Jochen Kupfer

Baritone

  • Firmly established in Europe as a singer of unusual depth and deep musicality, German baritone Jochen Kupfer is now also enjoying a growing career in the United States.

    Recently Jochen Kupfer made his role debut as Lindorf/Coppélius/Dapertutto/Dr. Miracle at the Vienna Volksoper in Jacques Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann. Another role debut was his appearance as Wozzeck in a new production of Berg’s opera in a return to Staatstheater Nürnberg. Other recent highlights include Peter in Hänsel und Gretel with Staatsoper Hamburg and Staatstheater Nürnberg;, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde with Oper Graz; Gunther in Götterdämmerung with Staatstheater Nürnberg; Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Indianapolis Symphony under Krysztof Urbanski; Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Staatsheater Nurnberg; Escamillo in Carmen, Gunther in Gotterdammerung and Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde with the Teatro Comunale di Modena and Teatro Comunale di Ferrara; and his debut at the Glynebourne Festival as Beckmesser in Der Meistersinger von Nurnberg. In past seasons with Staatstheater Nurnberg he has sung Germont in La traviata, Marcel in Les Huguenots, Mandryka in Arabella, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde and Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He sang Wolfram in Tannhäuser in new productions in Japan and France, and debuted at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires as the Spirit Messenger in Richard Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten.

    In addition to his long association with Staatstheater Nürnberg, Jochen Kupfer appeared for multiple seasons with Semperoper Dresden, where his roles included the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. He has also appeared with Komische Oper Berlin in the title role in Don Giovanni, Opernhaus Zürich in the title role in Guillaume Tell, Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin) as Olivier in Capriccio, and the Bayerische Staatsoper München as Guglielmo.

    Mr. Kupfer’s concert and recital appearances have taken him to Japan and throughout the United States and Europe, including performances at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center Festival, Salzburger Festspiele, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Rheingau Musik Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Nuits Romantiques in Aix-les-Bains, lle de France Paris, Festival International de Musique et d’Art Lyrique Montreux, the Rossini Festival and the Salzburg Festival. He has performed in concert with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona, Bach Collegium München, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico.

    Jochen Kupfer has sung under such distinguished conductors as René Jacobs, Krzysztof Penderecki, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Mark Soustrot, Hartmut Hähnchen, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Helmuth Rilling, Masaaki Suzuki, Trevor Pinnock, Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Paavo Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Kurt Masur, and Kent Nagano. His multiple recordings include releases of a recording of Schubert’s Winterreise on the MeisterKlang label, a DVD performance as Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Konstabel in Strauss´ Friedenstag for Deutsche Grammophon, a CD of Robert Schumann songs for Channel Classics, and the complete songs of Franz Schreker.

    At the age of nine, Jochen received his first singing lessons in his hometown of Grimma. He subsequently studied with Helga Forner at the Musikhochschule Leipzig, attended master classes with Theo Adam and Elio Battaglia, and later completed his studies with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Harald Stamm, and Dale Fundling.

  • January 12, 2023: Fast forward the seasons at Music for Galway's Midwinter Festival
    - Galway Advertiser

    January 28, 2022: ‘Sonner: Lied Edition, Vol. 2’ Album with Jochen Kupfer is Released
    - Spotify

    June 7, 2021: Jochen Kupfer Performs Title Role in Bartok’s ‘Duke Bluebeard’s Castle’ with the Nuremberg State Theater
    - Nordbayern

  • DANES DELIVER RARE WORKS BY A NATIVE SON
    “Among the vocal soloists, Jochen Kupfer, a baritone, stood out for his hearty voice and abundant character.”
    – Steve Smith, The New York Times

  • Orchestral Repertoire

    Antonín Dvořák
    Requiem
    Stabat Mater

    Alexander Zemlinsky
    Lyrische Symphonie

    Arnold Schönberg
    Pulcinella
    A Survivor from Warsaw

    Benjamin Britten
    War Requiem

    Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
    Johannes-Passion
    Matthäus-Passion
    Magnificat
    Stabat Mater

    Carl Orf
    Carmina burana
    Der Mond

    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Weihnachtsoratorium

    Charles Gounod
    Messe Solennelle de Sainte-Cécile

    Edward Elgar
    The Apostles: Jesus

    Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
    Christus
    Elias
    Paulus
    Die Erste Walpurgisnacht

    Franz Liszt
    Die Legende von der Heiligen Elisabeth

    Frank Martin
    Golgotha: Jesus
    Jedermann-Monologe

    Franz Schubert
    various masses

    Gabriel Fauré
    Requiem

    Georg Friedrich Händel
    Belsazar: Gobrias
    Dixit Dominus
    Judas Maccabäus
    The Messiah
    Samson
    Theodora

    Georg Philipp Telemann
    Donner-Ode
    Macht hoch die Tür
    Moralische Kantaten

    Giuseppe Verdi
    Requiem

    Giacomo Puccini
    Messa di Gloria

    Gioacchino Rossini
    Missa di Ravenna

    Gustav Mahler
    Das klagende Lied
    Des Knaben Wunderhorn
    Kindertotenlieder
    Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
    Symphonie No. 8 - Bariton-Solo
    Rückert-Lieder

    Heinrich Schütz
    Die Sieben Worte Jesu am Kreuze

    Johannes Brahms
    Deutsches Requiem
    Vier ernste Gesänge (orchestra version by D. Glanert)

    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Johannes-Passion: Bass arias/Jesus
    Matthäus-Passion: Bass arias/Jesus
    Magnificat
    Masses: b minor, F major et al.
    Solo cantatas BWV 56, BWV 82 and all common cantatas
    Weihnachtsoratorium: Cantatas 1-6

    Joseph Haydn
    Die Jahreszeiten
    Die Schöpfung
    Masses: Nelson, Pauken, Theresien
    Missa Sancti Nicolai
    Stabat Mater

    Johann David Heinichen
    Masses: No. 9, Nr. 11

    John Rutter
    Mass of the Children

    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Missa Solemnis
    9. Symphonie
    Kantate auf den Tod Kaiser Josephs II (WoO 87)

    Max Reger
    Der Einsiedler op. 144a

    Max Bruch
    Moses: Moses

    Petr Eben
    Anno Domini - Vorübergang des Herrn: Baritone

    Richard Danielpour
    Elegies

    Roel van Oosten
    Mare Liberum

    Robert Schumann
    Der Rose Pilgerfahrt
    Scenes from Goethe's Faust: Faust/Pater Seraphicus/
    Doctor Marianus
    Manfred: Bass

    Richard Strauss
    Deutsche Motette

    Simon Mayr
    Jephte

    Volker Bräutigam
    Markus-Passion: Jesus

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    Requiem
    Vesperae Solennes de Confessore
    Krönungsmesse Missa Brevis
    Messe c-Moll

    ***

    Opera Repertoire

    Anton Rubinstein
    The Demon (The Demon)

    Antonio Salieri
    Prima la musica e poi le parole (Maestro)

    Béla Bartók
    A kékszakállú herceg vára (Duke Bluebeard's Castle) (Duke Bluebeard)

    Benjamin Britten
    A Midsummer Night's Dream (Demetrius)

    Carl Maria von Weber
    Der Freischütz (Ottokar)

    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Die tote Stadt (Fritz, Frank)

    Ferdinand Ries
    Die Räuberbraut (Graf Viterbo)

    Franz Léhar
    Die lustige Witwe (Danilo)

    Franz Schreker
    Der ferne Klang (Der Graf, Rudolf)

    Franz Schubert
    Der Graf von Gleichen (Graf von Gleichen)

    Giorgio Batistelli
    La prova d´orchestra (Direttore)

    Giuseppe Verdi
    Don Carlos (Rodrigo de Posa)
    La Traviata (Giorgio Germont)

    Georges Bizet
    Carmen (Escamillo, Morales)

    Giacomo Meyerbeer
    Les Huguenots (Marcel)

    Giacomo Puccini
    La Bohème (Marcello)
    Gianni Schicchi I     (Marco)
    Turandot     (Ping)

    Gioacchino Rossini
    Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)
    La Cenerentola     (Dandini)
    Guillaume Tell     (Guillaume Tell)

    Henry Purcell
    Dido and Aeneas (Aeneas)

    Jacques Offenbach
    Hoffmanns Erzählungen (Lindorf/Coppélius/ Dr. Miracle/Dapertutto)

    Johann Strauß
    Die Fledermaus (Eisenstein, Dr. Falke)

    Krystof Penderecki
    The Devils of Loudun (Mannoury, Prinz Henri de Condé)

    Kurt Weill
    Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Bill)

    Ludwig van Beethoven
    Fidelio (Pizarro, Don Ferrando)

    Peter Iljitsch Tschaikowsky
    Eugen Onegin (Onegin)

    Ruggiero Leoncavallo
    I Pagliacci (Silvio)

    Richard Strauss
    Arabella (Mandryka)
    Ariadne auf Naxos (Harlekin, Der Musiklehrer)
    Capriccio (Olivier)
    Elektra (Orest)
    Frau ohne Schatten (Geisterbote)
    Friedenstag (    Konstabel)
    Der Rosenkavalier (    Faninal)
    Salome     (Jochanaan)

    Richard Wagner
    Götterdämmerung (Gunther)
    Lohengrin (Heerrufer)
    Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Beckmesser, Kothner)
    Parsifal     (Amfortas )
    Tannhäuser     (Wolfram)
    Tristan und Isolde     (Kurwenal, Melot)

    Udo Zimmerman
    Der Schuhu und die Fliegende Prinzessin (Schuhu)

    Walter Braunfels
    Die Vögel (Wiedehopf)

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    Cosí fan tutte (Guglielmo)
    Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni)
    Le Nozze di Figaro (Graf Almaviva)
    Die Zauberflöte (Papageno)

    *Updated August 2022