The Austrian tenor Dietmar Kerschbaum is an internationally recognized and treasured interpreter of German opera and concert repertoire. He has performed more than 80 operatic roles ranging from the major classical works of composers such as Mozart, Strauß and Wagner to compositions by contemporary composers.
As a sought-after international soloist, he appears regularly on the stages of the great music metropolises of the world such as Berlin, Paris, New York, Vienna, Amsterdam, Rome, Munich, Salzburg, Brussels and Tokyo, to name a few. He frequently sings with world-class orchestras and conductors like Ricardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Kirill Petrenko, Philippe Jordan, Ivor Bolton, Kurt Masur, Fabio Luisi, Sebastian Weigle, Marc Minkowski, William Christie, Daniele Gatti and Adam Fischer.
Kerschbaum completed his studies at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz. Subsequently he studied acting at the Vienna Conservatory parallel to Voice Studies with Walter Berry at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts of Vienna.
His first engagements led him to a contract as a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, as well as at the Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin, where he appeared in roles such as David in „The Mastersingers of Nuremberg“, Tanzmeister in „Ariadne auf Naxos“, Tamino and Monostatos in „The Magic Flute“, Steuermann in „The Flying Dutchman“, Don Basilio in „The Marriage of Figaro“ and Jaquino in „Fidelio“.
He debuted at the Vienna Volksoper as the house’s youngest ever Eisenstein in „Die Fledermaus“ and continued subsequently there with the title role in „Die Ausflüge des Herrn Broucek“ and „Der Evangelimann“.
His debut at the Salzburg Festival as Pedrillo in „The Abduction from the Seraglio“ in a new staging by Stefan Herheim was a resounding success, and he was thereafter invited to come back to the Salzburg Festival to sing Monostatos in „The Magic Flute“ under the baton of Ricardo Muti. It was in the very same role that he debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Staatsoper Vienna.
His current engagements included appearances at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin („The Magic Flute“, „Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny“ and „Salome“) and at the Opéra National de Paris („The Mastersingers of Nuremberg“ and „Knight of the Rose“) as well as at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma („Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny“) at the Staatsoper Hamburg („The Magic Flute“), the Nationale Opera of Amsterdam („Salome“), Erster Jude („Salome“) at London Covent Garden, Servants/“Les Contes d’Hoffmann“ at NCPA Bejing.
Furthermore, his appearances as a concert soloist have led him to places such as Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Gulbenkian Hall in Lissabon and Avery Fisher Hall in New York, where he sang Bach’s „St. Matthew Passion“ under the baton of Kurt Masur.
He works regularly on projects in Vienna’s two most prestigious concert venues, the Konzerthaus and Musikverein, where he recently interpreted both the „Florentinische Tragödie“ by A. Zemlinsky and „Tagebuch eines Verschollenen“by Leoś Janáček.
Alongside his thriving operatic career, he founded the international festival jOPERA Jennersdorf Festivalsommer in 2002, where he also serves as artistic director. Here he has taken on the additional role of stage director in such productions as „Abduction from the Seraglio“ and „Carmen“, as well as embodying the roles of Max in „Der Freischütz“ and the Witch in „Hansel and Gretel“.
Dietmar Kerschbaum became artistic director of Brucknerhaus Linz in 2018.