Sebastian Kohlhepp has established himself in recent years on the international opera and concert stages as one of today’s finest German tenors, receiving praise for his “vast colour range” (Opernwelt) and “irresistible, gleaming” (Opera Magazine) voice.

 

Operatic highlights in 2026/27 include his house debut at the Bayreuther Festspiele as David/Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and a return to Staatsoper Berlin for his role debut as Königsssohn in a new production of Humperdinck’s Königskinder under Christian Thielemann. On the concert stage he will perform Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko in Berlin and Salzburg, Beethoven’s Symphony no 9 with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich as well as with the Brucknerorchester Linz, Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium with the Montreal Symphony and works by Mozart and Beethoven with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden. With the Gürzenich Orchester he will perform Act 3 of Parsifal and Mozart’s Requiem. 

Important milestones of recent seasons include his debut at Staatsoper Berlin as Loge in Das Rheingold, Flamand/Capriccio und Manolios/The Greek Passion at Salzburger Festspiele, his return to Opernhaus Zürich as Kavalier in Hindemiths Cardillac, house and role debuts as Narraboth/Salome at La Scala Milan and the title role of Idomeneo at Oper Köln, as well as David at Teatro Real Madrid, at Osterfestspiele Salzburg and at Semperoper Dresden. A sought-after Mozart interpreter, he has appeared at the Wiener Staatsoper as Tamino/Die Zauberflöte and Belmonte/Die Entführung aus dem Serail, at Bayerische Staatsoper Munich as Ferrando/Cosi fan tutte and at Opernhaus Zurich as Don Ottavio/Don Giovanni.

Sebastian Kohlhepp has sung with leading orchestras and ensembles including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, SWR Symphonieorchester, Rundfunksinfonieorchester Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik, RIAS Kammerchor. He has collaborated with conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Fabio Luisi, Vladimir Jurowski, Ivor Bolton, Marc Minkowski, Kent Nagano, Teodor Currentzis, Adam Fischer, Philippe Herreweghe, Manfred Honeck and François-Xavier Roth.