German tenor Sebastian Kohlhepp is one of the most sought-after and versatile singers of his generation. Praised for his ‚irresistible, gleaming voice‘ (Opera Magazine UK) and ‚immense vocal diversity‘ (Opernwelt), he is in high demand on international stages.
He recently celebrated great success with his role debut as Flamand at the Salzburg Festival and in the same role at the Edinburgh Festival in 2024. He has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko in Baden Baden and sang Beethoven‘s ‚Missa solemnis‘ at the Teatro alla Scala Milano, conducted by Fabio Luisi.
In the 2025/26 season, he will make his role and house debut as Loge in ‚Das Rheingold‘ at the Berlin State Opera under the baton of Christian Thielemann. He will also return to the Vienna State Opera as Belmonte and to Zurich Opera House as the Kavalier in Hindemith‘s ‚Cardillac‘.
Born in Limburg an der Lahn, Sebastian Kohlhepp received his first musical education in the local boys‘ choir. After studying with Hedwig Fassbender in Frankfurt am Main, he was ensemble member at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Vienna State Opera and Stuttgart Opera. Since 2017 he is has been working as a freelancer. The most important milestones of recent years were his debut at the Teatro alla Scala Milano (Narraboth), Tamino and Belmonte at Vienna State Opera, Don Ottavio in Zurich, Ferrando in Munich and Amsterdam, his role debut as Idomeneo at the Cologne Opera and David in ‚Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg‘ at the Teatro Real Madrid, the Salzburg Easter Festival and Semperoper Dresden.
For his interpretation of Manolios in Martinu‘s ‚The Greek Passion‘ at the Salzburg Festival in 2023, he was nominated for the Austrian Music Theatre Award in the category ‚Best Singer in a Leading Role‘. Equally in demand in concert, Kohlhepp has sung with leading orchestras and ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, RIAS Chamber Choir, NDR Vocal Ensemble and with conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Karina Canellakis, Teodor Currentzis, Adam Fischer, Pablo Heras-Casado, Philippe Herreweghe, Manfred Honeck, René Jacobs, Václav Luks, Marc Minkowski, Andris Nelsons, Maxime Pascal and Francois-Xavier Roth. Invitations took him to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Vienna Musikverein, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie Paris, Berlin, Cologne and Essen, the Barbican Centre in London, Wiener Konzerthaus, Tonhalle Zurich, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Brucknerhaus Linz, Maison de la Radio in Paris, NOSPR Katowice, Boston Symphony Hall, Shanghai Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Centre, Teatro Colon BuenosAires, the Rheingau and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals, and the Menuhin Festival Gstaad.
Numerous CD, DVD and radio recordings document Sebastian Kohlhepp‘s versatile work. Most recently, his song debut album ‚Von Sagen und Helden‘ received three nominations for the OPUS KLASSIK award 2023