|
The German bass-baritone, Gerd Grochowski [Grochovski], initially studied piano and music education, his vocal training he received at the Musikhochschule with Edith Kertész. With Konrad Junghänel he studied early music performance practice. As a student of Josef Metternich he learned how to embody the big roles of the German heroes.
After graduating, Gerd Grochowski worked from 1986 to 1989 as a member of the Kölner Opernhauses. There followed numerous engagements as a concert and Lieder singer at home and abroad with major orchestras and regular radio and recordings. In 1993, he was a singing teacher at the University of Cologne. Since 2001 he was member of the Bonn Opera - including roles as Kaspar (Freischütz), Holländer, Escamillo - and including guest performances at the Wuppertaler Bühnen (Scarpia), Oper Frankfurt (Captain Balstrode in Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes and Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde). His repertoire also included, inter alia Telramund and Heerrufer (Lohengrin) Klingsor (Parsifal), Pizarro (2002, Bruckner Festival in Linz under Dennis Russell Davies).
In recent years, Gerd Grochowski acquired a well established reputation as one of the top artists in his Fach. Public and critics alike react with great enthusiasm to his warm and powerful voice, his exceptional diction and expressive interpretation. In recent seasons he made his debut with the New York Metropolitan Opera, The Bayrische Opera in Munich, Teatro Real in Madrid as well as Teatro La Scala in Milan.
Most recently, Gerd Grochowski interpreted the roles of Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) at La Scala Milan at the De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, Scarpia (Tosca) and Orest (Elektra) at the Bayrische Opera in Munich, Wanderer (Der Ring des Nibelungen) with the Bruckner Orchestra in Linz, Shiskov (From the House of the Dead) at the Aix-en-Provence and Holland festivals as well as during the Wienerfestwochen, Orest (Elektra) at the De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) and Pizarro (Fidelio) at the Staatsoper Berlin, Doktor Faust (Busoni) at the opera of Stuttgart, Pizarro (Fidelio) at the Opera of Hamburg as well as at Theater an der Wien and Wotan (Rheingold & Walküre) during a special visual production of the Bruckner Orchestra in Linz. Further appearances include Music Master (Ariadne auf Naxos) with the Welsh National Opera and Mondschatten at the Opera of Stuttgart. At the opera of Frankfurt he performed several roles including; Scarpia (Tosca), Der Geisterbote (Frau Ohne Schatten), Amfortas (Parsifal), Captain Balstrode (Peter Grimes), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) and Klingsor (Parsifal). Past seasons appearances include the roles of Jaroslav Prus (Makropulos) and Scarpia (Tosca) at the opera of Stuttgart as well as Der Sprecher (Zauberflöte) at the Glyndebourne Festival. Further roles on his repertoire included: Escamillo (Carmen), Heerrufer and Telramund (Lohengrin), Caspar (Freischütz) and Holländer (Der Fliegende Holländer).
Gerd Grochowski had the pleasure of working with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Carlo Rizzi, Vladimir Jurowski, Sylvain Cambreling, Sebastian Weigle, Steven Sloane, Lothar Zagrosek, Dennis Russell Davies, Pierre Boulez, Ingo Metzmacher and Paulo Carignani.
Future engagements include among others; Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) at the Metropolitan Opera NY and as well as revival at La Scala Milan, Scarpia (Tosca),Telramund (Lohengrin) and Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde) all at the Staatsoper Berlin, Oreste (Elektra) at La Monnaie in Brussels, Gunther (Götterdämmerung) with the festivals of Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Easter Festival, Dr. Schön (Lulu) at the Teatro Real in Madrid…
Gerd Grochowski was also very active on the concert stage and was regularly invited by all major orchestras worldwide. Most recent performances include Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with the Orchestra of La Monnaie in Brussels. His concert repertoire included works such as Verdi’s Requiem, L.v. Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Symphony No. 9, Gustav Mahler’s 8th Symphony as well as J.S. Bach’s Passions and Cantatas. |
