Johannes Weisser

INTRODUCTION

The Norwegian baritone Johannes Weisser is considered to be one of Scandinavia’s leading singers of his generation, and has been engaged at opera houses such as the Staatsoper Berlin, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Theater an der Wien, Salzburg Festival, Teatro Real Madrid, Opera Bilbao, Opera Versailles, Komische Oper Berlin, Opera de Lausanne, Théâtre de La Monnaie in Brussels, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Canadian Opera Company, Opera National du Rhin, Theater and der Wien, The Royal Danish Opera, Megaron Athens and The Norwegian National Opera, where he he remains a regular guest.

RECENT AND FUTURE HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights of recent seasons have included Don Pizarro in Fidelio at the Hessische Staatstheater Wiesbaden, the Elbphilharmonie and the Berlin Philharmonic with the Freiburger Barockorchester, as well as at the Stavanger Concert Hall with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Verdi’s Requiem with The Copenhagen Phil, Händel’s Messiah at the Musikverein Wien, Germont in La traviata and the title role in Gianni Schicchi in Oslo, Siegfried in Schumann’s Genoveva at the Dresden Music Festival, Mauregato in Schubert’s Alfonso und Estrella in Helsinki and Budapest, Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Brahms’ Vier ernste Gesänge and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, as well as at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Beethoven Festival in Bonn and in the Philharmonie Köln, Caldara’s Maria ai piedi Cristo in Madrid and the Philharmonie in Paris, St John Passion with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, as well as Der Einäugige in Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic and conductor Kirill Petrenko.

He has also in recent years had great success with his interpretations of contemporary operas, most notably as Dillon in the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s The Listeners at the Norwegian Opera in Oslo, repeating the role for the German premiere of the piece at the Aalto Theater in Essen, and The Older Man in Bent Sørensen’s and Jon Fosse’s opera Asle og Alida that received much praise both at the Bergen National Opera and the Royal Danish Opera. In August 2025, he jumps in as Don Giovanni at the Confidencen Opera Festival in Stockholm.

Johannes Weisser’s engagements in season 25/26 and beyond include:

Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis w. Wolfram Christ at Teatro Filarmonico di Verona and Teatro Comunale di Vicenza, Mozart’s Requiem with the Oslo Philharmonic, Cartellieri’s Rüberzahl with Helsinki Baroque Orchestra in Helsinki and Budapest, Bach’s St Matthew Passion with René Jacobs and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra at Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, K. 427  with Diego Fasolis and Orchestra i Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, among others.

BIOGRAPHY

Johannes Weisser’s repertoire includes roles such as the title role and Leporello in Don Giovanni, Don Pizzarro in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La traviata, the father in Hansel and Gretel, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Papageno in The Magic Flute, and several of Händel’s major roles for bass, such as Achilla in Giulio Cesare and Re di Scozia in Ariodante.

Weisser has performed with leading orchestras and ensembles such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre de Radio France, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, and Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He has collaborated with outstanding conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Andris Nelsons, Kirill Petrenko, Adam Fischer, Andrew Manze, René Jacobs, Ingo Metzmacher, Marc Minkowski, Giovanni Antonini, Alan Curtis, Fabio Biondi, Diego Fasolis, Philippe Herreweghe, Vasily Petrenko, Trevor Pinnock, Edward Gardner, and Jérémie Rhorer.

As a dedicated performer of the German Lied and with a special affinity to the works of his compatriot Edvard Grieg, Johannes Weisser regularly performs in recitals and enjoys long-standing collaborations with outstanding pianists such as Julien Quentin, Christian Ihle Hadland, Daniel Heide, and Søren Rastogi.

Johannes Weisser has appeared on more than twenty CD and DVD recordings. His discography includes Haydn’s The Creation, Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, and St. John Passion, Don Pizarro in Beethoven’s Leonore, the role of Achilla in Giulio Cesare, as well as “Visiting Grieg,” a critically acclaimed CD of songs by Edvard Grieg, together with the pianist Søren Rastogi. He has also recorded Grieg’s Peer Gynt with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Edward Gardner, and he was nominated for a GRAMMY (best opera recording) for his role as David in Ståle Kleiberg’s David and Bathsheba with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and conductor Tönu Kaljuste.