Steve Wächter (Counter-tenor)

Born: August 27, 1979 - Dresden, Germany

The German counter-tenor, Steve Wächter, received his first singing lessons at the age of 16 in the tenor voice range. With the inclusion of his vocal studies with Prof. Hartmut Zabel he switched from tenor to alto. Already in the 2^nd Academic year, he gave his debut concert in George Frideric Handel's oratorio Esther conducted by Maja Sequeira. He is currently a student of the master-class at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden, with Professor H. Zabel. At the Mozart Festival Competition in 2006 in Würzburg, he won the 3^rd Price and he received also a special award for outstanding performance style. He attended master-classes with Andreas Schmidt, Olaf Bär and Britta Schwarz. During his engagement at the Kammeroper Schloß Rheinsberg, he also took lessons with Claudia Eder.

As part of his busy concert career, Steve Wächter sings regularly under the guidance of Ludger Rémy, Michael Scholl, Maja Sequeira, Dietrich Lohff and Wolfgang Kuppke. His repertoire includes, among other things, Monteverdi's Vespers Marie, the oratorios Saul, Esther and Jephta by G.F. Handel, Dresdner Oratorien by Hasse, Antonio Vivaldi's solo cantatas, Bach cantatas and cantatas, oratorios and songs by (un)known masters of the Baroque period.

In the last two years, Steve Wächter also conquered the opera stage and could be seen, inter alia, as Orfeo in Ch.W.Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in Belgrade, as Amadigi in G.F. Handel opera of the same name in Dresden, as Euristeo in J. Myzlivicek's Antigona in Rheinberg, and Prague, and as Otto in G.F. Handel's Otto und Theophanu in Halberstadt and Quedlinburg. At the beginning of the year, he was engaged as Alexander the Great in the premiere of the opera Lacrimae Alexandri magni by T. Hanzlik at the Prague State Opera. During this year he appears in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo (Bad Hersfeld), G.F. Handel's Orlando (Meißen / Cottbus) and G.F. Handel's Giulio Cesare (Schwerin).

Source: Steve Wächter Website (2008), English translation by Aryeh Oron (January 2009)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (January 2009)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Michael Scholl

Alto

J.L. Bach: Cantata Die mit Tränen säen, JLB-8

Links to other Sites

Steve Wächter (Official Website) [German]