| Biography | Born in Dresden, Stephan was an early winner of the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition. He has given recitals throughout the world, including Wigmore Hall, London, Carnegie Hall, New York, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Vienna Konzerthaus, Klavierfestival Ruhr, La Monnaie Brussels, Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Santiago de Compostela, BBC Radio 3 and the Vocal Arts Series in Washington with pianists Roger Vignoles, Simon Lepper, Iain Burnside, Alexander Schmalcz and Eugene Asti.
Plans this season and beyond include Mozart Mass in C Min in Porto, Spain with Olari Elts; Bach St Matthew Passion (Christus) with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment directed by Mark Padmore on a European tour including Paris, Rotterdam and London; Beethoven Symphony No 9 and Penderecki 3 Chinese Songs with the Ulster Orchestra and Father Trulove in Stravinsky The Rakes Progress on a European tour including Limoges, Reims and Luxumbourg. Recitals planned include a return to Wigmore Hall with Simon Lepper; Schubert Schwanengesang in Wales with Llyr Williams and a series of recitals for the Oxford Lieder Festival.
Concerts have included Britten War Requiem with Melbourne and Sapporo Symphony Orchestras; Mozart Requiem with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra and Bernard Labadie; Mauregato in Schubert Alfonso und Estrella with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchester and Ivor Bolton; Berlioz LEnfance du Christ with Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Robin Ticciati; Mendelssohn Walpurgisnacht in Florence; Haydn Creation with the Iceland Symphony and Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestras and Potsdamer Kammerakademie and Antonello Manacorda; Die Jahreszeiten with the Semperoper Dresden; The Seven Last Words with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; Bruckner Requiem with The Royal Northern Sinfonia; Saariaho The Tempest Songbook with Scharoun Ensemble at Philharmonie Köln; Mozart Coronation Mass and Haydn Stabat Mater with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris and Fabio Biondi and regular appearances with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
Stephan has sung Bach Cantatas with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Passions with the Gabrieli Consort and Paul McCreesh (also recorded for DG). He made his Proms debut in 2002 in St Matthew Passion with Trevor Pinnock and has since sung it with many period and modern orchestras including Academy of Ancient Music, Munich Bach Choir, Handel and Haydn Society of Boston and the Swedish Radio and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. He recently sang St John Passion with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Christmas Oratorio with the Russian National Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski and Bach Mass in B Minor in Leipzig with The English Concert.
Opera roles include Wolfram Tannhäuser and Papageno Die Zauberflöte at La Monnaie, Brussels; Maximillian Candide at the Berlin Staatsoper; Macmillan Parthenogenesis for Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Il Conte Figaro, Schaunard La Bohème, Mercutio Roméo et Juliette and Demitrius A Midsummer Nights Dream for Opera North; Moritz in Mernier Frühlings Erwachen at the Opera National du Rhin and in concert, Count Capriccio and Bill The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Edinburgh Festival; Ottokar Der Freischütz with the LSO and Sir Colin Davis and Argenio in Handel Imeneo with the AAM.
Stephan was a member of the Dresden Kreuzchor before studying at the Hochschule der Künste, Berlin and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. (July 2015) |