio Silla at Theater Basel as well as other important roles of his «fach» such as Rinuccio/«Gianni Schicchi», Tamino/«Zauberflöte» and Italian Singer/«Der Rosenkavalier» at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. 
 

Sofia Pavone (mezzo-soprano) began studying at the Musikhochschule in Cologne under Mechthild Georg and completed her Master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Frankfurt with Hedwig Fassbender with distinction in July 2014.  She is now taking the postgraduate course there with an examination concert. She has taken masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Helmut Deutsch, Axel Bauni and Ulrich Eisenlohr. She has been awarded a scholarship by the Frankfurter Bachkonzerte and in 2013 received a scholarship from the Richard Wagner Association in Cologne to attend the Bayreuth Festival. Sofia Pavone’s concert repertoire extends from Bach via Rossini to contemporary music. Visiting opera performances took her to the Städtische Bühnen Münster and Theater Aachen at an early stage. Sofia Pavone made her debut as The Curious Old Lady in Prokofiev’s «The Gambler» in January 2013. The same year she appeared as the young Chinese Wu in the German premiere of Peter Maxwell Davies’s opera «Kommilitonen!» at the Stadttheater Giessen, where she was also recently seen as Pierotto in «Linda di Chamounix» by Gaetano Donizetti.  She also sang the role of Zita in Giacomo Puccini’s «Gianni Schicchi» at LAB Frankfurt.

Biagio Pizzuti was born in Palermo in 1987 and studied Singing and Piano at the Conservatorio Musicale di Salerno. The baritone has been part of the «Fabricca» Young Artists Programme at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome. This multi-award-winning young singer was a member of the opera studio at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project. Visiting engagements have taken Biagio Pizzuti to venues including the Theater an der Wien, the Opera di Firenze/Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale in Spoleto and De Nationale Opera Amsterdam.

In the 2106/2017 season at Theater Basel Biagio Pizutti appears as Leporello in Mozarts «Don Giovanni».

British soprano Anna Rajah studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and at the Royal College of Music in London. While still a student the multi-award-winning soprano sang parts which included Drusilla («L’incoronazione di Poppea»), Barbarina («Le nozze di Figaro»), Princess («L’enfant et les sortilèges») and Alceste («Arianna di Creta»). For Ryedale Festival Opera she appeared as Pepik, Owl and the Frog «The Cunning Little Vixen» and as The Queen of the Night («The Magic Flute»). During the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 seasons Anna Rajah was a member of the opera studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper where she performed roles including Käthchen («Werther»), Miss Wordsworth («Albert Herring») and the Schleppträgerin («Elektra»).

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel Anna Rajah will appear as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s «Don Giovanni» and as Mrs. Naidoo in Philip Glass’ «Satyagraha».

Countertenor Max Riebl began his stage career as a boy soprano and has since performed in operas and oratorios with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic and a number of baroque ensembles across Europe and Australia.

As a soloist he has sung at venues such as the Konzerthaus, Kammeroper and Musikverein in Vienna, Angel Place, Sydney and Melbourne’s Recital Center and Hamer Hall. His oratorio and operatic performance repertoire includes Handel’s «Orlando», «Messiah» and «Dixit Dominus», John Blow’s «Venus and Adonis», Purcell’s «Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day», Bach’s «St. John Passion», «St. Matthew Passion», «Magnificat» and «B-minor Mass» as well as a range of solo religious cantatas, Vivaldi’s «Stabat Mater», «Gloria» and «Nisi Dominus», Mozart’s «Requiem», Buxtehude’s «Membra Jesu nostri» and Pergolesi’s «Stabat Mater» and «Salve Regina». 

He has received top prizes in some of Australia’s most prestigious vocal competitions including First Prize in the IFAC Australia Singing Competition, Third Prize in the Herald Sun Aria and First Prize at the Royal Philharmonic Arias in 2016. He is currently working on a performance masters at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland with Professor Gerd Türk.

Rolf Romei studied in Winterthur and Karlsruhe and has won several national and international competitions and prizes for emerging artists. In 1999 he was awarded the Swiss Cultural Prize. An important source of inspiration as a singer were private lessons with Nicolai Gedda. He has been engaged as a lyric tenor in companies at St. Gallen and Augsburg as well as Staatstheater Oldenburg. Guest appeareances have taken him to the opera houses in Stuttgart, Darmstadt, Berne, Aachen, Wuppertal, Würzburg, Düsseldorf, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Edinburgh Festival and the Teatro Real in Madrid.

Rolf Romei has been a company member at Theater Basel since the summer of 2006. Here he has been able to work on the great tenor parts of his metier. He has recently enjoyed great success as the titular hero in «Lohengrin», «Parsifal», «Idomeneo», «Faust» (Gounod and Berlioz) and «Hoffmann», as well as Don José, Lenski and Leukippos in «Daphne». He was also heard as Jimmy/Young Man/ in «American Lulu» by Olga Neuwirth at the Theater an der Wien.

He had previously aroused considerable attention as the Prince in Prokofiev’s «Love of Three Oranges», Sou Chong in «Das Land des Lächelns», the Painter in Berg’s «Lulu», Skuratov in Janáĉek’s «From the House of the Dead», the Prince in Dvorak’s «Rusalka» and the tenor part in the staged version of Britten’s «War Requiem».

Alongside his stage work, he pursues an active concert career. Thanks to his extensive repertoire, he is equally in demand as a performer of contemporary music and as a soloist for great oratorios and chamber music. So he has appeared at the Lucerne Festival in Mozart’s «David de Penitente» and as the Evangelist in Bach’s «St. John Passion», in the Zurich Tonhalle in Britten’s «War Requiem», in the Berlin Philharmonie with Martin’s «Golgotha» and in Lisbon with Dvorak’s «Stabat Mater». Under Helmuth Rilling he has sung in Penderecki’s «Credo», Bach’s «Mass in B-minor» and Haydn’s «Creation» and has also recorded Mozart’ s «Great Mass in C-minor» with Michel Corboz  for Swiss radio.

In the 2015/2016 season he can be heard in the Swiss premiere of «Donnerstag aus LICHT» by Karlheinz Stockhausen and in the role of  Andrey Khovansky in «Khovanshchina» by Modest Mussorgsky – conducted by Kirill Karabits and directed by Vasily Barkhatov.

The soprano Kate Royal was born in London and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio in London. The multi-award-winning soprano has performed with numerous prestigious orchestras and conductors including; the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, the Bach Academy Stuttgart and National Symphony Orchestra (Washington) under Helmut Rilling, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under Alan Gilbert and Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. On the operatic stage Kate Royal has been seen in many roles including; Marschallin («Der Rosenkavalier»), Pamina («The Magic Flute»), Micaela («Carmen»), Donna Elvira («Don Giovanni») and Countess Almaviva («Le nozze di Figaro»). Kate Royal has made guest performances at the Glyndebourne Festival, the Festival in Aix-en-Provence and the Lucerne Festival. She has also appeared at the Royal Opera House, London, the Teatro Real, Madrid, and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Since October 2006 the soprano has been contracted exclusively to EMI Classics, which has released three solo CDs of her work.

In the 2016/2017 season Kate Royal appears in the title role in Handel’s «Alcina».

With his crystal clear and androgynous voice, Valer Sabadus is considered, despite his young age, to be one of the world’s leading countertenors.  He began the 2015/16 season as Emperor Nerone in Claudio Monteverdi’s «L’incoronazione di Poppea» alongside Alex Penda – a magnificent role and theatre debut at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. At the Handel Festival in Karlsruhe in 2016 he also played the title role in the revival of «Teseo», for which he received considerable critical acclaim in 2015.  Tours are currently planned with Concerto Köln, the Accademia Bizantina, a tour of duets and CD recording with the Kammerorchester Basel and Nuria Rial as well as performances with Les Folies Françoises and Philippe Jaroussky. As an exclusive artist to Sony Classical his current CD «Caldara» was released in autumn 2015, on which he is accompanied by the Ensemble Nuovo Aspetto. He won the ECHO Klassik 2015 for his solo CD of arias by C.W. Gluck, «Le belle immagini».

Valer Sabadus rose to international prominence in 2012 for his excellent performance as Semira in Leonardo Vinci’s opera «Artaserse» at the opera houses in Nancy, Lausanne and Cologne, the Theater an der Wien, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Opéra Royal de Versailles and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. This production was also released on CD and DVD and won a series of awards. The same year he won the German Record Critics’ Award for his solo CD «Hasse Reloaded» (OehmsClassics). He also received international acclaim for his role as Menelao in Francesco Cavalli’s rediscovered opera «Elena» at the Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence. In 2013 he gave a brilliant debut in the title role of Handel’s «Xerxes» at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein directed by Stefan Herheim.

 In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel Valer Sabadus appears as Ruggiero in Handel’s «Alcina».

Evgeny Stavinsky was born in Dubna near Moscow. He completed his training as a singer and chorus master in 2003 in Moscow. He subsequently studied at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, where he appeared on stage in numerous roles including the title role in Mozart’s «Don Giovanni», as Lord Sidney in Rossini’s «Il viaggio a Reims», Basilio in «Il barbiere di Siviglia» and Superintendent Budd in Britten’s «Albert Herring». Following his return to Russia, Evgeny Stavinsky made regular appearances as a concert soloist before taking over as Director of the City Symphony Orchestra in Dubna in 2005. In 2006 he joined the company of the Novaya Opera in Moscow. He was a finalist and winner of the Riccardo Zandonai Opera Singers Competition.

In the 2106/2017 season at Theater Basel, Evgeny Stavinsky will appear as Father Guardiano in Verdi’s «La forza del destino».

Soprano Elena Stikhina became known to a wider public when she won 1st Prize at the famous Competizione dell’opera in Linz in 2014. Since then she has been a sought-after soloist on the international opera and concert stage, at venues such as the Brucknerhaus Linz, Beethovenfest Bonn and Tonhalle Zürich. Since 2014 Elena Stikhina has been a resident soloist at the Primorsky State Opera in Vladivostok, where her roles have included Micaëla («Carmen»), Nedda («I Pagliacci») and the title role in «Tosca».

In 2013 she was awarded a scholarship to the International Opera Workshop in Switzerland, where she studied the title role in «Aida» with the director Peter Konwitschny.

During the 2014/2015 season Elena Stikhina made her opera debut in Germany as Tosca at the Gut Immling Opera Festival. The following autumn she could be heard as Micaëla («Carmen») at Landestheater Salzburg. During the 2015/2016 season her guest appearances included Maliella («I gioielli della Madonna» by Wolf-Ferrari) at Theater Freiburg and Tosca at Theater Erfurt.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel Elena Stikhina appears as Leonore di Vargas in Verdi’s «La forza del destino».

The celebrated American singer studied at the Berkshire Music Center, Tanglewood and the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna with Hans Hotter. After her first appearances at the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, she made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 1985 as Elisabeth in «Tannhäuser», and she would go on to have further success there as Elsa, Senta and Sieglinde. In 1989 she made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Chrysothemis, where she has subsequently been seen as the Marschallin, Elettra/Idomeneo, the Kaiserin and Leonore/Fidelio. With over 80 different roles, including Donna Anna, Aida, Marguerite, Agathe, Violetta, the Queen of the Night, Lucia and Desdemona, she has performed at all the leading opera houses in Europe and the USA including the Wiener Staatsoper, La Scala, Milan, Opéra national de Paris, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London, Metropolitan Opera, New York and Opernhaus Zürich. A recent debut was as Getrud in «Hänsel und Gretel» at the Hamburgische Staatsoper in December 2012. Cheryl Studer made her debut as Adelaide in «Arabella», also in Hamburg, in 2014. This was followed in 2015 by Madame de Croissy in a new production at Stadttheater Klagenfurt. Cheryl Studer has also enjyed worldwide success as a concert performer. Her song repertoire contains lyric works by Rossini, Verdi, Schubert, Brahms, Debussy, Mahler, Wagner, Wolf, Schumann, Schönberg, Berg and Strauss. The winner of numerous awards (including the Furtwängler Prize, Prix Maria Callas, Franz Schubert Institute Prize for Lieder) and two-time Grammy winner has over 100 vinyl/CD recordings and video productions to her name.  Cheryl Studer is also active as a director (productions include Strauss’ «Ariadne» and Rossini’s «Il barbiere di Siviglia») and has been Professor of Singing at the University of Music Würzburg since 2003.

Vladislav Sulimsky (baritone), was born in Belarus, studied at the  Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in St. Petersburg and was the winner of the Elena Obraztsova Competition (Moscow, 2006), the International Rimsky-Korsakov Competition (St. Petersburg, 2002) and the Giacomo Lauri-Volpi Competition in Rome (2010). 
He has been a company member at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg since 2004, appearing there in many important roles including the Pastor («Khovanshchina»), Onegin («Eugene Onegin»), Ebn-Hakir («Iolantha»), Kovalev («The Nose»), Rodrigo («Don Carlo»), Silvio («Pagliacci), Aeneas («Dido and Aeneas), Enrico («Lucia di Lammermoor), Giorgio Germont («La traviata»), Renato («Un ballo in maschera»), Ford («Falstaff») and Gianni Schicchi.
Vladislav Sulimsky is a regular guest at international opera houses, for example as Onegin at the Opéra de Paris and the Teatro Real in Madrid and as the Pastor in «Khovanshchina» and Pantalone in «The Love of Three Oranges» at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Further appearances followed in 2010 as a result of a gala concert at the Mariinsky Theatre alongside Natalie Dessay and Anna Netrebko. Sulimsky toured Europe in Tchaikovsky’s «Iolantha» with Anna Netrebko in 2013 and subsequently performed with her in «Il trovatore» at the Mariinsky Theatre under the musical direction of Valery Gergiev.
Future engagements include Rigoletto in Moscow and Marcello («La Bohème») in Helsinki.

American tenor Peter Tantsits studied the violin before training as a singer, graduating from Yale University and Oberlin Conservatory. He made his debut in 2008 under Lorin Maazel 2008 at La Scala, Milan and specializes in modern and contemporary music theatre and the higher tenor parts of Rameau, Mozart, Britten, Ravel, Janacek, Berg, and Strauss. In autumn 2013 he played John Worthing in Gerald Barry’s «The Importance of Being Earnest» in a new production by Antony McDonald on tour in Britain and Ireland; he had previously played the same role in the piece’s European premiere at the Barbican Center in London under Thomas Adès. Further engagements in 2013 included Beauty in «The Triumph of Beauty and Deceit» at the Handel Festival at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, «Carmina Burana» at the Konzerthaus in Vienna and the Swiss premiere of Elena Kats-Chernin’s «The Rage of Life». He sang Ramiro in Rossini’s «La Cenerentola» for the first time in 2013 for the Konzerttheater Berne. During the 2013/2014 season he performed in Bernstein’s «Candide» with the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, sang numerous world premieres with the International Contemporary Ensemble and made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Reinbert de Leeuw in Louis Andriessen’s «De Materie». He has also appeared at the Wiener Festwochen, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, the Beijing International Music Festival, the Holland Festival and New York City Opera. He has worked as a soloist with conductors including Alan Gilbert, Lorin Maazel, Thomas Adès, Pierre-André Valade, Leonard Slatkin, Kristjan Järvi, Leon Botstein and Emmanuelle Haïm and orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic, Tonkünstler Orchester Niederösterreich, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, National Symphony Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker and on several occasions with the New York Philharmonic. He recently sang in the premiere of Ligeti’s «Le Grand Macabre» in New York conducted by Alan Gilbert.

Sebastian Wartig was born in Dresden in 1989. Until 2008 he was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor and studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig. He has won prizes at several prestigious music competitions. In 2012 he made his debut at Leipzig Opera in the part of Marullo in Verdi’s «Rigoletto». From 2013 to 2015 Sebastian Wartig was a member of the young ensemble at Semperoper Dresden, singing roles which including Papageno («The Magic Flute»), Melot («Tristan und Isolde»), Marullo, Harlequin («Ariadne auf Naxos»), Moralès («Carmen») and Schaunard («La Bohème»). He sang the role of Hubert in the world premiere «Die Brüder Löwenherz», making guest appearances in this production at the Lucerne Festival. Since the beginning of the 2015/2016 season the baritone has been a full member of the resident company at the Semperoper Dresden.

In the 2016/2017 season at Theater Basel, Sebastian Wartig appears as Frank/Fritz in Korngold’s «Die tote Stadt».