Julian Prégardien

Julian Prégardien was born in Frankfurt and received his earliest music training in the choirs of Limburg Cathedral. After studying in Freiburg and joining the academy of the Aix-en-Provence opera festival, he was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble from 2009 to 2013. At the same time, he developed an international career as a concert performer. Today Julian Prégardien is one of the most outstanding international representatives of the young generation of classical vocal artists. His clear voice, his deep understanding of the text and his ability to tell stories make him a sought-after interpreter of song. A special focus of Julian Prégardien's artistic activities are Lied recitals and chamber music projects. He curates a Brahms evening as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and gives recitals at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, as well as in Ittingen, Gent, Lille, Bari and La Chaux-de-Fonds.

As an opera singer, he has appeared at the Festival in ’Aix-en-Provence, at the Hamburg and Bavarian State Operas and at the Opéra Comique in Paris. In 2018 he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival as Narraboth in Richard Strauss’ Salome (director: Romeo Castellucci) with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. In 2019 this was followed by his debut as Tamino in a new production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Berlin State Opera under the baton of Alondra de la Parra. In the fall of 2022 Julian Prégardien will sing his first Orfeo by Monteverdi in Versailles At the Mozartwoche 2023 he will be heard for the first time as Don Ottavio in two semi-staged performances of Mozart's Don Giovanni conducted by András Schiff, and at the Teatro San Carlo in Napoli he will be seen in the staged version of Romeo Castellucci's Mozart Requiem conducted by Raphaël Pichon.

Julian Prégardien was "Artiste Ètoile" of the Mozartfest Würzburg in 2019, Artist in Residence at the Philharmonie in Cologne in 2020/2021 and he curated an entire season of recitals and chamber music in Zurich in 2016/2017. Recent highlights include a tour with Concentus Musicus under Stefan Gottfried, his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, and his Carnegie Hall debut with Orchestra St. Luke's under Bernard Labadie. Furthermore, Julian Prégardien could be heard with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestera under Klaus Mäkelä, with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, with the Tonhalle Orchester and Alondra de la Parra, as well as with the Ensemble Pygmalion under Raphaël Pichon. He has performed Gustav Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Maurice Ravel's Cinq Melodies Populaires Grecques and Samuel Barber's Knoxville, Summer of 1915 at major European Concert venues including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Danish Radio Concert Hall and the Auditorio in Milano and at the first edition of Festival Paax GNP, Alondra de la Parra’s new festival at Riviera Maya, México, together with The Impossible Orchestra.

Highlights of the 2022/2023 season include Schubert's Mass in E-flat Major conducted by Franz Welser-Möst at the Salzburg Festival, Beethoven's IX. Symphony with the SWR Symphony Orchestra under Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Schubert's Mass in E-flat Major with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under András Schiff, as well as with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, Mozart's Requiem with the Concertgebouw Orkest under Klaus Mäkelä, Bach's St Matthew Passion with the Vienna Philharmonic under Franz Welser-Möst, Bach's St John Passion with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under the Thomaskantor Andreas Reize, and a tour of Handel arias together with La Cetra under Andrea Marcon.

Julian Prégardien records exclusively for the label Alpha Classics, where Schubert’s Winterreise, Schubert’s Schwanengesang and Schumann’s Dichterliebe have been released. He is a professor at the Munich Academy of Music and Theatre’s vocal department, a member of the Schumann Network and artistic director of the Brentano Academy in Aschaffenburg.