Playing and singing a setting of the Passion story at Easter is, so to speak, obvious. After Bach's Matthäus-Passion in 2025, his second great masterpiece from the genre follows in Erl next year, the Johannes-Passion.
Tobias Wögerer, geboren 1991 in Linz, studierte dirigieren an der Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar sowie an der Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. Von 2019 bis 2022 war er Assistenzdirigent beim Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. Seit September 2022 ist er Kapellmeister an der Volksoper Wien. 2019 gewann er den ersten Preis des MDR-Dirigierwettbewerbs, und 2023 war er Finalist des Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award der Salzburger Festspiele. Er stand am Pult zahlreicher renommierter Orchester, u. a. der Wiener Symphoniker, des Bruckner Orchesters Linz, des ORF Radio-Symphonieorchesters Wien, des Tonkünstler-Orchesters Niederösterreich, des Mozarteumorchesters Salzburg, der Staatskapelle Weimar und des Gulbenkian Orchestra.
Christopher Willoughby studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. After two years at the International Opera Studio of the Zurich Opera House, the tenor has been a member of the ensemble at the Staatstheater Darmstadt since the current season. In Zurich, he sang roles including Basilio (The Marriage of Figaro) and Nathanael (The Tales of Hoffmann). In 2023, he made his debut in Verbier as Tom Rakewell (The Rake's Progress). In addition to his work in opera, he has a great passion for oratorios. Among other roles, he sang the Evangelist in the St. Matthew Passion on a tour of the Netherlands as well as the one in the St. John Passion at the Brandenburg Choral Festival of London. Other performances have taken him to venues such as the International Baroque Festival at Melk Abbey and the Vienna Musikverein.
Playing and singing a setting of the Passion story at Easter is, so to speak, obvious. After Bach's Matthäus-Passion in 2025, his second great masterpiece from the genre follows in Erl next year, the Johannes-Passion.
Der britische Bassbariton Edward Grint studierte am King’s College in Cambridge und am Royal College of Music und gilt als Spezialist des Barockrepertoires im Opern- und Konzertbereich. Er arbeitet mit führenden Orchestern und Ensembles zusammen, u. a. dem Collegium Vocale Gent, Les Arts Florissants, The English Concert, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging, der Capella Mediterreanea, The King’s Consort, dem Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, dem London Philharmonic Orchestra und dem BBC Symphony Orchestra. Seine Auftritte führten ihn u. a. zu den Salzburger Festspielen, an die Philharmonie de Paris, das Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, die Wigmore Hall, die Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, das Theater an der Wien und die Händel-Festspiele Halle.
Die aus Hamburg stammende Sopranistin Karola Sophia Schmid ist sowohl auf der Opernbühne als auch im Konzertfach zu Hause. Sie erhielt ihre Ausbildung bei Ulla Groenewold sowie an der Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg und der Universität der Künste Berlin. Neben Engagements an den Staatstheatern Kassel und Darmstadt gastierte sie u. a. an der Oper Köln, am Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater Bremen, Theater Bonn und Staatstheater Nürnberg und arbeitete mit Dirigenten wie Kent Nagano, Jeffrey Tate, Václav Luks und Rubén Dubrovsky zusammen. Konzertant war sie u. a. am Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, in der Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, der Tonhalle Zürich, der Kölner Philharmonie, beim Schleswig-Holstein-Musikfestival und den Heidenheimer Festspielen zu hören.
Playing and singing a setting of the Passion story at Easter is, so to speak, obvious. After Bach's Matthäus-Passion in 2025, his second great masterpiece from the genre follows in Erl next year, the Johannes-Passion.
Tiroler Festspiele Erl Orchestra
The music springs from the enthusiasm of a motivated and exceptionally well-prepared ensemble that has grown together over the years. The Tyrolean Festival Erl Orchestra was first formed in the summer of 1999—and today, musicians from 20 nations play together. Already in its first year, the ensemble achieved unprecedented success, which would go on to bring international recognition to the Tyrolean Festival Erl. Top young talents, musicians from major international orchestras, chamber music specialists, and lecturers come together annually in summer and winter—and since 2017, also in fall and spring—as part of the Tyrolean Festival Erl. Under the direction of festival founder Gustav Kuhn, the orchestra garnered rave reviews from international critics and cemented its reputation as one of the world’s finest Wagner orchestras. With the start of Jonas Kaufmann’s tenure as artistic director in September 2024, Asher Fisch—a conductor in high demand internationally in both opera and concert settings—has taken over the helm of the orchestra.
In addition to Richard Wagner’s ten major music dramas and operas by Strauss, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, and Rossini, the orchestra’s repertoire includes Beethoven’s symphonies and many other key works from the concert repertoire spanning the Baroque and Romantic periods, as well as contemporary works and world premieres.
Tiroler Festspiele Erl Choir
Founded in 2007, the choir serves as an equal musical partner to the festival orchestra. The focus is on meticulous attention to individual parts. As part of the festival, the singers work on a wide range of projects, from a cappella programs to concert and opera productions. Since the opening of the Festspielhaus Erl in 2012, the repertoire has placed additional emphasis on bel canto works and Verdi’s operas.
The development of a Baroque choral sound in the works of Bach and his contemporaries is also a key focus of the ensemble’s work; since 2009, it has maintained close ties with Capella Minsk, the State Academic Choir of the Republic of Belarus. Founded in 1940, this choral ensemble has made it its mission to preserve Belarusian folk music and to premiere works by modern and contemporary composers.
The choir is distinguished by its precise intonation, harmony, versatility, and dynamic sound—qualities that have formed the basis for numerous tours throughout Europe in recent years. Its repertoire includes requiems, masses, cantatas, and sacred works, as well as operas. After Lyudmila Yefimova spent many years developing and shaping the choir’s quality, Olga Yanum took over as the ensemble’s director following her death in 2018.