Albert Dohmen | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1956-06-17)17 June 1956 Krefeld,North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany |
| Occupation | Operaticbass-baritone |
| Organization | Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden |
| Awards | Bundeswettbewerb Gesang |
Albert Dohmen (born 17 June 1956) is a German operaticbass-baritone[1] who is known internationally for performing leading roles byRichard Wagner andRichard Strauss. He has also worked in concert halls and givenlieder recitals.
Born inKrefeld,[1] Dohmen took part in children's roles inopera performances. From 1970 to 1974 he studiedoboe inEssen. In 1976 he won first prize at theBundeswettbewerb Gesang in Berlin. Dohmen then studied law at theUniversity of Cologne from 1976 to 1982. He received private singing lessons fromsopranoGladys Kuchta. In 1982 he was accepted to the opera studio of theDeutsche Oper am Rhein. In 1986 he moved to theHessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. He has been working as a freelancer since 1991.[2]
His international breakthrough came in 1997 in the title role in Alban Berg'sWozzeck at both theSalzburg Easter Festival and theSalzburg Festival, directed byPeter Stein, both withClaudio Abbado conducting, theBerlin Philharmonic and theVienna Philharmonic respectively.[3] He then sang with conductors such asLorin Maazel,Kurt Masur,Zubin Mehta,Michel Plasson,Georges Prêtre,Giuseppe Sinopoli, andGeorg Solti. Dohmen is regarded as one of the leading interpreters of the role of Wotan in Wagner'sDer Ring des Nibelungen. He sang this role in completeRing cycles at theGrand Théâtre de Genève, theDutch National Opera Amsterdam, theDeutsche Oper Berlin,[4] from 2007 to 2010 under the direction ofChristian Thielemann at theBayreuth Festival,[3] in 2009 withJames Levine at theMetropolitan Opera, in 2011 at theVienna State Opera,[5] in 2012 at theHamburg State Opera, and in 2013 to 2015 at theLiceu in Barcelona.[3][4]
In 2010 he made his role debut as Gurnemanz in Wagner'sParsifal in Geneva. He appeared as Barak inDie Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss, first at theMaggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted byZubin Mehta.[3] Dohmen performed internationally, including theRoyal Opera House Covent Garden,Staatsoper Unter den Linden,Bavarian State Opera in Munich,Teatro Real de Madrid,Opéra Bastille,Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía,la Monnaie in Brussels, andTokyo Bunka Kaikan.[2][3]
Dohmen is regarded as one of the leading interpreters of Sachs in Wagner'sDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He sang this role in Geneva, in 2009 at the Liceu, and in 2011 at theBerliner Philharmonie withMarek Janowski. He expanded his repertoire tobass roles, such as the Commendatore in a new production of Mozart'sDon Giovanni at the Vienna State Opera in 2010,[5] and King Marke in Wagner'sTristan und Isolde in 2011 withChristoph Eschenbach in Paris. In 2012, he appeared as King Heinrich in Wagner'sLohengrin at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Landgrave in Wagner'sTannhäuser at the Berliner Philharmonie with Janowski. Further bass roles were Graf Waldner inArabella by Richard Strauss at theSalzburg Easter Festival 2014 with Thielemann, and subsequently at theSemperoper in Dresden. From 2015, Dohmen appeared as Alberich in theRing at the Bayreuth Festival.[3] In 2017, he appeared as Pogner in theMeistersinger atLa Scala of Milan in a production by theZürich Opera House staged byHarry Kupfer and conducted byDaniele Gatti.[6] He appeared as King Marke inTristan and Isolde at the Liceu, staged byÀlex Ollé.[7] In 2022 Dohmen returned to the Bayreuth Festival as Landgraf (Tannhäuser) and Hagen in a newRing production (Twilight of the Gods). He is the only singer who has sung all the Wotans, all the Alberichs and Hagen at the Bayreuth Festival.[citation needed]
Dohmen has performed in concert at halls including theSuntory Hall in Tokyo,Carnegie Hall in New York City,Musikverein andKonzerthaus in Vienna, and theRoyal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.[2] He has been givinglieder recitals from 2007, with a focus onRomantic music and late romanticism, singing works byFranz Schubert,Robert Schumann,Johannes Brahms,Hans Pfitzner,Richard Strauss,Franz Schreker,Hugo Wolf andArnold Schönberg.[3][4]
