Biz news: Askonas gets Günther Groissböck
OperaThe London end of AskonasHolt has signed the signature Austrian bass, Günther Groissböck.
He was formerly with Nicola Kamphausen at Hilbert.
Groissböck, 50 this month, warrants a higher global profile that he has obtained so far.
German media follow his every move. The rest of the world says, who?
“He warrants a higher global profile”
Bollocks he does
He has consistently performed at most major theaters worldwide for the better part of fifteen years, likely at or near top fee for the past five or more. This has happened as the voice has lost its power and beauty (he’s no successor to Rene Pape sadly). I’d assume the work’s started to dry up, so he thinks he’ll get more work at another agency. Good luck to all!
Oh come now Rosen – this is a man who’d give you the shirt off his back.
Yes, he’s a lovely chap.
That a musician is well-known nationally and not beyond the borders, says absolutely nothing about his/her qualities. And then, the German-speaking world is very big, not only geographically but also mentally and in terms of density of musical institutions, concerts, series, festivals, etc. It is a world in itself, and the anglo-saxon world looks – in comparison – as a more thinly-stretched territory.
The “anglo-saxon world” would hopefully include some German states, such as the ones called Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, and King Charles would surely not want us to forget the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Most people dabble in hyperbole, but to say “the German-speaking world is very big” may be a stretch. I believe that only about 1.6% of the world’s population speaks German.
Yes, but how!
Singing major roles in Teatro alla Scala and MET like Filippo/Don Carlo or Ochs/Rosenkavalier: not high profile at all. …. Bye the way: Groissböck was born in 1976 –> Herr Lebrecht irrt, wie dort so hier 😉
Re: The rest of the world says “who”, in addition to his quite frequent Met appearnces since 2010 and at Teatro Real Madrid and Dutch National Opera, Wikipedia informs us that “Groissböck is also known for performances with La Scala in Milan, the Paris Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in roles such as Henry the Fowler in Wagner’s Lohengrin, Hunding in Die Walküre, Banco in Verdi’s Macbeth (opera) and Zaccaria in Nabucco, and Rocco in Beethoven’s Fidelio. His international repertoire includes performances at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Gewandhaus, the Berliner Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall and the Boston Symphony Hall” etc. Far from obscure worldwide.
Let’s please not forget 135 performances (to date) in 23 roles plus numerous concerts and a solo recital at Wiener Staatsoper since 2002.
Oh, and 11 summers at Bayreuth since 2011, often as Gurnemanz, König Marke, Landgraf Hermann, and Hunding.
Yes of course but I was responding to the “only followed by German media” part which was contrasted to “the rest of the world”.
He was also a titan in fighting for the arts and for carrying on performing during the Covid period. Not a mask wearer, he.
Herr Groissböck has had a very successful career at top international houses including The Met, Covent Garden and La Scala….. so he’s hardly an unknown outside of the German-speaking opera world.
And as another reader already pointed out, he’s 47 not 50
Who? As has been pointed out, Groissböck has had an extremely successful career for years! I’ve seen him countless times at the Met and in Wien – if anything, I think he’s a bit overrated. Always intelligent and great to look at onstage, but with a limited lower register and a distracting tendency to sing out of one side of his mouth.
He’s hilarious as Ochs. He can sing while being very physical. He does a lot of cardio and stays in great shape.
Hope they can power wash his absolutely awful Covidiotic comments during the lockdowns…I lost a lot of respect for his and Joseph Calleja who both presented as some overgrown babies pretending to know better than epidemiologists. Arrogant man babies.