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The South-African baritone, William Berger, The South-African baritone, William Berger, was a member of the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir and the inaugural recipient of the Deon van der Walt UNISA/SAMRO bursary at age 17, before commencing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London supported by the Kathleen Ferrier Bursary Award and the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust. He is a graduate and Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and a former member of the Young Singers Programme at English National Opera. He has collected a multitude of prizes and awards, including the 2010 Ernst Haefliger Competition in Switzerland, the Kathleen Ferrier Society Bursary for Young Singers, the Countess of Munster Trust Scholarship, the Musicians Benevolent Fund Grant and the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Award.
Hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the best of our younger baritones”, William Berger is distinguished by his rich vocal timbre and charismatic stage presence. A compelling interpreter of song, he is equally at home on the operatic stage and has performed at renowned festivals, opera houses and concert halls including the Royal Opera House, London and Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., English National Opera, Liceu Barcelona, Opera Vlaanderen, Opéra de Toulon, and the Lucerne, Aix-en-Provence and Edinburgh International Festivals.
Recent engagements include a German recital tour with Julius Drake in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Bonn, Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in California, Finzi’s Requiem de Camera with the London Mozart Players, Don Alfonso in W.A. Mozart's Cosí fan Tutte at the Liceu in Barcelona, Escamillo at the Luzerner Theater’s production of Georges Bizet's Carmen, Papageno in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte for Opéra de Toulon, George Frideric Handel's Messiah with the Ulster Orchestra, W.A. Mozart's Requiem with the Philharmonie Zuidnederland and Carpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux Enfers with conductor Christian Curnyn and the Classical Opera Company at the Wigmore Hall. Other opera appearances include Escamillo in Carmen for Cape Town Opera, Minsk Man in Flight for Opera Omaha, Marcello for Opéra de Rouen and Boris in Dmitri Shostakovich's Cheryomushki for Nouvel Opéra Fribourg. Other concert appearances include Johannes Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem at deSingel Antwerp, G.F. Handel's Messiah with Phoenix Symphony.
Engagements in the 2015-2016 season include William Berger’s return to Opera Vlaanderen both as Marcello in Puccini’s La Boheme, and Bill in Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. He performed as Oreste in Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride with Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon and the title role in G.F. Handel's Imeneo at Gottingen International Handel Festival. In concert he performed at the FestspielOrchester Gottingen’s tenth anniversary Gala Concert. Highlights in the 2018-2019 season include his role debut as W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni for the Würzburg Mozart Festival and his Royal Opera House, London, National Symphony Orchestra (Kennedy Center), and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra debuts. The recent with G.F. Handel's Messiah. and J.S. Bach's Johannes-Passion (BWV 245).
William Berger’s skill as a musical interpreter and his imaginative approach to programming has led to critical acclaim for both his first two solo albums. "Insomnia: A Nocturnal Voyage In Song", released on Delphian Records in 2012, describes in a sequence of seventeen songs the restless night experienced by a man as he reflects on the absence of his unnamed love. It was included in The Guardian’s Top Ten Classical CD's of the Year and was described as “pure gold” by The Arts Desk and “magnetic” by The Scotsman. This was followed by the release of "Hommage à Trois" on Linn Records in November 2013, which features arias and duets by three of the finest composers of the 18th century: W.A. Mozart, Haydn and Cimarosa. The disc, recorded with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and conductor Nicholas McGegan, was awarded five stars by Opera Now, and described as “one of the most delightful recital discs of the past year” by International Record Review. In Spring 2016, he releaseed his third album: "Duet" with soprano Lucy Crowe. The disc features works by Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann and Cornelius and showcases the richness and spirit of the duet genre, which reached its zenith in the Victorian age but has since become increasingly overlooked in the concert hall. In addition to his two solo releases, his discography includes G.F. Handel's Alexander’s Feast and The Triumph of Time and Truth with Ludus Baroque for Delphian, Samson and Dettingen Te Deum for Carus, Francis Poulenc's Carmelites for Chandos and on DVD, Admeto for C Major and L’incoronazione de Poppea for Opus Arte.
Recent local South-African engagements have included regular collaboration with the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra including Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beate Vergine, Gustav Mahler's Rückert Lieder with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, and Georges Bizet's Les Pêcheurs du Perles and W.A. Mozart;s Le Nozze di Figaro for Cape Town Opera.
A former Principal Artist with English National Opera, William Berger was awarded the honour “Associate of the Royal Academy of Music” in 2009. He currently lives in London, England. |
