Das Rheingold

Michael Volle, after engagements at the opera houses in Mannheim, Bonn, Düsseldorf and Cologne, was a member of the ensemble of the Zurich Opera House and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In 2008 and 2023, the magazine Opernwelt named him "Singer of the Year"; in 2009 he was awarded the German Theatre Prize "Der Faust", and in 2023 he received an Oper!Award in recognition of his achievements. As a guest artist, he received invitations to the state operas in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna, to the Semperoper Dresden, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Opéra de Paris, the Royal Opera London, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Liceu in Barcelona, La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as well as to the Salzburg, Bregenz and Bayreuth Festivals. Michael Volle has made a name for himself particularly as a Wagner singer, as well as with the roles of Richard Strauss and the interpretation of the great Italian baritone roles, including the operas of Verdi. More recently, he appeared in David McVicar’s "Ring" at La Scala in Milan, and returned in the title role of "Falstaff" at the Berlin State Opera, where he also performed Wotan/The Wanderer. As part of the 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival, he will sing two "Ring" cycles there in 2026 as well as Amfortas ("Parsifal"). At the Zurich Opera House, he has been heard, among others, as Eugene Onegin, Yeletsky ("The Queen of Spades"), Roland ("Fierrabras"), Sixtus Beckmesser, Hans Sachs ("The Mastersingers of Nuremberg"), Golaud ("Pelléas et Mélisande"), Wolfram ("Tannhäuser"), the Dutchman, Nabucco and Boris Godunov, and in the 2026/27 season he will sing Wotan/The Wanderer in "The Ring of the Nibelung" in Zurich as well as on tour in Paris and New York.

Daniel Schmutzhard began his vocal training at the Tyrolean State Conservatory in Innsbruck while still at school and later continued his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. From 2005 to 2011, he was engaged at the Vienna Volksoper, and from 2011 to 2018 at Oper Frankfurt. There, he sang the major roles in his repertoire, including Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva ("Le nozze di Figaro"), Guglielmo ("Così fan tutte"), Papageno ("Die Zauberflöte"), Figaro ("Il barbiere di Siviglia"), Marcello ("La bohème"), the Herald ("Lohengrin"), Wolfram ("Tannhäuser"), Albert ("Werther"), Escamillo ("Carmen"), Ford ("Falstaff"), Rodrigo ("Don Carlo"), Eugene Onegin and Nathanael ("Der Sandmann"), among others. At the Theater an der Wien, he took on the role of Corpo in the new production of "Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo" in the 2021/22 season. With Concerto Köln under Kent Nagano, he made his debut as Alberich in concert performances of Wagner’s "Rheingold", and at the Komische Oper Berlin in the title role of Weinberger’s "Schwanda, der Dudelsackpfeifer" in a new production directed by Andreas Homoki. Following his debut at the Zurich Opera House as Gunther in "Götterdämmerung", he will take on the role of Donner in "Das Rheingold" in the 2026/27 season. In addition to his extensive opera work, he has also established himself as a concert singer and has performed at venues including the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Cologne Philharmonie, the Philharmonie de Paris and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as well as at the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festival.

Johan Krogius began his musical training in the boys’ choir of the Cantores Minores Cathedral Choir in Helsinki. He later studied in Helsinki and Stockholm, won the Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition in 2021 and was awarded first prize at the Helsinki Lied Competition in the same year. In opera, he has sung roles including Jaquino ("Fidelio") and Pong ("Turandot") in Helsinki, First Man and Juhana in "The Last Temptations" at the Jyväskylä Opera, Don Ottavio ("Don Giovanni") at the Finnish National Opera, Kuska ("Chowanschtschina") with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen in Helsinki and Stockholm, as well as Tamino ("Die Zauberflöte") at the Tampere Opera and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, where he was also heard as Don Ottavio and Ismaele ("Nabucco") in 2024 and as Macduff ("Macbeth") in 2025. From 2022 to 2024, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at Staatsoper Berlin. There, he performed, among others, Leukippos (Strauss’ "Daphne"), Tamino, First Armoured Man and First Priest ("Die Zauberflöte"), Innkeeper and Faninal’s Major-Domo ("Der Rosenkavalier"), Trojan ("Idomeneo"), Parpignol ("La bohème") and Borsa ("Rigoletto"). On the concert platform, he has appeared with, among others, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, the Tapiola Sinfonietta and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 2024 made his debut at the Berlin Philharmonie with Mozart’s "Requiem". Since the 2025/26 season, he has been a member of the ensemble at Zurich Opera House, where he has appeared, among other roles, in "Der Rosenkavalier", "Tosca" and "Carmen", and in the 2026/27 season performs in "Tannhäuser", "Die Fledermaus", "Das Rheingold", "La fanciulla del west" and "Die Zauberflöte".

Matthias Klink was a member of the ensemble at the Städtische Bühnen Köln from 1996 to 1998 and at the Stuttgart State Opera from 2006 to 2010. Guest engagements have taken him to Hamburg, Dresden and Frankfurt, to Berlin’s three major opera houses and to La Scala in Milan, among other venues. Since his Salzburg debut in 1999 in the world premiere of Berio’s "Cronaca del luogo", Matthias Klink has been a regular guest there. In 2010, he sang A Guest/Apollon in the world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s "Dionysos". He has appeared as Tamino ("Die Zauberflöte") at the Vienna State Opera, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Salzburg Festival, Aix-en-Provence, Ruhrtriennale and Metropolitan Opera, among other venues. His repertoire also includes roles such as Don José, Alfredo ("La traviata"), Tom Rakewell ("The Rake’s Progress") and Hoffmann. In the 2014/15 season, Matthias Klink rejoined the ensemble of the Stuttgart State Opera. In 2017, he was named Singer of the Year by Opernwelt magazine for his acting and vocal performance as Gustav von Aschenbach in "Der Tod in Venedig", and in 2018 he received the German Theatre Award DER FAUST. At the Zurich Opera House, he has sung Loge in "Das Rheingold" and will return to this role in the 2026/27 season. Alongside his opera engagements, Matthias Klink also regularly performs in concerts and recitals. His appearances have taken him to Avery Fisher Hall in New York, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Cologne Philharmonic, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Salzburg Easter Festival, Musikverein Vienna and Liederhalle Stuttgart, among other venues. In 2018, he was awarded the honorary title of Kammersänger in Stuttgart.

Claudia Mahnke studied singing at the University of Music in Dresden. From 1996 to 2006, she was a member of the ensemble at the Stuttgart State Opera, where she performed, among other roles, the title role in Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s "Simplicius Simplicissimus". In 2013, she made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Fricka, Waltraute and Second Norn in a new "Ring" cycle conducted by Kirill Petrenko. Since the 2006/07 season, she has been a member of the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt. Her roles there include Herodias in "Salome", the Foreign Princess in "Rusalka", Marie in "Wozzeck", Sélika in Meyerbeer’s "L’Africaine", Charlotte in "Werther", Lucretia in "The Rape of Lucretia", Dido in "Les Troyens", Concepción in "L’Heure espagnole", Judith in "Herzog Blaubarts Burg" and Marguerite in "La Damnation de Faust". Recent highlights include her role debuts as Countess Geschwitz in "Lulu" and as Giselle in Magnard’s "Guercœur" at Oper Frankfurt; her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Magdalene in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" under Antonio Pappano; Herodias at the Vienna State Opera and Hamburg State Opera; Fricka at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden; and her debuts as Amneris in "Aida" and Mère Marie in "Dialogues des Carmélites". She holds the honorary titles of Kammersängerin awarded by the Stuttgart State Opera and the City of Frankfurt. In the 2026/27 season, she returns to the Zurich Opera House as Fricka in Wagner’s "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre", and will also appear at Oper Frankfurt in the spring. In addition, she will sing Gertrud in "Hänsel und Gretel" and Agnese di Cervia in Respighi’s "La fiamma" in Frankfurt, as well as Waltraute in "Götterdämmerung" at the Bavarian State Opera.

Australian soprano Kiandra Howarth studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Griffith University and the Mozarteum University Salzburg. She was a member of the Young Artist Program of Opera Australia, the Salzburg Festival Young Singers Project and the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House in London. Since then, she has performed the major roles in her repertoire at numerous international opera houses and festivals. Highlights include Donna Anna ("Don Giovanni") in Basel, Luxembourg, Guangzhou and Nancy; Pamina and First Lady ("Die Zauberflöte") at the Bavarian State Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Royal Opera House; Dorotka ("Schwanda, der Dudelsackpfeifer") at the Komische Oper Berlin; Freia ("Das Rheingold") at the Zurich Opera House and Royal Opera House; and appearances in "7 Deaths of Maria Callas" at the Bavarian State Opera. Since 2021, she has been a permanent member of the ensemble at Staatsoper Hannover. Most recently, she made her role debuts as Arabella at Bühnen Bern and as the Marschallin in "Der Rosenkavalier" at Staatsoper Hannover. In 2025, she also made her debut in the title role of Puccini’s "Manon Lescaut" in Bern and stepped in as the Marschallin at the Zurich Opera House. In 2026, she made her role debuts as Liù ("Turandot") and Marietta ("Die tote Stadt") in Hanover. In the 2026/27 season, she returns to the Zurich Opera House as Freia in "Das Rheingold", to the Komische Oper Berlin and Staatsoper Hannover, and makes her house debut as the Marschallin at the New National Theatre Tokyo.

Noa Beinart was born in Tel Aviv and was a member of the ensemble at the Vienna State Opera from 2020 to 2023. There, she appeared as Erda in all performances of the "Ring" cycle, Gaea in "Daphne", Maddalena in "Rigoletto", Third Lady in "Die Zauberflöte", Annina in "Der Rosenkavalier", Mary in "Der fliegende Holländer", Auntie in "Peter Grimes" and Suzuki in "Madama Butterfly". Prior to this, she was a member of the opera studio at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and graduated from the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. She made her debut at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden as First Norn in "Götterdämmerung". Her other Wagner roles include Grimgerde ("Die Walküre") at the Opéra national de Paris and Schwertleite, also in "Die Walküre", at the Zurich Opera House. In the summer of 2021, she made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Second Maid in "Elektra" under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst, returning the following summer as Third Lady in a new production of "Die Zauberflöte". In 2024, she made her debut as First Maid in Christof Loy’s new production of "Elektra" at the Royal Opera House and as First Norn at the Bayreuth Festival. She has also appeared with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Erda in a concert performance of "Das Rheingold", as well as at the Vienna State Opera. This role brings her back to the Zurich Opera House in the 2026/27 season.

Christopher Purves began his musical career as a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and later became a member of the experimental rock band Harvey and the Wallbangers before turning to opera singing. His roles have included Balstrode in "Peter Grimes" at the Bavarian State Opera, Teatro alla Scala and Teatro Real in Madrid; Alberich in Wagner’s "Der Ring des Nibelungen" at the Zurich Opera House, Houston Grand Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Canadian Opera Company and Royal Opera House; Nick Shadow in "The Rake’s Progress" at the Teatro Colón; the title role in Handel’s "Saul" at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Glyndebourne, Houston Grand Opera, Adelaide Festival and Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen; and the Forester in Janáček’s "The Cunning Little Vixen" at the Canadian Opera Company. Closely associated with contemporary repertoire, he has created roles in numerous world premieres. These include Walt Disney in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s "The Perfect American", Protector in George Benjamin’s "Written on Skin" at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and the Royal Opera House, as well as roles in works by Sir James MacMillan, including "The Sacrifice", "Ines de Castro" and "Parthenogenesis". On the concert platform, he has appeared in Elgar’s "The Kingdom" at the BBC Proms and in Handel’s "Messiah" on a European tour with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée, among others. In the 2026/27 season, he returns to the Zurich Opera House as Alberich in Wagner’s "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre". He will also accompany the ensemble on guest performances of the "Ring" cycle at the Philharmonie de Paris and Carnegie Hall in New York. He made his role debut as Scarpia in Puccini’s "Tosca" at English National Opera.

Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke studied at the Vienna University of Music with Kurt Equiluz and Gerhard Kahry. In 1997, he made his debut at the Opéra national de Paris, where he appeared as Monostatos in "Die Zauberflöte", Capito in "Mathis der Maler" and Mime in "Der Ring des Nibelungen", among other roles. He has also sung the latter role at the Bavarian State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Vienna State Opera, La Scala in Milan, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Real, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Canadian Opera Company and De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam. He has appeared at the Bregenz Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Festival, where he performed as Pirzel in Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s "Die Soldaten". In 1999, he made his debut at the Glyndebourne Festival, where he has since returned regularly. Further milestones include his debut at the Met in New York in 2013 as Valzacchi in "Der Rosenkavalier" and at the Royal Opera House in London in 2016 as Ivan in Shostakovich’s "The Nose".Recent roles include the title role in Offenbach’s "Bluebeard" and Pluto in "Orpheus in the Underworld" at the Komische Oper Berlin; Aegisth in "Elektra" and Herod in "Salome" at the Vienna State Opera; Wenzel in "Die verkaufte Braut", Franz I in Ernst Krenek’s "Karl V." and Baron de Laubardemont in Penderecki’s "The Devils of Loudun" at the Bavarian State Opera; the Shabby Man in "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" at the Opéra Bastille; the Captain in "Wozzeck"; Mime in "Das Rheingold" and Herod at the Zurich Opera House; Monostatos and Valzacchi in Munich; the Captain in Toulouse; and Luigi Dallapiccola’s "Il prigioniero" at the Berlin Philharmonie. In 2021, he was awarded the honorary title of Bavarian Kammersänger, and in 2022 he received the French distinction Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. He has also been awarded the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art. In the 2026/27 season, he will sing Mime in "Siegfried" in Rome and in "Das Rheingold" in Zurich, as well as Herod in "Salome" at the Vienna Volksoper.

German bass David Steffens studied singing with Horiana Branisteanu and Wolfgang Holzmair at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. He gained his first stage experience as Bartolo in Mozart’s "Le nozze di Figaro" at the Salzburg State Theatre. He subsequently joined the International Opera Studio of the Zurich Opera House and was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt. Since the 2015/16 season, David Steffens has been a member of the ensemble at the Stuttgart State Opera. His major roles include Sarastro in "Die Zauberflöte", Fasolt in "Das Rheingold", Hunding in "Die Walküre", Fafner in "Siegfried", Gurnemanz in "Parsifal", Veit Pogner in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" and Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau in "Der Rosenkavalier". Guest engagements have taken him to the Berlin State Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Real Madrid, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Opéra National de Lyon and De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam, among other venues. His most recent role debuts include King Marke in Wagner’s "Tristan und Isolde" at the Opéra de Lille, Félix in Donizetti’s "Les Martyrs" at the MusikTheater an der Wien and Wotan in Wagner’s "Das Rheingold" at the Staatstheater Meiningen. He has appeared as Osmin in Mozart’s "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" at the Berlin State Opera and made his house debut at the Vienna State Opera in October 2026. In the 2026/27 season, he makes his debut at the Zurich Opera House as Fasolt in Wagner’s "Das Rheingold" and takes on the role of Hans Sachs in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" for the first time at the Stuttgart State Opera.

Brent Michael Smith is from the USA. He studied voice at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and the University of Northern Iowa, as well as piano at Hope College in Michigan. He won second prize at the Giargiari Belcanto Competition in 2018, third prize at the Concorso Lirico da Portofino in 2021 and was a finalist in the Queen Sonja International Music Competition in 2020. In the USA, he has sung, among other roles, Friedrich Bhaer ("Little Women"), Colline ("La bohème") and Ashby ("La fanciulla del West") at Detroit Opera, Ariodante ("Xerxes") at the Glimmerglass Festival, as well as Celio (Prokofiev’s "Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen") and Peter Quince ("A Midsummer Night’s Dream") at Opera Philadelphia. He has also appeared at the Santa Fe Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels and the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, among others. In 2025, he sang Frère Laurent ("Roméo et Juliette") at the Semperoper Dresden. In 2020/21, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at Zurich Opera House. Since then, he has been a member of the ensemble and has appeared here, among other roles, as Sparafucile ("Rigoletto"), Raimondo ("Lucia di Lammermoor"), Prince Gremin ("Eugen Onegin"), Frère Laurent ("Roméo et Juliette"), Fafner ("Das Rheingold") and Angelotti ("Tosca"), the Attendant to Orest ("Elektra") and Jake Wallace ("La fanciulla del West").

Norwegian-Nicaraguan soprano Victoria Randem studied singing at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo. While still a student, she gained stage experience in roles such as Susanna in "Le nozze di Figaro", Drusilla in "L’incoronazione di Poppea" and Gretel in "Hänsel und Gretel". From the 2021/22 season to 2023/24, she was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where she appeared as Pamina in "Die Zauberflöte", Ilia in "Idomeneo", Ännchen in "Der Freischütz", Marzelline in "Fidelio" and the Woodbird in "Siegfried". She achieved her international breakthrough in 2021 as Alida in Peter Eötvös’ "Sleepless" at the Staatsoper Berlin and the Grand Théâtre de Genève. Guest engagements have taken her to the Semperoper Dresden, Bavarian State Opera, Vienna Volksoper and Norwegian National Opera, as well as to the Glyndebourne Festival, Bayreuth Festival and Tyrolean Festival. Victoria Randem has worked with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann and Simone Young. Her awards include the Ingrid Bjoner Prize 2023, the Kirsten Flagstad Prize 2025, the Hedda Award 2025 and the Norwegian Soloist Prize 2025. In August 2026, she appeared once again at the Bayreuth Festival. At the Zurich Opera House, she sings Woglinde in Wagner’s "Das Rheingold".

The Brazilian mezzo-soprano Marcela Rahal received her vocal training in São Paulo and Leipzig. She gained her first significant stage experience at the Theatro São Pedro in São Paulo, where she appeared as Angelina in Rossini's "La Cenerentola". She has been a member of the ensemble at Lucerne Theatre since the 2021/22 season. Her repertoire includes roles such as Hänsel in Humperdinck's "Hänsel und Gretel", Dido in Purcell's "Dido und Aeneas", Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss' "Die Fledermaus" and Romeo in Bellini's "I Capuleti e i Montecchi". She has also made guest appearances at Opera Bern, the Ópera Nacional de Chile and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, among others. Marcela Rahal has won prizes at various competitions, including the Concurso Tenor Viñas 2024 (First Prize), the Albert Lortzing Lions Club Singing Competition 2020, the Linus Lener Competition, the Bauru Atanta Competition, Jovens Solistas OSESP and the Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition. In the 2026/27 season, Marcela Rahal appears at Zurich Opera House as the Queen of Hearts in "Alice im Wunderland", as Wellgunde in Wagner's "Das Rheingold" and as Un musico in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut".

Siena Licht Miller, a German-American mezzo-soprano, studied voice at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She completed her training with courses at Opera Philadelphia, the Santa Fe Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis and the Aspen Music Festival. She is a recipient of a Bagby Foundation scholarship and a prizewinner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Marilyn Horne Rubin Foundation and the Gerda Lissner Foundation. Highlights of her career to date include her role debuts as Hermia in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream", Second Lady in "Die Zauberflöte" and one of the two solo roles in the world premiere of Philip Venables’ "Denis and Katya" at Opera Philadelphia. At the Aspen Opera Center, she sang the title role in Ravel’s "L’Enfant et les sortilèges" under the direction of Robert Spano. She also regularly devotes herself to song recitals. She sang in the "The Song Continues" series at Carnegie Hall in honour of her mentor Marilyn Horne and went on a tour of the USA with a recital alongside pianist Kevin Murphy. From the 2020/21 season, she was associated with the Zurich Opera House, first as a member of the International Opera Studio and, since 2022/23, as a member of the ensemble of Zurich Opera House, where she most recently appeared in "La scala di seta", "Hänsel und Gretel" and "La clemenza di Tito", among others. In 2026/27, she will appear as Prince Orlofsky in "Die Fledermaus", Flora Bervoix in "La traviata", Rossweisse in "Die Walküre" and Flosshilde in "Das Rheingold" and "Götterdämmerung".