The young Austrian bass-baritone Alexander Grassauer studied voice with Prof. Karlheinz Hanser and Lied interpretation with Prof. Florian Boesch at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He received further artistic guidance in masterclasses with KS Elīna Garanča, Ramon Vargas and Robert Holl.
Following early operatic appearances as Masetto (Don Giovanni), the Marquis (La Traviata) and Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Grassauer was a member of the ensemble at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich from 2019 to 2024. His roles there included Leporello, Don Basilio, Alidoro, Count Walter and Frank. Guest engagements have taken him to the Semperoper Dresden, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Wiener Kammeroper, and on tour to Shanghai with Teatro alla Scala. At the 2024 Bayreuth Festival, he made his debut as Hermann Ortel in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and as Melot in Tristan und Isolde.
In the 2025/26 season, Grassauer returns to the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich for productions of L’elisir d’amore and Hänsel und Gretel. He appears as Don Fernando in Fidelio at both the Bavarian State Opera and the Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw. At the Semperoper Dresden, he performs the role of the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte as well as in a new production of Luigi Nono’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze. A highlight of the season is his return to the Bayreuth Festival, where he sings Donner in Das Rheingold under the baton of Christian Thielemann.
In addition to his operatic work, Grassauer is also in high demand as a concert soloist. He has performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Salzburg, Bangkok and Lisbon, and has appeared with Bach’s St John Passion, Handel’s Messiah, and Mendelssohn’s St Paul at Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus. During the 2025/26 season, he sings Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli, Franz Schmidt’s The Book with Seven Seals under Fabio Luisi, and Mozart’s Requiem in Porto, Monte Carlo and Vienna. Alexander Grassauer will make his debut with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig performing Mendelssohn’s Walpurgisnacht under the baton of Andris Nelsons. He will also perform Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem in Milan.
Deeply committed to Lied, Grassauer will give recitals in Stuttgart and Nuremberg during the season. He is the recipient of numerous international awards, including prizes at the Hugo Wolf Lied Competition in Stuttgart, the Emmerich Smola Prize of SWR, the International Brahms Competition, and the Otto Edelmann Competition in Vienna.
From the pinnacle of the violin elite as a soloist and chamber musician to her roles as artistic director and esteemed professor, Julia Fischer embodies artistic versatility in perfection. With her extraordinary virtuosity, musical passion, and great diversity, she has carved out a unique place among the greats of music. She has been honored with numerous prestigious awards such as the Federal Cross of Merit, the German Culture Prize, and the Bavarian Maximilian Order, recognizing her role as an outstanding cultural ambassador. She is also sought after for cross-cultural events, having recently performed at the 2023 Nobel Prize ceremony.
Early in her career, Julia Fischer set a milestone by winning first prize at the international Yehudi Menuhin Competition in 1995. Since then, she has conquered the world’s stages, guest-performing with the most renowned orchestras and collaborating with prominent conductors.
As an enthusiastic chamber musician, Julia Fischer has forged close musical partnerships with Yulianna Avdeeva, Jan Lisiecki, Daniel Müller-Schott, and her own quartet with Nils Mönkemeyer, Alexander Sitkovetsky, and Benjamin Nyffenegger. She leads orchestras such as the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra from the first desk. Since 2024, she has also taken on the artistic direction of the »Boswiler Sommer« festival in Switzerland.
Julia Fischer’s exceptional talent is also recognized in numerous recordings. She has been awarded significant prizes such as the BBC Music Magazine Award, the Gramophone Award, and the German Record Critics’ Prize. Since 2017, she has presented her masterpieces exclusively on the JF CLUB, her own platform where she offers her latest recordings and personal insights into her work.
Not only a celebrated violinist, Julia Fischer takes her role as a mentor seriously. Through masterclasses and the founding of the Kindersinfoniker, she opens doors for the youngest musicians to the world of classical music.
Julia Fischer began her musical education at the age of three, receiving violin lessons and shortly thereafter piano lessons from her mother Viera Fischer. At nine, she became a junior student of the renowned violin professor Ana Chumachenco, whose position she has since taken over as professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.
Playing on her violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini from 1742 and a modern violin by Philipp Augustin from 2018, Julia Fischer brings music to life.
German bass Georg Zeppenfeld, originally from Attendorn, began his musical journey studying to become a teacher before pursuing vocal studies at the conservatories in Detmold and Cologne, where Hans Sotin was a formative influence. After early engagements in Münster and Bonn, he joined the ensemble of the Semperoper Dresden in 2001, which has remained the artistic center of his career ever since.
Renowned for his noble and distinctive voice, Zeppenfeld ranks among the most sought-after basses of his generation. He performs regularly at the leading opera houses of Europe and North America and appears on the world’s foremost concert stages. His wide-ranging repertoire spans from Mozart and Verdi to Wagner, with roles such as Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Rocco (Fidelio), King Philip (Don Carlo), Landgrave Hermann (Tannhäuser), King Marke (Tristan und Isolde), Gurnemanz (Parsifal), Veit Pogner and Hans Sachs (Die Meistersinger), and Pimen (Boris Godunov).
A major milestone in his career came in 2019 with his acclaimed debut as Hans Sachs at the Salzburg Easter Festival under Christian Thielemann. Since 2010, he has been a regular presence at the Bayreuth Festival in leading Wagnerian roles.
He collaborates with many of the world’s top conductors, including Franz Welser-Möst, Daniel Barenboim, Antonio Pappano, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniele Gatti, Riccardo Chailly, Kirill Petrenko, Christian Thielemann, Fabio Luisi, and Andris Nelsons. His artistry is documented on numerous CD and DVD recordings as well as in radio and television broadcasts.
In recognition of his achievements, Zeppenfeld has been named a Saxon Kammersänger and received the Austrian Music Theater Award for his portrayal of Gurnemanz at the Vienna State Opera.
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Elsa Benoit is a celebrated French singer with a versatile repertoire ranging from Baroque to modern music. She completed her studies at the Amsterdam Conservatory and graduated with distinction from the Dutch National Opera Academy. Benoit has won several international singing competitions, including the »Symphonies d'Automne« and the MACM Singing Competition.
From 2015 to 2016, she was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater in Klagenfurt, where she achieved great success in roles such as Tytania in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Micaëla in Carmen (for which she received the Austrian Music Theater Award). She then joined the ensemble of the Bavarian State Opera, where she excelled in numerous roles including Oscar in Un ballo in maschera, Musetta in La Bohème, and Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina. Her interpretation of Poppea was recorded for Warner Classics and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
Since 2021, Benoit has worked as a freelance artist, appearing in major productions at leading houses such as the Opéra Comique and Palais Garnier in Paris, the Bavarian State Opera, the Semperoper Dresden, and the Komische Oper Berlin. Highly sought after as a concert soloist, she has collaborated with renowned conductors including Manfred Honeck, Andris Nelsons, Alan Gilbert, Emmanuelle Haïm, Vladimir Jurowski, Robin Ticciati, and Herbert Blomstedt. She performs regularly with top orchestras such as the Berlin, Munich, and Vienna Philharmonics, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Orchestre de Paris, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, and the RSB Berlin.
Further information at www.elsabenoit.com.
