David Steffens © Matthias Baus
David Steffens © Matthias Baus
BARITONE | BASS

David Steffens

Representation: World

BIOGRAPHY

David Steffens received his musical training at the Mozarteum University Salzburg with Prof. Horiana Branisteanu, Josef Wallnig, Eike Gramss and Wolfgang Holzmair. During his studies, he was awarded the coveted Lilli Lehmann Medal of the International Mozarteum Foundation and the Gottlob Frick Medal for excellence, and attended master classes with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ruggero Raimondi, Christa Ludwig, Thomas Hampson, Helmut Deutsch, Rudolf Piernay, Francisco Araiza and Thomas Moser.

David made his stage debut at the Salzburg Landestheater as Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, was subsequently engaged in the International Opera Studio at the Opernhaus Zürich and debuted as Sarastro at the Salzburg Festival as part of its Young Singers Project production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. From 2012 until 2014 David Steffens was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt.

Since the 2015/16 season David Steffens has been a member of the ensemble at the Stuttgart State Opera, where he has since appeared in a wide variety of roles, including the title role of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Oroveso (Norma), Escamillo (Carmen), Heinrich der Vogler (Lohengrin), Fasolt (Das Rheingold), Pimen (Boris Godunov) and Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau (Der Rosenkavalier).

Alongside his ensemble engagements in Stuttgart, David Steffens appears as a regular guest on other opera stages, such as the Salzburg Mozart Week, Berlin State Opera, Dusseldorf’s Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Real in Madrid, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Opéra national de Lyon, Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam and Volksoper Wien.

His further appearances at the Salzburg Festival have included Richard Strauss' Salome, in George Enescu's Œdipe and as Masetto in a new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni staged by Romeo Castellucci. He made his debut at the St. Gallen Festival as Quasimodo in Franz Schmidt's rarely performed opera Notre Dame.

As part of a new tetralogy of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen presented by Stuttgart State Opera and conducted by Cornelius Meister, David Steffen’s recent roles have included Hunding in Die Walküre, Fasolt in Das Rheingold and Fafner in Siegfried. In addition, he made two important house debuts as Sarastro at the Aalto Theatre in Essen and as Ochs auf Lerchenau in Der Rosenkavalier at the Berlin State Opera, further to his role debut as Sarastro at Dresden’s Semperoper. In the current season, David Steffens will make his house debut at the MusikTheater an der Wien as Félix in Donizetti's Les Martyrs, and sing for the first time König Marke in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Opéra de Lille.

Having previously appeared as Pater Profundus in Gustav Mahler's Eighth Symphony with the NDR Radiophilharmonie under Ingo Metzmacher and the Orquesta Nacional de España under David Afkham, the coming season will see David Steffens perform the solo part once again in Tokyo with the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi, before his debut at the Vienna Musikverein for Schubert's Mass in A flat major with the Concentus Musicus Wien under Stefan Gottfried. Furthermore, David Steffens will also make his first appearance at the International Brucknerfest Linz as soloist in Ethel Smyth's Mass in D major.

A sought-after concert singer, David Steffens has so far appeared at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Pierre Boulez Saal, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Herkulessaal Munich, the Festspielhaus St. Pölten and the Forum am Schlosspark in Ludwigsburg, further appearing as a Lied singer at the Schubertiade Hohenems, the International Hugo Wolf Academy Stuttgart and the Vienna Konzerthaus.

David Steffens has performed with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria, the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, working alongside conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Teodor Currentzis, Christoph von Dohnányi, Theodor Guschlbauer, Zubin Mehta, Cornelius Meister, Ingo Metzmacher, Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle and Peter Schneider.

2023 | 2024

www.davidsteffens.com

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.

DISCOGRAPHY

Album Cover

Richard Strauss: Salome
John Daszak, Anna Maria Chiuri, Asmik Grigorian, Gábor Bretz, Julian Prégardien, Avery Amereau, David Steffens et al.
Wiener Philharmoniker
Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst
Director: Romeo Castellucci
Label: Unitel Classics | 2019 

More on www.unitel.de

Album Cover

Giuseppe Verdi: Un Giorno di Regno
Gocha Abuladze, Davide Fersini, Valda Wilson, Elisabeth Jansson, Giuseppe Talamo, David Steffens et al. 
Cappella Aquileia | Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno
Conductor: Marcus Bosch
Live-Recording
Label: Coviello Classics | 2018

More on covielloclassics.de

Album Cover

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Freimaurermusiken
Jan Kobow, Maximilian Kiener, David Steffens
Salzburger Hofmusik
Conductor: Wolfgang Brunner
Label: CPO | 2017

More on www.jpc.de

VIDEOS

CALENDAR

Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Cornelius Meister, conductor
Tiago Rodrigues, staging
taken over by Sophie Bricaire
Fernando Ribeiro, stage
José António Tenente, costumes
Rui Monteiro, light
Simon Hatab, dramaturgy
Stephen Schreiber, musical assistance
Nicolas Chesneau, choir director

Daniel Brenna, Tristan
Annemarie Kremer, Isolde
Marie-Adeline Henry, Brangäne
Alexandre Duhamel, Kurwenal
David Steffens, Roi Marke
David Ireland, Melot
Kaëlig Boché, a shepherd, a sailor
Sofia Dias, Vítor Roriz, choreography dance

Chœur de l’Opéra de Lille
Orchestre National de Lille

FURTHER INFORMATION & TICKETS

Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Daniel Brenna, Tristan
Annemarie Kremer, Isolde
Marie-Adeline Henry, Brangäne
Alexandre Duhamel, Kurwenal
David Steffens, Roi Marke
David Ireland, Melot
Kaëlig Boché, a shepherd, a sailor
Sofia Dias, Vítor Roriz, choreography dance

Cornelius Meister, conductor
Tiago Rodrigues, staging
taken over by Sophie Bricaire
Fernando Ribeiro, stage
José António Tenente, costumes
Rui Monteiro, light
Simon Hatab, dramaturgy
Stephen Schreiber, musical assistance
Nicolas Chesneau, choir director

Chœur de l’Opéra de Lille
Orchestre National de Lille

FURTHER INFORMATION & TICKETS

Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Daniel Brenna, Tristan
Annemarie Kremer, Isolde
Marie-Adeline Henry, Brangäne
Alexandre Duhamel, Kurwenal
David Steffens, Roi Marke
David Ireland, Melot
Kaëlig Boché, a shepherd, a sailor
Sofia Dias, Vítor Roriz, choreograohy dance

Cornelius Meister, conductor
Tiago Rodrigues, staging
taken over by Sophie Bricaire
Fernando Ribeiro, stage
José António Tenente, costumes
Rui Monteiro, light
Simon Hatab, dramaturgy
Stephen Schreiber, musical assistance
Nicolas Chesneau, choir director

Chœur de l’Opéra de Lille
Orchestre National de Lille

FURTHER INFORMATION & TICKETS

Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold

Goran Jurić, Wotan
Paweł Konik, Donner
Michael Porter, Moritz Kallenberg, Froh
Moritz Kallenberg, Loge
Michael Mayes, Alberich
Thomas Cilluffo, Mime
David Steffens, Fasolt
Adam Palka, Fafner
Diana Haller, Fricka
Esther Dierkes, Freia
Stine Marie Fischer, Erda
Josefin Feiler, Woglinde
Florence Losseau, Ida Ränzlöv, Wellgunde
Deborah Saffery, Floßhilde
Janine Riedesel, performer 1
Svetlana Wottschel, Vanessa Sweekhorst, performer 2

Marek Janowski, conductor
Stephan Kimmig, staging
Katja Haß, stage
Anja Rabes, costumes
Bahar Meriҫ, choreography
Rebecca Riedel, video
Gerrit Jurda, light
Miron Hakenbeck, dramaturgy
Staatsorchester Stuttgart

FURTHER INFORMATION & TICKETS

Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold

Goran Jurić, Wotan
Paweł Konik, Donner
Michael Porter, Moritz Kallenberg, Froh
Moritz Kallenberg, Loge
Michael Mayes, Alberich
Thomas Cilluffo, Mime
David Steffens, Fasolt
Adam Palka, Fafner
Diana Haller, Fricka
Esther Dierkes, Freia
Stine Marie Fischer, Erda
Josefin Feiler, Woglinde
Florence Losseau, Ida Ränzlöv, Wellgunde
Deborah Saffery, Floßhilde
Janine Riedesel, performer 1
Svetlana Wottschel, Vanessa Sweekhorst, performer 2

Marek Janowski, conductor
Stephan Kimmig, staging
Katja Haß, stage
Anja Rabes, costumes
Bahar Meriҫ, choreography
Rebecca Riedel, video
Gerrit Jurda, light
Miron Hakenbeck, dramaturgy
Staatsorchester Stuttgart

FURTHER INFORMATION & TICKETS
 

CONTACT

Representation: World

IN FOCUS

DAVID STEFFENS in his debut as King Marke at the Opéra de Lille
13Mar2024
DAVID STEFFENS in his debut as King Marke at the Opéra de Lille

With this new production of Tristan und Isolde from l’Opéra de Lorraine, David Steffens makes both his house and role debut at the Opéra de Lille as King Marke, which sees him add yet another important Wagner role to his repertoire, having already garnered attention in the Stuttgart Ring cycle as Fasolt (Das Rheingold), Fafner (Siegfried) and Hunding (Die Walküre).

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DAVID STEFFENS debuts with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo under Fabio Luisi
16Dec2023
DAVID STEFFENS debuts with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo under Fabio Luisi

David Steffens makes his debut as Pater Profundus in Mahler's Eighth Symphony with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo under the direction of Fabio Luisi.

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DAVID STEFFENS makes his house debut at MusikTheater an der Wien
18Sep2023
DAVID STEFFENS makes his house debut at MusikTheater an der Wien

Performing the role of Félix in Donizetti's rarely performed Les Martyrs, bass David Steffens awaits an eagerly anticipated role and house debut at the MusikTheater an der Wien.

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