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The German bass, Felix Schwandtke, studied Voice in Dresden. Thought, body, emotion - unifying these three aspects of human existence in song is a deep source of fulfillment in Felix Schwandtke’s life and his greatest challenge. As the son of a mathematician and an engineer, analytical thinking has had a profound influence on his very being. Music is his way of relating rationality to feeling and to joyfully explore the resulting tensions.
Felix Schwandtke's musical interests revolve around the rich musical traditions of the 17th and 18th centuries. His repertoire also extends to the great oratorio works of the Classical and Romantic periods, as well as to contemporary compositions. He applies his exuberance of youth and his bass voice to the wide span of Early music, singing with renowned ensembles from all over Europe, including De Nederlandse Bachvereniging (Director: Jos van Veldhoven), Collegium 1704 (Director: Václav Luks), Concerto Copenhagen (Director: Lars Ulrik Mortensen), Dunedin Consort (Director: John Butt) and the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra under Andrzej Kosendiak. In addition, many years of co-operation have allied him to Hans-Christoph Rademann, the Director of the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, and under his direction has performed with the Gaechinger Cantorey and the Dresdner Kammerchor. He has appeared on numerous CD's, including the complete works of Heinrich Schütz, which was realized by Carus and was completed in 2018. Further creative colleagues are conductors like Manfred Cordes, Hermann Max, Andreas Spering and Ludger Rémy as well as the director and Baroque dancer Milo Pablo Momm, who granted him important impetus for historical gesture.
Felix Schwandtke performed for the first time with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg under Kent Nagano as part of the New Year’s Eve concert at the Elbphilharmonie in 2018. At the beginning of 2017 he gave his first guest performance at the Staatsoper Hamburg in Gesualdo - a production of music by Carlo Gesualdo (director: Calixto Bieito). He made his debut at the Semperoper Dresden during the 2014-2015 season as Bogdanowitsch in Lehár’s Die lustige Witwe and in the first performance of the chamber opera Mise en abyme / Widerspiegelung by Lucia Ronchetti (Director: Axel Köhler). Furthermore, he participated in the first reproduction of the Baroque opera Sardanapalus by Christian Ludwig Boxberg in the Ekhof Theatre Gotha, which was celebrated as Rediscovery of the Year 2012 in the year book of Opernwelt magazine.
Another focal point for his artistic activity is contemporary vocal music. Felix Schwandtke is a member of the ensemble AuditivVokal Dresden, whose unconventional concert programmes highlight a rich range of expression through singing. Beyond that, he regularly contributes to contemporary theatre productions like - in the frame of the Münchner Biennale - in the premiere of Königliche Membranwerke - Nomictic Solutions and Wolfgang Mitterer's Das tapfere Schneiderlein at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden. He is currently living as a freelance singer in Leipzig. |
