Holger Falk
Biography Holger Falk
Holger Falk
„Falk has an extraordinarily flexible baritone, with a warm, confiding lower and midrange (…) and (…) is able to characterize every word so vividly that, if he were singing in Vedic Sanskrit, you’d get the message”, admires the Washington Post. The colourfulness, flexibility and authenticity in his expression are the artistic foundation of his international career as an opera singer as well as an interpreter of art song.
Along with his repertoire of early and classical music, Holger Falk has a great passion for works from contemporary music theatre. Over the last few years, he performed Wolfgang Rihm’s major roles: „Jakob Lenz” at the Polish National Opera Warsaw and „Dionysos” at the Heidelberg Theatre as well as the role of Cortez in „Die Eroberung von Mexico” at the Teatro Real Madrid at the invitation of Gérard Mortier.
Furthermore, he has premiered many new roles that have been written for him. These include Inga in „The Golden Dragon” by Peter Eötvös at the Frankfurt Opera and later-on at the Bregenz Festival as well as Lucifer in Eötvös’ „Paradise Reloaded” at the Palace of Arts–Müpa Budapest. He sang the world premieres of Miroslav Srnka’s „Make No Noise” at the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Benoit Mernier’s „Frühlings Erwachen” at La Monnaie Brussels, Michael Wertmüller’s „Weine nicht, singe!” at the Hamburg State Opera as well as in new works by Steffen Schleiermacher („Kokain”), Jan Müller-Wieland („Die Irre”), Hans Gefors („Schattenspiele”), Vladimir Tarnopolski („Jenseits der Schatten”), Beat Furrer („La bianchanotte”), Fabián Panisello („L ́officina della resurrezione”) and Georges Aperghis („Le Soldat inconnu”). In 2017, he has been nominated as singer of the year by Opernwelt magazine for the interpretation of Kassandra in Xenaki’s Oresteia at the Theater Basel to which he successfully returned for Wertmüller‘s world premiere „DIODATI. UNENDLICH” in 2019. In 2018, he made his debut at the RuhrTriennale in the role of Jean-Charles in Hans Werner Henze’s „Das Floß der Medusa” with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra.
Holger Falk is an enthusiastic singer of Lieder and has performed at the Kölner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Konzerthaus Berlin, Heidelberger Frühling, Schwetzingen SWR Festival, Dresden Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Music Festival, Palais des Beaux-Arts Bruxelles, Franz Liszt Academy Budapest, Wiener Konzerthaus, Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ Amsterdam, Megaron Athens as well as at theFrick Collection NYC and Phillips Collection Washington i.a..
For his recording of Hanns Eisler „Lieder Vol. 1”, the first part of a 4-CD collection of songs by Eisler (MDG), Holger Falk was honoured with the renown German Record Critics’ Award 2017, „CD of the month” (Opernwelt) and the „Gramophone Editor´s Choice Award”. He also received the ECHO Klassik Award 2016 for his recording of Erik Satie: „Intégrale des Mélodies et Chansons” and released three CDs of his Francis Poulenc’s complete oeuvre of all 115 Mélodies for male voice (MDG). In 2017/18, his latest recordings of Hanns Eisler „Lieder Vol. 2” and „Vol. 3” have been released to great acclaim, for „Vol. 3” he has even been nominated for the Opus Klassik 2019 as „Singer of the Year” and „best solo-recording vocal: Lied”.
In the current season, Holger Falk will sing recitals and concerts at the Niedersächsische Musiktage, Schwetzinger SWR Festival, Musikfestspiele Potsdam, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Cité de la Musique/Festival d’Automne Paris and at the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Jekaterinburg i.a.. He will also premiere the new monodrama „Ein Brief” by Manfred Trojahn with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn and conductor Dirk Kaftan at the Oper Bonn followed by a guest performance at the Theater an der Wien, and he will make his debut at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin in „Himmelerde” by Musicbanda Franui and Familie Flöz.
Holger Falk is professor of Lied interpretation and performances practice for contemporary music at the renowned University of Music and Performing Arts Graz.
