Stefan Vinke

Biography

Stefan Vinke is one of the most acclaimed heldentenors of our time. Since his debut as Siegfried in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Cologne Opera in 2006, he has performed the role in more than twenty productions on many of the most important stages in the world, including the Bayreuth Festival, Opéra National de Paris, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opera Australia, Carnegie Hall in New York, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valenica, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Opera Hong Kong, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and Opera Philadelphia. One of the few tenors in history to have sung all of the major Wagnerian roles for tenor, from the title role in Rienzi to that in Parsifal, his repertoire also includes such roles as Florestan in Fidelio, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, Menelas in Die Aegyptische Helena, and Paul in Die Tote Stadt.  Vinke began the 2016/2017 season as Siegfried in Opera Australia’s presentation of Der Ring des Nibelungen in Melbourne. He also sings this role in the current season at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Vienna State Opera and returns to Munich as Tristan in Tristan und Isolde. Born in Germany, Stefan Vinke completed his musical studies at the Music Academy of Cologne. From 1999 to 2005, he was an ensemble member of the National Theater, and in 2000 Vinke was named “Best Young Singer of the Year” by the international opera magazine Opernwelt. In Mannheim, his roles included Florestan in Fidelio, the title role in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Don José in Bizet’s Carmen and Hoffmann in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, after which he began to add the heroic Wagnerian tenor roles to his repertoire. Also active on the concert stage, Vinke has performed works ranging from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 to Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Symphony No. 8 and Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder. He has collaborated with many of the leading conductors of our time, including Jeffrey Tate, Simon Rattle, Lothar Zagrosek, Donald Runnicles, Ulf Schirmer, Jun Märkl, Leopold Hager, Michael Gielen, Ádám Fischer, Markus Stenz, Dennis Russell Davies and many others.
Photo: C. Moses