Martin Gantner
Hans Sachs (Meistersinger)
From: Freiburg, Germany. LA Opera: Herald in Lohengrin (2001, debut); Music Master in Ariadne auf Naxos (2004); Wolfram in Tannhäuser (2007); soloist in Recovered Voices concert (2007); Hoopoe in The Birds (2009); Count Tamare in The Stigmatized (2010); soloist in James Conlon Gala (2026).
Martin Gantner has earned a reputation as one of the leading dramatic and character baritones of his time, owing to his strong stage personality, outstanding musicality, nuanced and sophisticated diction, and his powerful yet flexible, richly colored voice. His interpretation of the role of Telramund in Wagner’s Lohengrin, which he has sung in Zurich, Salzburg, Bayreuth, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart and most recently at the Vienna State Opera, has set high standards, and has consistently received enthusiastic praise from press and audience alike. His extensive repertoire also includes roles such as Amfortas, Beckmesser, Klingsor, Kurwenal, Wolfram, Gunther, Barak, Faninal, Jochanaan, Musiklehrer, Don Pizarro, Dr. Schön, Gyges in Zemlinsky’s Der König Kandaules, and the title roles in Hindemith’s Cardillac, Krenek’s Der Diktator and Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis.
Martin Gantner’s career has taken him to theaters such as the Bavarian State Opera, where he initially was a member of the ensemble and was subsequently in 2005 honored with the title of Bavarian "Kammersänger" for his outstanding achievements, to the Hamburg, Stuttgart and Berlin State Operas, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Semperoper Dresden, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, the Zurich Opera House, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Opéra National de Paris, La Scala in Milan, Teatro Comunale Bologna, Teatro Regio in Turin, Maggio Musicale Florence, Vienna State Opera, Theater an der Wien, Teatro de la Maestranza Sevilla, Metropolitan Opera New York, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company Toronto and New National Theatre Tokyo, as well as the Salzburg and Bayreuth Festivals.
He has worked with renowned conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Myung Whun Chung, James Conlon, Daniele Gatti, Thomas Guggeis, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Philippe Jordan, Vladimir Jurowski, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Cornelius Meister, Kent Nagano, Gianandrea Noseda, Antonio Pappano, Kirill Petrenko, Mstislav Rostropovich, Donald Runnicles, Peter Schneider, Christian Thielemann, Juraj Valčuha, Lorenzo Viotti, Sebastian Weigle and Simone Young, and with directors such as David Alden, Calixto Bieito, Robert Carsen, Jürgen Flimm, Götz Friedrich, Jan Philipp Gloger, David Hermann, Andreas Homoki, Günter Krämer, Maximilian Schell, Michael Thalheimer, Herbert Wernicke and Jossi Wieler, amongst others.
Martin Gantner’s concert repertoire focuses on works such as Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Kindertotenlieder and Symphony No. 8, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elias and Paulus, Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust, Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony, Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder and Britten’s War Requiem, which was recorded for television and CD under Mstislav Rostropovich. Further TV, radio and CD recordings include Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the RAI in Rome, a TV recording of Haydn’s Paukenmesse with Zubin Mehta, Salome under von Dohnanyi (Decca), Gunther in the operetta Die lustigen Nibelungen (Capriccio), Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte under Bertrand de Billy (Arte Nova Classics), as well as Schumann’s Faust Scenes under Jeffrey Tate. He can also be heard on the CD Best of Bayerische Staatsoper, to which he contributed Wolfram’s aria from Tannhäuser.
Martin Gantner was born in Freiburg and studied vocal performance at the University of Music in Karlsruhe. He lives with his wife in Bruchsal, where he also acts as artistic director of the local Schlossfestspiele.
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