Niklaus Rüegg (Tenor)

Born: Switzerland

The Swiss tenor, Niklaus Rüegg, studied at the Musikhochschule Basel and the Internationales Opernstudio Zürich, and with Eva Krasznai (Basel), Dennis Hall (Bern), Vera Rozsa (London) and Stefan Haselhoff (Mannheim). He was Scholarship winner of the Migros-Genossenschaftsbundes Switzerland.

Niklaus Rüegg made his operatic debut in 1982 at the Theater Basel, and continued to sing there for several year. He had other engagements at the Theaters of Biel-Solothurn, Luzern, St. Gallen, at the Opéra de Lausanne, Opernhaus Zürich, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen, Musical Theater Basel, Neue Flora Hamburg, among others. His roles in the oipera, operata and musical include: Tamino in Zauberflöte, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Lysander in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, René in Graf von Luxemburg (F. Lehár), Le Roi Carotte (J. Offenbach), Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus (J. Strauss), The Padre in The Man of La Mancha, Dr. Siedler in Im Weissen Rössl. Tony in West-Side Story (L. Bernstein), Henry Higgins in My fair Lady.

Niklaus Rüegg has appeared at the Opernhaus Zürich as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly and Gastone in La Traviata. At the Staatstheater Darmstadt: Fileno in Haydn's La Fedeltà Premiata. Phantom and Monsieur André in Lloyd-Webber's The Phantom of the Opera at the Basler Musical Theater (1995-1996) and at the Neuen Flora in Hamburg (2000). Space Dream Baden (1998-1999), General Schwertfisch Im Musical Deep in Zürich (2002-2003), Präsident im Schalke-Musical Nullvier (2004) in Gelsenkirchen. Miles Gloriosus in Toll triebens die alten Römer (Stephen Sondheim), Insz Dominik Flaschka i.e. at the Häbse Theater Basel and at the Bernhard Theater Zürich (2004-2005). Herbst 2005: Marchese Sebastiani in Der lustige Krieg (Johann Strauss).

As a concert artist, Niklaus Rüegg has comprehensive and broad repertoire in the area of the oratorio and Lieder, such as Passions and Cantatas of J.S. Bach (Weihnachts-Oratorium (BWV 248), Johannes-Passion (BWV 245), Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244)); works of George Frideric Handel (Messias, Alexanderfest, Cäcilienode), Haydn (Masses), Mozart (Requiem, Masses, Vespers, Litaneien), Felix Mendelssohn (Elias, Paulus, 2^nd Symphony), L.v. Beethoven (9^th Symphony, Missa Solemnis, Ferne Geliebte), Schubert (Müllerin, Winterreise, Schwanengesang, Masses), Schumann (Der Königssohn, Der Rose Pilgerfahrt, Dichterliebe), Puccini (Missa di Gloria), Rossini (Petite Messe Solennelle), Brahms (Rinaldo), Max Bruch (Moses) Hermann Suter (Le Laudi). He has taken part in several premiers of of contemporary church music. He has given concerts in France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Hungary and Switzerland.

Niklaus Rüegg is also a teacher for solo singing at the Musikschule Liestal as well as lecturer at the Swiss Musical Academy in Bern.

Source: Schweizerische Interpreten-Gesellschaft SIG Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (June 2005)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (June 2005)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Joachim Krause

Tenor

BWV 243

Links to other Sites

Niklaus Rüegg (Schweizerische Interpreten-Gesellschaft SIG) [German/French]

Niklaus Rüegg (Stadtkunst) [German-PDF]