Werner Güra

Werner Güra © Marco Borggreve

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BIOGRAPHY

The Munich-born tenor Werner Güra completed his studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, before continuing his vocal training with Prof Kurt Widmer in Basel, Prof Margreet Honig in Amsterdam and Prof Wessela Zlateva in Vienna.

After operatic guest appearances in Frankfurt and Basel, he became a member of the ensemble at the Semperoper in Dresden in 1995, where he sang the major roles of his fach, particularly in Mozart and Rossini. He sang at the Berlin State Opera under the direction of Daniel Barenboim and appeared as a guest in new productions of Die Zauberflöte at the Opéra national de Paris and La Monnaie in Brussels. Further engagements took him to the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and the Baden-Baden Festival, as well as to the Zurich Opera and Theater an der Wien.

As a concert and oratorio singer, Werner Güra performs on Europe’s most prominent concert stages and has worked with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Wiener Symphoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, the German (BR, SWR, HR, NDR) and Dutch radio orchestras as well as BBC Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National de France, under conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Michel Corboz, Sir Colin Davis, Adam Fischer, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Thomas Hengelbrock, Pablo Heras-Casado, René Jacobs, Marek Janowski, Philippe Jordan, Ton Koopman, Fabio Luisi, Kurt Masur, Ingo Metzmacher, Riccardo Muti, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Roger Norrington, Trevor Pinnock, George Prêtre, Peter Schreier, Thomas Zehetmair. Werner Güra also enjoyed a close working relationship with Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Among the highlights of recent years have been Mendelssohn’s oratorios and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Andris Nelsons, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise) Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, masses by Schubert and Haydn with Concentus Musicus under Stefan Gottfried, Schumann’s Paradise and the Peri with the Orchestre National de France under Philippe Jordan, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Le Cercle de l'Harmonie under Jérémie Rhorer, Mozart’s Requiem with the Czech Philharmonic under Giovanni Antonini, Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Insula Orchestra under Laurence Equilbey, and Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra under Jonathan Nott.

In the 2026–2027 season, Werner Güra will appear in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under Thomas Zehetmair; Mozart’s Requiem with the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria under Andreas Ottensamer; Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Gli Angeli Genève and Stephan MacLeod; Haydn’s The Seasons with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Thierry Fischer; Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Concentus Musicus under Stefan Gottfried, as well as with the Noord Nederlands Orkest under Masato Suzuki; Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the Collegium Vocale Gent under Philippe Herreweghe; and Schumann’s Paradise and the Peri with the Orquesta Nacional de España under David Afkham.

Werner Güra is especially recognised internationally as a Lied interpreter with appearances at London's Wigmore Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Vienna Musikverein, the Cologne Philharmonie, Gulbenkian Lisbon, Lucerne Festival, Lincoln Center New York, at the Schubertiades in Schwarzenberg and in Barcelona.

Around 50 recordings document his artistic versatility. In September 2000, Harmonia Mundi released his first solo CD with Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin (accompanist Jan Schultsz), which was followed by Schumann: Dichterliebe, Liederkreis op. 39 and Hugo Wolf: Mörike Lieder. With pianist Christoph Berner he released Schubert's Schwanengesang, Mozart Lieder and Schubert's Winterreise. He appeared on a recording of Brahms Liebesliederwalzer and Schumann's Spanische Liebeslieder as well as a selection of Schubert songs. All these discs received great acclaim from both the public and critics and garnered numerous prizes. In spring 2021, Hugo Wolf's "Italian Songbook" was released together with Anke Vondung and Christoph Berner.

Werner Güra has been a professor at the Zurich University of the Arts since 2009.

2026 | 2027

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.

DISCOGRAPHY

Johann Sebastian Bach: Johannes-Passion BWV 245
Werner Güra, Sophie Gallagher, Aleksandra Lewandowska, Alex Potter, Maximilian Vogler, Drew Santini
Gli Angeli Geneve
Stephan MacLeod
Conductor: Stephan MacLeod
Label: Claves | 2023

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Werner Güra

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WERNER GÜRA sings "Das Paradies und die Peri" at the Theater an der Wien

WERNER GÜRA looks forward to fascinating concert projects

WERNER GÜRA performs in Barcelona, Cologne and Geneva