The bass Magnus Piontek is a highly sought-after opera and oratorio singer. Among his standout roles are the major Wagnerian roles and those of the romantic oratorio.
Starting his freelance career in the 2022/23 season, he will make his debuts as the Grande Inquisitor (Don Carlo) at Theater Osnabrück, as Colline (La Bohème) at Semperoper Dresden, King Marke (Tristan und Isolde) with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Prague, as well as King Treff (Love for Three Oranges) in Bonn. In the 2021/22 season, he made his critically acclaimed debut at Oper Leipzig as Jeronimus (Maskarade), at Staatstheater Kassel as Doktor (Wozzeck), and at Oper Bonn as Un Frate (Don Carlo).
After successful debuts as Timur (Turandot), Sarastro (The Magic Flute), and Rocco (Fidelio), he took on further roles in the 2019/20 season, such as the title role in Boito’s Mefistofele and King Heinrich (Lohengrin). The Asian tour of the Komische Oper Berlin in autumn 2019, during which he performed again as Sarastro, was another highlight of his career.
In 2016, he made his debut at Semperoper Dresden, where he has appeared since then among others as Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Méru (Les Huguenots), Zeremonienmeister (Doktor Faustus), and Priester (Moses und Aron).
Since the 2016/2017 season, Magnus Piontek has established himself at the Chemnitz Theatre with leading Wagnerian roles Gurnemanz (Parsifal), Landgraf (Tannhäuser), Veit Pogner (Meistersinger), as well as Fasolt, Hunding, and Fafner in Der Ring des Nibelungen.
During his studies, Magnus Piontek made his debut in 2012 at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, where he appeared in many Italian and German roles as well as in numerous world premieres.
In addition to his operatic activities, Magnus Piontek dedicates himself to the oratorio repertoire and has performed Verdi’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Paulus, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Martin’s In Terra Pax, and Haydn’s Creation among others.
Guest appearances have taken him to Deutsche Oper Berlin, the theaters of Münster, Braunschweig, and Pforzheim, as well as to the Mozart Festival in Würzburg, the Easter Festival in Baden-Baden, and the Berliner Philharmonie. He has worked with renowned conductors, such as Alan Gilbert, Dan Ettinger, Gotthold Schwarz, Pietari Inkinen, and famous directors, such as Peter Konwitschny, Achim Freyer, Calixto Bieito, Balázs Kovalik, and prominent ensembles (Berliner Philharmoniker, Concerto Köln, musikFabrik, Lautten Compagney Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin).
Radio and CD productions, such as Hunding (Die Walküre) alongside Klaus-Florian Vogt and Catherine Foster, Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni) with the Lautten Compagney at the Mozartfest Würzburg, the premiere recording of Hans Sommer’s „Rübezahl“ in the title role, and Zimmermann’s „Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin,“ document his work.
Magnus Piontek studied conducting with Prof. Marcus Creed (Cologne) and voice with Prof. Rudolf Piernay (Mannheim). During that time, he was a scholarship holder of the Richard-Wagner-Verband Heidelberg and the Deutsche Bank Foundation Akademie Musiktheater heute.
Magnus Piontek was born in Bonn in 1985 and currently lives in Leipzig. He speaks German, English, Russian, Arabic, Italian, French, and is currently learning Korean.
