Matthias Hoffmann

Education

• Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien (K.-H. Hanser und Florian Bösch)
• Opernstudio of the Opera Cologne

Engagements

• Bregenzer Festspiele
• Oper Köln
• Oper Bonn
• Theater an der Wien
• Landestheater Innsbruck
• Nederlandse Reisopera

Important Roles

• The Magic FlutePapageno
• Le nozze di FigaroFigaro
• Don GiovanniLeporello, Masetto
• The Cunning little VixenHarašta
• The Rape of LucretiaCollatinus
• LakméNilakantha

Austrian bass-baritone Matthias Hoffmann will return to the Musiktheater an der Wien in 2025/26 and, as in 2024-25, will appear as Kaspar in ‘The Marksman for Kids’ at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and as Masetto in ‘Don Giovanni’ at the Staatstheater Braunschweig. Last season, he once again appeared as Achilla in Handel’s ‘Giulio Cesar’ at the Cologne Opera.

In the 23/24 season, he appeared at the Theater St. Gallen as Lysander in Purcell’s ‘The Fairy Queen’, at the Bregenz Festival in ‘Madama Butterfly’, at the Musiktheater Wien in ‘Where the Wild Things Are’, directed by Nikolaus Habjan, at the Staatstheater Kassel as Masetto and at the Landesbühnen Sachsen as Leporello. His concert repertoire included Bach’s ‘St John Passion’, Haydn’s ‘The Creation’ and Giovanni Simone Mayr’s oratorio ‘Giuseppe’.

From 2017 to 2023, he was a member of the Cologne Opera ensemble, where he sang roles such as Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Papageno and the Speaker (The Magic Flute), Achilla (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), Harašta (The Cunning Little Vixen), Collatinus in Britten’s ‘The Rape of Lucretia’, and Shaunard in ‘La Bohème’.

Guest engagements have taken the bass-baritone to roles such as the Brahmin priest Nilakantha in Leo Délibes’ ‘Lakmé’, Figaro, Masetto, and 1st Soldier in ‘Salome’ at the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, the Bonn Opera, the Nederlandse Reisopera, and the Krefeld-Mönchengladbach Theatre.

Matthias Hoffmann has performed as a concert soloist in oratorios and masses worldwide, including in China, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, Armenia, Holland, Switzerland and Austria. His repertoire includes works by J.S. Bach such as ‘Ich habe genug’, the ‘St Matthew Passion’ and the ‘Christmas Oratorio’, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Haydn’s ‘The Seasons’ and ‘Nelson Mass’, and Fauré’s Requiem. Symphony, G.F. Handel’s ‘Dettinger Te Deum’, J. Haydn’s ‘The Seasons’ and ‘Nelson Mass’, G. Fauré’s Requiem and G. Rossini’s ‘Petite messe solennelle’. He has worked with conductors and directors such as Ruben Dubrovski, François Xavier Roth, Stefan Zilias, Stefan Soltesz, Julia Jones, Claude Schnitzler, Andreas Homoki, Vincent Boussard, Kai Anne Schuhmacher, Johannes Erath, La Fura dels Baus and Patrick Kinmonth.

The bass-baritone also performs regularly as a lieder singer and has appeared with selected lieder programmes at venues including the Pierre Boulez Hall in Berlin, the Heidelberg Spring Festival, the Historic Town Hall in Wuppertal, Bonn, Frankfurt, Cologne, Ludwigsburg, ‘s-Hertogenbosch and the Zeist Lieder Festival. He has performed with pianists such as Malcolm Martineau, Helmut Deutsch, Lisa Ochsendorf, Toni Ming Geiger, Pauliina Tukiainen and Reinhild Mees.

His discography includes Brahms Lieder with Ulrich Eisenlohr, a recording of the ‘St Matthew Passion’ with the Vienna Boys’ Choir and the opera evening ‘Mazeltov’ Rachele’ with Yiddish songs and arias.

He has won prizes at various competitions, including the International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Paula Salomon Lindberg Competition in Berlin, Musica Juventutis at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation’s Songbook competition, and the 2016 Tyrolean Classical Singer Prize.

Matthias Hoffmann was born in Tyrol, Austria, and completed his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Karlheinz Hanser and Florian Boesch. From 2015 to 2017, he was a member of the International Opera Studio of the Cologne Opera. He attended masterclasses with Thomas Hampson, Brigitte Fassbaender, Graham Johnson, Helmut Deutsch and Bo Skovhus.

09/2025

Arman, Howard / La Fura dels Baus

• Das Lied der Frauen vom Fluss Bassbariton

Berlioz, Hector

• Les Troyens Priam

Bizet, Georges

• Carmen Zuniga

Braunfels, Walter

• Szenen aus dem Leben der heiligen Johanna Florent d´Illiers, Erzbischof von Reims

Britten, Benjamin

• The Rape of Lucretia Collatinus

Delibes, Léo

• Lakmé Nilakantha

Haendel, Georg Friedrich

• Giulio Cesare in Egitto Achilla

Janáček, Leoš

• The Cunning little Vixen Harašta

Loewe, Frederick

• My fair Lady Harry

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

• Don Giovanni Leporello, Masetto
• The Magic Flute Papageno, The Speaker
• Le nozze di Figaro Figaro

Puccini, Giacomo

• La Bohème Shaunard
• Madame Butterfly The imperial Commissioner
• Tosca Sciarrone
• Turandot Mandarin

Purcell, Henry

• King Arthur Grimbald

Schreker, Franz

• Die Gezeichneten Paolo Calvi

Strauss, Johann

• The Bat Frank

Strauss, Richard

• Salome 1st soldier

Strawinskij, Igor

• The Nightingale Bonze

Verdi, Giuseppe

• La traviata Marchese d'Obigny
• La forza del destino Chirurgo

Zeller, Carl

• The Bird Seller Würmchen

Bach, Johannes S.

• Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244 Bass 1, Bass 2, Christus
• Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 Bass
• I will the cross-staff gladly carry, BWV 56 Bass
• Now come, saviour of the gentiles, BWV 62 Bass
• I have enough, BWV 82 Bass
• Heart and mouth and deed and life, BWV 147 Bass
• Magnificat, BWV 243 Bass

Beethoven, Ludwig van

• Symphony No. 9 Bass

Fauré, Gabriel

• Requiem, op. 48 Bass

Haydn, Joseph

• The Creation Simon, Adam
• The Seasons Simon
• Mass cellensis in C major (Mariazeller Mass) Bass
• Mass No. 10, in B♭ major (Theresienmesse) Bass
• Mass No. 6, in G major (Nicolaimesse) Bass
• Mass No. 13, in B♭ major (Creation Mass or Schöpfungsmesse) Bass
• Mass No. 11, in D major (Lord Nelson Mass) Bass

Mozart, Wolfgang A.

• Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 Bass
• Mass in in B♭ major, K. 275 Bass
• Mass in C major, K. 317 (Coronation Mass or Krönungsmesse) Bass
• Mass in C major, K. 259 (Missa brevis) Bass
• Mass in C major, K. 220 (Sparrow Mass oder Spatzenmesse) Bass
• Mass in D Minor, K. 65 (Missa brevis) Bass
• Mass in G major, K. 140 (Pastoral) Bass

Rheinberger, Joseph G.

• Mass in C major, op. 169

Rossini, Gioacchino

• Petite Messe Solennelle (Little solemn mass) Bass

Schmelzer , Johann H.

• Requiem aeternam/Kyrie eleison Bass

Schubert, Franz

• Mass in B major, D 324 Bass
• Mass in G major, D 168 Bass
• Mass in C major, D 452 Bass

Stravinsky, Igor

• Oedipus Rex Kreon

Zelenka, Jan D.

• Mass Sancti Spiritus, ZWV 4 Bass

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