René Pape

René Pape is one of the world’s leading singers. He has been a member of the Berlin State Opera since 1988, appearing in a range of bass roles that include Méphistophélès (Faust), Philip II (Don Carlo), Rocco (Fidelio), Gurnemanz (Parsifal), King Heinrich (Lohengrin) and King Marke (Tristan und Isolde). He has also appeared in numerous new productions under the musical direction of Daniel Barenboim, singing not only Mozart’s Figaro, Leporello and Don Giovanni but also Gremin (Eugene Onegin), Boris Godunov and Wotan in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre. He regularly performs in the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls as well as major international festivals, notably the Dresden, Munich and Vienna State Operas, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Paris Opéra and La Scala, Milan.

Georg Solti invited him to Salzburg in 1991, where he made his debut as Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte). Since then he has been heard at the Festival as Rocco, Philip II and Leporello. He first appeared in Bayreuth at Wolfgang Wagner’s invitation in 1994 as Fasolt (Das Rheingold) under James Levine, who immediately invited him to appear at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. His commitments at the Met already extend to 2022 and include roles such as Gurnemanz, Heinrich, Marke, Rocco, Méphistophélès, Philip II and Boris Godunov. René Pape’s other engagements include invitations to appear at leading theatres in the United States, at festivals such as Glyndebourne, Orange, Lucerne, Verbier and Aix-en-Provence as well as St Petersburg’s White Nights Festival and the Arena di Verona. His most recent appearances include Marke in Bayreuth in 2017 and 2018 and King Menes (T.H.A.M.O.S.) at the Salzburg Mozart Week Festival in 2019.

In addition to his operatic commitments, René Pape has a busy schedule as a song recitalist and as a concert soloist performing with major international orchestras under conductors of the eminence of Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Antonio Pappano and Kirill Petrenko. Numerous radio and television broadcasts and CD and DVD releases as well as prestigious awards, including Musical America’s Singer of the Year Award in in 2002, two Grammy Awards, an Opera News Award in 2007 and Met Mastersinger in 2010, complete the picture of this highly versatile singer.