Kammersänger

Michael Schade

Celebrated as one of the leading tenors of our time, the German-Canadian Michael Schade is a regular guest at the most important opera houses and concert halls in Europe and North America. He has worked very closely with the Vienna State Opera. He has also appeared as a regular guest at the Metropolitan Opera, the Hamburg State Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, the Bavarian State Opera, La Scala in Milan, the Liceu Barcelona, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Opéra Bastille in Paris and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.

His role debuts as Eisenstein (»Die Fledermaus«) in Toronto and as Florestan (»Fidelio«) under Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Theater an der Wien were acclaimed by audiences and the press. Further highlights were Aschenbach (»Death in Venice«) and Peter Grimes in Hamburg, Max in »Der Freischütz« at the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden and at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, as well as his role debut as Eisenstein in the traditional New Year’s Eve »Fledermaus« at the Vienna State Opera. This was followed by new productions of Strauss’ »Elektra« (Aegisth) at the Canadian Opera Company, as well as Strauss’ »Daphne« (Leukippos) and Erik in »Der fliegende Holländer« at the Hamburg State Opera. Michael Schade was heard as Florestan under the baton of Yannick Nezet-Séguin in Montréal and with Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle Orchestra in a concert performance of »Fidelio«. In 2023, Michael Schade interpreted Herod in a new production of Strauss’ »Salome« at the Canadian Opera Company and made his debut in Melbourne as Flamand in Strauss’ »Capriccio« under the baton of Simone Young, followed by the title role in Mozart’s »Idomeneo« at Opera Australia.

Michael Schade was a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival for many years, appearing in new productions such as Mozart’s »La clemenza di Tito«, Purcell’s »King Arthur«, Mozart’s »Die Zauberflöte«, Haydn’s »Armida«, Cherubini’s »Medée«, von Winter’s »Das Labyrinth« and in the title role of Schubert’s »Fierrabras« as well as on the concert and lieder stage. From 2008‒2010, he was Creative Director of the Young Singers Project, which he initiated.

With his large concert repertoire, which ranges from Bach’s Passions to Mahler’s »Lied von der Erde«, Michael Schade regularly works with conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Iván Fischer, Valery Gergiev, Stefan Gottfried, Daniel Harding, Pablo Heras-Casado, Philippe Jordan, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano, Yannick Nezet-Séguin, Peter Oundjian, Simon Rattle, Christian Thielemann, Robin Ticciati, Franz Welser-Möst and Simone Young. His musical activity was strongly characterised by numerous performances with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. As a lieder singer, the artist has been celebrated at the most important venues, including the Musikverein, Konzerthaus and State Opera in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Verbier Festival, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Grafenegg Festival and La Scala in Milan.

Among the numerous recordings are those with Nikolaus Harnoncourt such as Bach’s »St Matthew Passion« (»Grammy« award), Verdi’s »Messa da Requiem«, Handel’s »Messiah«, Haydn’s »Orlando Paladino«, Mozart’s »Zaide« and »La clemenza di Tito«. Other award-winning recordings include Mahler’s »Lied von der Erde« with the Vienna Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez, Mozart’s »Requiem« with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, Strauss’ »Daphne« conducted by Semyon Bychkov (»Grammy« nomination 2005) and the live recording of a Mozart gala at the Salzburg Festival, as well as Schubert’s »Die schöne Müllerin« with Malcolm Martineau, »Soirée Française« and »Mozart: Arie & Duetti«, Schubert’s »Die schöne Müllerin« with Rudolf Buchbinder (live recording) and the DVDs of »Arabella« (Vienna State Opera), »Das Labyrinth« (Salzburg Festival) and the Vienna Philharmonic’s Summer Night Concert.

In 2007, the artist was awarded the title ‘Österreichischer Kammersänger’. Since 2014, Michael Schade has been the artistic director of the International Baroque Festival at Melk Abbey, which takes place annually at Whitsun. In 2017, he was appointed »Officer to the Order of Canada« (OC). Since 2019, Michael Schade has been a professor of singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts, where, in addition to numerous masterclasses, he is intensively dedicated to the next generation of singers.