David Steffens was born in Bavaria. At the Mozarteum University Salzburg, he studied voice with Prof. Horiana Branisteanu and Lied with Prof. Wolfgang Holzmair. He was a scholar of the Episcopal Scholarship Foundation Cusanuswerk in Bonn. In 2011, he was awarded the Lilli Lehmann Medal by the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation and received the Gottlob Frick Medal for young talented singers. In addition, he attended master classes with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ruggero Raimondi, Christa Ludwig, Thomas Hampson, Helmut Deutsch, Rudolf Piernay, Francisco Araiza and Thomas Moser.

In 2010, he made his debut at the Salzburg State Theatre as Bartolo in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, subsequently joining the International Opera Studio at Zurich Opera House. As Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, he could be heard in the frame of the Salzburg Festival Young Singers Project in 2012. From 2012 to 2014 he was an ensemble member of the Klagenfurt State Theatre.

From the season 2015/2016, David Steffens is ensemble member of the Staatstheater Stuttgart, where he as so far appeared in roles such as Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin and many others.

As a guest, he has already appeared in opera houses such as the Semperoper Dresden, the Opéra National de Lyon, the Vienna Volksoper, the Opéra de Lausanne, the National Theatre Prague, the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste, as well as at the Festival Baden-Baden and the Schlossfestspiele Schwerin. Further appearances include the role of Osmin in Mozart’s die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Mozart Week in Salzburg and at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana at the Teatro Real in Madrid and a new production of Strauss’ Salome at the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst und directed by Romeo Castellucci.

Central roles on the opera stage include Osmin (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Rocco (Fidelio), the Hermit and Kaspar (Der Freischütz), King Heinrich (Lohengrin) and Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau (Der Rosenkavalier).

Recent engagements of the past season 2018/2019 saw him participating in concert performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni - both as Masetto and as Commendatore - with the Kammerorchester Basel under Giovanni Antonini, followed by performances of Der Rosenkavalier in Chemnitz and by his debut as Kaspar in Der Freischütz at the Opéra National de Strasbourg. As Commendatore, David also gave his house debut at the Semperoper Dresden under Omer Meir Wellber.

At the Salzburg Festival 2019, David could be heard in a new production of George Enescu’s Œdipe under Ingo Metzmacher, besides taking part in the revival of last year’s highly-acclaimed Salome production. Recent engagements in Stuttgart include the role debuts as Escamillo (Carmen) and as Oroveso (Norma), in addition to The Hermit (Der Freischütz), King of Clubs | Herald in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, King Heinrich (Lohengrin) and Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte). Furthermore, he will sing Masetto (Don Giovanni) at the Salzburg Festival 2020 under the musical direction of Teodor Currentzis.

As ensemble member of Oper Stuttgart, David Steffens was supposed to appear in several productions during the season 2020/2021 including Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Don Carlo and Madama Butterfly, all of them cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, David will give his debut as Quasimodo in Franz Schmidts seldom-performed Notre Dame at the Festival St. Gallen. On the concert stage, he will appear as soloist in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Würth Philharmoniker and in concert performances of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito Rouen. At the Salzburg Festival 2021, he will be Masetto (Don Giovanni under the musical direction of Teodor Currentzis.

A selection of David Steffens’ concert engagements includes appearances at the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Schubertiade Hohenems, the Herkulessaal Munich, the Malmö Symphony Hall and the Great Hall of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation where he was invited to perform at the centennial jubilee concert on the occasion of the Hall’s 100th anniversary. He further appeared as soloist (Pater Profundus) in Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under the baton of Kent Nagano, and sang the solo part in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Stuttgart Philharmonic under Marcus Bosch.

David Steffens already appeared with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and the Stuttgart Philharmonic, working with conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Christoph von Dohnányi, Enoch zu Guttenberg, Cornelius Meister, Zubin Metha, Ingo Metzmacher, Kent Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle, Peter Schneider and Lothar Zagrosek.

2020 | 2021

www.davidsteffens.com

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