The Austrian bass, Reinhard Mayr, began his vocal training at the Anton-Bruckner-Konservatorium in Linz. After a master-class with Kurt Widmer, he joined the class at the Musikakademie Basel. He then studied Lieder and oratorio at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna with Robert Holl.
During his studies in Basel, Reinhard Mayr sang the Speaker in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro Comunale in Florence under Simone Young, debuted as Alidoro in La Cenerentola under Gabriele Ferro at the Volksoper in Vienna, and was engaged at this opera house via four seasons as a member of the ensemble. He sang there, inter alia, Sarastro, Masetto, Colline and Varlaam 1998 and in 1998 made his debut at the Wiener Staatsoper.
In season 2001-2002 season, Reinhard Mayr joined the ensemble of the Opernhauses Zürich. He has sung there over 50 roles, including Antinous in Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Tiridate in George Frideric Handel’s Radamisto under William Christie, as well as Masetto, Geisterbote in Die Frau ohne Schatten and Frank in Die Fledermaus, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. In summer 2012 he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival as Obrist in Soldaten by B.A. Zimmermann.
Outside the opera, Reinhard Mayr is dedicated to Lieder and concert singing with a special preference for church music as well as Lieder by Franz Schubert. In addition to regular recitals, he is a frequent guest of many Baroque ensembles. So he sang with L'Orfeo Barockorchester under Michi Gaigg Haydn’s opera Die wüste Insel and Georg Philipp Telemann’s Orpheus
In recent years Reinhard Mayr has performed in many concert halls, including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Royal Albert Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Tonhalle Zürich and appeared at the Styriarte, where he has sung under Franz Welser-Möst, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Roger Norrington, Bertrand de Billy, Dennis Russell Davies and Thomas Hengelbrock, among others. |