Julian Prégardien (born 12 July 1984) is a German

lyric tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below mi ...

in opera and concert. He is regarded as a leading interpreter of the role of the Evangelist in Bach's Passions.

Life and career

Julian Prégardien was born on 12 July 1984 in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

into a musical family: his grandfather and his father, tenor

Christoph Prégardien Christoph Prégardien (born 18 January 1956) is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music. He is well known for his performances a ...

, were founding members of the Limburger Domsingknaben, and the soprano

Julia Kleiter Julia Kleiter (born 5 May 1980) is a German operatic soprano and a concert singer. After her debut as Mozart's ''The Magic Flute, Pamina'' at the Opéra Bastille in Paris, she has appeared at major international opera houses, especially the Zuric ...

is his cousin.

Education

Prégardien grew up in

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

and began his musical training as a member of the Limburger Domsingknaben, the boys' choir at the

Limburg Cathedral Limburg Cathedral (, also known as ''Georgsdom'' ("George's Cathedral") after its dedication to Saint George, is located above the old town of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg. Its high location ...

. He sang in several vocal ensembles including the Collegium Vocale Gent and the

Kammerchor Stuttgart The Kammerchor Stuttgart is a professional chamber choir based in Stuttgart, founded in 1968 by Frieder Bernius who has remained its leader. The choir performs in changing size, according to the music, from 16-part vocal ensemble to 80 voices in an ...

already before studying at the Musikhochschule Freiburg from 2005 to 2009 with Reginaldo Pinheiro. Prégardien performed the role of Hermenegild in a scenic production of Keiser's opera ''

Fredegund Fredegund or Fredegunda (Vulgar Latin, Latin: ''Fredegundis''; French language, French: ''Frédégonde''; died 8 December 597) was the queen consort of Chilperic I, the Merovingian Franks, Frankish king of Neustria. Fredegund served as regent ...

'' at the

Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding The Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding (Bavarian Theatre Academy August Everding) at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, was founded by August Everding in 1993. The academy offers theatrical students eight different programs and through th ...

in 2007.

Opera

In 2008 Prégardien appeared as Nencio in Haydn's ''

L'infedeltà delusa ''L'infedeltà delusa'' (''Deceit Outwitted''), Hoboken catalogue, Hob. 28/5, is an operatic ''burletta per musica'' in two acts by Joseph Haydn. The Italian libretto was by Marco Coltellini. Performance history The earliest recorded performance ...

'' in a touring production of the

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...

, traveling to the

Opéra de Monte-Carlo The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...

, the

Teatro Arriaga The Arriaga antzokia in Basque or Teatro Arriaga in Spanish is an opera house in Bilbao, Spain. It was built in Neo-baroque style by architect in 1890, the same architect that built the city hall. It is named after Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, ...

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

and to the Musikfest Bremen. He performed the role of Varo in Gluck's '' Ezio'' im November 2008 at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...

, with the ensemble Il Complesso Barocco conducted by Alan Curtis in a production that was recorded. Prégardien was a member of the

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...

from the 2009/10 season, where he performed roles such as Tamino in Mozart's ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', Jason in Charpentier's ''

Médée ''Médée'' is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century Fr ...

'' and Nathanael/Spalanzani/Franz/Pitichinaccio in Offenbach's ''

Hoffmanns Erzählungen ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

''. He portrayed the title role of Weber's ''

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...

'' at the

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

as part of the Münchner Opernfestspiele in 2017, played at the

Prinzregententheater The Prinzregententheater, or, as it was called in its first decades, the Prinz-Regenten-Theater, in English the Prince Regent Theatre, is a concert hall and opera house on Prinzregentenplatz in the Bavarian capital of Munich, Germany. Building ...

Concert

Prégardien's repertoire in concert is focused on the role of the Evangelist in Bach's Passions. He has worked with leading ensembles and conductors of

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

. In 2023 he was the Evangelist in Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

'' at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, with the

Arnold Schoenberg Chor The Arnold Schoenberg Choir () is a Viennese/Austrian choir which was founded 1972 by Erwin Ortner, who is still its artistic director. The choir has a high reputation both among conductors and among critics and the musical scene in general. All ...

, the children's choir of the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

and the

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

conducted by

Franz Welser-Möst Franz Leopold Maria Möst (born 16 August 1960), known professionally as Franz Welser-Möst, is an Austrian conductor. He is currently music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. Biography Franz Leopold Maria Möst was born in Linz, Austria, ...

. A reviewer from ''

Der Standard ''Der Standard'' () is an Austrian daily newspaper published in Vienna. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria. History and profile ''Der Standard'' was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and published its first editio ...

'' named him possibly the best Evangelist of his period and wrote specifically:

Teaching

Prégardien lectured at the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater München The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts music school, conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the NSDAP, locate ...

from April 2013 to September 2015. He was appointed professor of voice there in 2017.

References

External links

*
Julian Pregardien / Tenor
Operabase

Bach Cantatas Website, 2010 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pregardien, Julian 21st-century German male opera singers German tenors People from Limburg an der Lahn Living people 1984 births