|
The Austrian baritone, George Nigl, is one of the most versatile singers of the younger generation. As former soprano soloist of the Wiener Sängerknaben, he is very much at home in the Viennese Classical period and passionate about the interpretation of early and contemporary music. His extraordinary talent as an actor already became apparent during his schooldays and led to early performances at the Vienna Burgtheater.
In 1994 George Nigl began working with Nikolaus Harnoncourt with performances at the Wiener Festwochen (Haydn's L'anima del filosofo in 1994, Schubert's Alfonso und Estrella in 1997) and the Styriarte Graz (Offenbach's La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein in 2003, C He subsequently received invitations to work with other period-instruments ensembles, amongst others from Christophe Coin, Thomas Hengelbrock (Mozart's Cosi fan tutte in 1999, Der Winterkönig in 2004), Jordi Savall as well as Giovanni Antonini and Luca Pianca with its Il Giardino Armonico (Monteverdis L'Orfeo in 1999, Haydn's Agrippina in 2000).
George Nigl has sung Mozartian opera roles in France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria. Among his most important roles are Papageno, Don Alfonso (with Thomas Hengelbrock 1999 and 2000 at the Sommerfestspielen Baden-Baden) and Don Giovanni (in the production of Tobias Moretti in 2002).
Georg Nigl has become one of the most sought-after singers in the performance of contemporary music. This is documented by numerous world and local premieres such as as Greek by Mark-Anthony Turnage (Jeunesse Festival 1995), Gloria vom Jaxtberg by HK Gruber (Wien modern 1996), Luci miei traditrici by Salvatore Sciarrino (Wiener Festwochen and Schwetzinger Festspiele 1998), Nacht und Die Schöne Wunde by Georg Friedrich Haas (Bregenzer Festspiele 1998 and 2003), Un re in ascolto by Luciano Berio's (Grand Théâtre de Genève 2002), Massacre by Wolfgang Mitterer (Wiener Festwochen 2003), Landschaften mit entfernten Verwandten by Heiner Goebbels (Grand Théâtre de Genève, Berliner Festwochen, Holland Festival 2003), Lost highway by Olga Neuwirth (steirischer herbst 2003, Stadttheater Basel 2004).
As a lied singer Georg Nigl has performed with lutenist Luca Pianca and pianist Gerard Wyss all over Europe and in the USA. His partners in Brahms’s Die schöne Magelone were Sir Peter Ustinov and Anne Bennent. Moreover, he has been very successful with his own series of lied recitals at the Wiener Konzerthaus, in which he followed the tracks of the lied through five centuries.
Highlights of Georg Nigl's 2005-2006 season include his debuts in the leading part of Pascal Dusapin’s new opera The Last Night (A Story of Faustus) at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, and at the Opera House Lyon (director: Peter Mussbach), in the leading role in Don Giovanni under Thomas Hengelbrock, and Bach’s Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) with Markus Stenz and Gürzenich-Orchester Köln at the Kölner Philharmonie. In addition, he will perform in concerts at the Parco della Musica Rome, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Wiener Musikverein, the Bregenzer Festspiele and at the Klangspuren Festival in Schwaz. |
