"Thomas Ebenstein's mime stands out in this [...] production, because the tenor brings vigour to the stage - with charm and enthusiasm, he plays the dwarf who, blinded by a thirst for power and envy, wants to lure his foster son into disaster."
Elisa Engler | Das Opernglas (July | August 2024)

"It was Thomas Ebenstein who garnered the most applause at the premiere for his impassioned acting and stand-out vocal performance as the mime."
Michel Schaer | Die Stimme der Kritik (15 April 2024)

"Thomas Ebenstein performs the Mime with a powerful [...] tenor with an impeccable heroic attack."
Jan Kobrot | Online Merker (29 April 2024)
 

Thomas Ebenstein was born in Carinthia, Austria, and received his vocal training at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Helena Łazarska, as well as in the Lied class of Kammersänger Robert Holl.

From 2003 to 2012, the tenor was a member of the ensemble of the Komische Oper Berlin, where he established himself as one of the leading exponents of the German character tenor repertoire through an exceptionally wide-ranging repertoire. His roles there included Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Jaquino in Beethoven’s Fidelio and Leonore, Andrès, Cochenille, Frantz and Pitichinaccio in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, David in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Narraboth in Strauss’ Salome, Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier, and Truffaldino in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges.

His core repertoire further includes the Dancing Master in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, the Steersman in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer, Mime in Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Siegfried, the Gingerbread Witch in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, the Scribe in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky in Boris Godunov, the Shabby Peasant in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the Captain in Berg’s Wozzeck, Bob Boles in Britten’s Peter Grimes, Caliban in Thomas Adès’ The Tempest, and Alfred in Die Fledermaus.

Since the 2012/13 season, Thomas Ebenstein has been a member of the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera, where he has appeared in a broad repertoire including Monostatos in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Froh in Das Rheingold, the Dancing Master in Ariadne auf Naxos, the Hunchback in Die Frau ohne Schatten, and Aegisth in Strauss’ Elektra.

He also appears regularly as a guest with leading international opera companies. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in New York as Monostatos in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, while his acclaimed house debut as Mime at Bühnen Bern led to further performances of the role under Kent Nagano at the Dresden Music Festival and in Lucerne. Other highlights include his role debut as the Captain in Berg’s Wozzeck at the Opéra de Lyon, followed by further performances of the role at Oper Graz and, in concert performance, with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Thierry Fischer.

Further highlights include the Gingerbread Witch in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel under James Gaffigan at the Komische Oper Berlin, Goro in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Hamburg State Opera, and the First Jew in Strauss’ Salome with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Cristian Măcelaru at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest. He also made his debut at the Spring Festival in Tokyo as the Fool Klaus in Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder and as the Steersman in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer.

This season brings Thomas Ebenstein to the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse for his debut as Bob Boles in Britten’s Peter Grimes, to the Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin for his debut as Valzacchi, and to the Wiener Konzerthaus as Mime in Das Rheingold and Siegfried under Kent Nagano. He also continues his long-standing association with the Vienna State Opera, where he returns as Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte and in Strauss’ Salome.

Over the course of his career, guest engagements have taken him to La Scala in Milan, the Bavarian State Opera, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, the Semperoper Dresden, the Hamburg State Opera, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and the Theater an der Wien. He has also appeared in leading concert venues including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Berlin Philharmonie, Cologne Philharmonie, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Vienna Musikverein and Konzerthaus, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Auditorium di Milano, and the KKL Lucerne.

As a concert and festival artist, Thomas Ebenstein has appeared at the Salzburg Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival, Vienna Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Dresden Music Festival, Ruhrtriennale, Verbier Festival, Lucerne Festival, Bergen International Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, and Carinthian Summer Festival.

He has collaborated with conductors including Thomas Adès, Alain Altinoglu, Bertrand de Billy, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph Eschenbach, Adam Fischer, Edward Gardner, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Pablo Heras-Casado, Jakub Hrůša, Marek Janowski, Philippe Jordan, Zubin Mehta, Ingo Metzmacher, Kent Nagano, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kirill Petrenko, Sir Simon Rattle, Christian Thielemann, and Franz Welser-Möst, and with stage directors including Calixto Bieito, Robert Carsen, Stefan Herheim, Andreas Homoki, Barrie Kosky, La Fura dels Baus, Damiano Michieletto, Simon Stone, Dmitri Tcherniakov, and Mariusz Treliński.

Alongside his operatic career, Thomas Ebenstein is deeply committed to the performance of Lied and sacred vocal music. His debut recording, featuring songs by Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, was released on the Capriccio label.

2026 | 2027

www.ebenstein.info

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