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The German lyric tenor, Sebastian Kohlhepp, was born in Limburg an der Lahn, where he also received his first vocal training at the local boys’ choir. He studied under Hedwig Fassbender at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt/Main.
From 2011 to 2013, Sebastian Kohlhepp was a member of the opera ensemble at Karlsruhe State Theatre, where he covered the roles of Tamino in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Ottavio, Kudrjasch in Katja Kabanova, Basilio, Erster Fremder in Der Vetter aus Dingsda and Helenus/Hylas in Les Troyens, and sang at the International Handel Academy. In 2012, at a Karlsruhe Opera guest performance in Daegu, South Korea, he gave his début rendition of the Helmsman in R. Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer. He switched to the Wiener Staatsoper for the 2013-2014 season, where extended his repertoire with the roles of Jaquino in L.v. Beethoven Fidelio and Froh in Das Rheingold. He sang under renowned conductors, including Adam Fischer, Franz Welser-Möst, Peter Schneider, Jeffrey Tate and Dan Ettinger. A series of further guest performances in Vienna led him to sing at the Theater an der Wien (in Monteverdi's Ulisse directed by Guth/Rousset) and at the Volksoper (the title role in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring, directed by Fassbaender/Priessnitz). He also sang in Richard Strauss' Salome (under Borie/Fisch) at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
Starting with the 2015-2016 season, Sebastian Kohlhepp will be a member of the resident company of Stuttgart Staatsoper, where he already gave his acclaimed debut performance in February 2015 in the role of Lucio Vero in Jommelli's Il Vologeso - Berenice, Queen of Armenia, directed by Wieler/Morabito. The Stuttgart season will see him as Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Ferrando in W.A. Mozart's Così fan tutte and also in a contemporary work: Philippe Boesmans’ Reigen. In the summer of 2015 he guested as Tamino at the Volksoper in Vienna, and covered the same role in December 2015 at Basel Municipal Theatre.
Sebastian Kohlhepp’s singing voice is also in great demand at concerts - his repertoire ranges from the parts of the Evangelist and the solo arias in the Passions of J.S. Bach to great oratorios and masses of the classical and romantic periods.
Sebastian Kohlhepp collaborates on a regular basis with conductors Helmuth Rilling and Hans-Christoph Rademann (Stuttgart Bach Academy), Philippe Herreweghe (Collegium Vocale Gent), René Jacobs (Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, RIAS-Kammerchor), and Andreas Spering. Concert invitations have led him to perform at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Tonhalle in Zürich, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Philharmonie in Berlin, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, deSingel in Antwerp, Concertgebouw in Bruges, Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Rheingau Music Festival and Festival de La Chaise-Dieu.
Under the baton of René Jacobs in Krakow, Berlin and Paris, Sebastian Kohlhepp was recently heard in the role of the Evangelist in J.S. Bach’s Johannes-Passion (BWV 245), which was recorded in the summer of 2015 for Harmonia Mundi with Kohlhepp singing the solo tenor arias. He is also participating in the complete recording of J.S. Bach’s Chorale Cantatas with Christoph Spering and the Musikforum Köln. |
