Recital Michael Volle

Michael Volle, after engagements at the opera houses in Mannheim, Bonn, Düsseldorf, and Cologne, was a member of the ensemble at 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 received the German Theater Prize "Der Faust" and in 2023 was awarded an Oper!Award in recognition of his achievements. As a guest artist, he was invited 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 New York Met, as well as to the Salzburg, Bregenz, and Bayreuth Festivals. Michael Volle has made a name for himself especially as a Wagner singer, as well as with Richard Strauss roles and the interpretation of major Italian baritone parts, including Verdi operas. Recently, he appeared in David McVicar’s "Ring" at La Scala, returned in the title role of "Falstaff" at the Berlin State Opera, where he also portrayed Wotan/the Wanderer. As part of the 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival, he will sing two "Ring" cycles as well as Amfortas ("Parsifal") there in 2026. At the Zurich Opera House, he has appeared as Eugene Onegin, Yeletzky ("Pique Dame"), Roland ("Fierrabras"), Sixtus Beckmesser, Hans Sachs ("Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg"), Golaud ("Pelléas et Mélisande"), Wolfram ("Tannhäuser"), the Dutchman, Nabucco, and Boris Godunov, as well as in Schubert’s "Winterreise".

Matthias Schulz, born in 1977 in Bavaria, studied piano at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and economics at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. He has a long-standing relationship with the Salzburg Festival, where he was appointed project manager, concert and media officer, and in 2009 head of concert planning. In this position, he was responsible for co-designing the programs as well as coordinating and interlinking all festival productions. A particular focus was on contemporary music theater. In 2012, Matthias Schulz became Artistic Director and Commercial Managing Director of the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg. In addition to programming the festival and concert series, his responsibilities as CFO and HR director included fundraising, marketing, press relations, and media productions. From 2017 to 2024, he was Artistic Director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. Alongside expanding the core repertoire, including numerous world premieres, Matthias Schulz established successful formats for early music and experimental music theater. He placed strong emphasis on fostering young talent and increased the accessibility of the house through innovative opera formats and by attracting new audiences. He oversaw the transition from Daniel Barenboim to the appointment of Christian Thielemann as General Music Director. Since August 2025, Matthias Schulz has been Artistic Director of the Zurich Opera House. As a pianist, chamber musician, and accompanist, he has collaborated closely with artists such as Elīna Garanča and Michael Volle. He is a board member of various festivals, a jury member of international competitions, and a member of the boards of trustees of the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Liz Mohn Foundation.