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BIOGRAPHY |
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The Swedish tenor Michael Weinius is one of the most sought-after dramatic tenors.
Recently Michael Weinius appeared as TRISTAN in Peter Sellar’s successful production “Tristan und Isolde” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under the musical direction of Gustavo Dudamel. He also portrayed TRISTAN at the Opéra National de Paris, at the Zürich Opera House, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Deutsche Oper Berlin, with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Prague and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
As SIEGFRIED both in “Siegfried” and “Götterdämmerung” he succeeded at the Vienna State Opera. He returned to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg, where he also enthralled in this very role and could be seen as Siegfried at the Riga Cesis Art Festival as well as in a concert in Bordeaux. He sang excerpts from “Götterdämmerung” with Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Festival.
He performed the ‘Gurrelieder’ with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Mahler’s DAS LIED VON DER ERDE with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, ERIK at the Opéra la Bastille, LACA at the Norske Opera Oslo and the Grand Théâtre de Genève, BACCHUS at the Flemish Opera and the Royal Opera Stockholm, HERODES at the Opera House Leipzig, with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and at Palau de la Música de València.
Future engagements take him a.o. as TRISTAN to the Opéra de Liège, the Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He portrays his first TAMBOUR MAJOR in “Wozzeck” with the NDR Elb Philharmonic Orchestra, sings Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Orquestra Gulbenkian Lisboa, Mahler’s LIED VON DER ERDE with the Hamburg Symphonic Orchestra, OTELLO at the Gothenburg Opera House, SIEGMUND at the Royal Opera Stockholm and PARSIFAL at the Cesis Festival in Latvia.
A celebrated Wagner singer, Michael excels for his interpretations of SIEGFRIED in “Siegfried” and “Götterdämmerung”, SIEGMUND, TRISTAN, PARSIFAL or LOHENGRIN. Other prestigious roles include SAMSON (Samson et Dalila), MAO (Nixon in China), LACA (Jenufa) and the title roles in PETER GRIMES and OTELLO.
Michael works with such distinguished conductors and stage directors as Andris Nelsons, Esa Pekka Salonen, Kent Nagano, Omer Meir Welber, Axel Kober, Gianandrea Noseda, Christoph Eschenbach, Marek Janowski, Gustavo Dudamel, Donald Runnicles, Christian Thielemann, Philipp Jordan, Peter Sellars, Claus Guth, Dietrich Hilsdorf, Keith Warner, Willy Decker, Alejo Pérez just to name a few.
Michael Weinius' started his professional career in 1993. Having sung as baritone, he made his transition to tenor in 2004, debuting as LACA in “Jenufa”.
In 2008, he was awarded with the First Prize of the Wagner Competition in Seattle and in 2010 he made his debut at the Opéra Bastille in Paris in the role of HANS SCHWALB in Hindemith's “Mathis der Maler”.
He sang his first LOHENGRIN at the Royal Swedish Opera. Engagements in this very role at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna State Staatsoper and as PARSIFAL at the Bavarian State Opera followed.
The Scandinavian star was nominated Swedish Royal Court Singer in 2013 and received the royal medal Litteris and Artibus in 2022.
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| REVIEWS |
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| Boston Symphony Orchestra – Götterdämmerung - SIEGFRIED |
| Tenor Michael Weinius deployed a bright, penetrating tone as Siegfried, his youthful voice and demeanor betraying the hero’s vainglorious persona. His superb diction rendered the supertitles superfluous.
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bachtrack
bachtrack.com
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| What a nuanced Siegfried this was. Michael Weinius’ engaging and often sweetly innocent performance not only recapitulated how he got to this point, with him having forgotten his Brünnhilde, but movingly recreated the powerful arc of this most epic of operas. His voice, with the orchestra behind him, sailed over that tumultuous Wagnerian sea. Certainly a Siegfried performance to cherish.
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OperaWire
operawire.com
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| Staatstheater Karlsruhe - Tannhäuser - TANNHÄUSER |
| Michael Weinius in the title part cleverly paced himself. Even though here and there he couldn’t avoid scarifying the cultivated phase in this tough tenor role to a massive tone stemming – the part often lies in the meddle between middle and high registers, which is rather inconvenient. But his Tannhäuser debut was interpreted clever and gripping, both at his Aaria of Praise in the first act and in the Rome Narrative in the third act.
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| OPERNWELT 6/24 – Alexander Dick
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| The evening‘s Tannhäuser was interpreted by Michael Weinius, well known to me as a good Wagner tenor, who didn’t show any sign of vocal deficiency in the first act. His beautiful tenor timbre with dark colors, splendidly blossomed during the singer competition…. Despite all efforts on the way, Weinius sang the homecoming with an impressively stable middle register, substantially increasing. He crowned his recital with a differentiated, impressive Rome Narrative.
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| Der Neue Merker, 04/2024, Gerhard Hoffmann
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| The Swedish heroic tenor Michael Weinius gives a vocally powerful portrayal of Tannhäuser as a depressive man, of strong character but who is not necessarily mellifluous. His Tannhäuser is driven by his own inner emptiness. In Nemirova’s production, which is tailor-made for him, he succeeds in creating a character of raging melancholy. Just like a pilgrim staggering among “ frivolous sensuality” (as Wagner called it) which is stunning but not fulfilling and a world, that knows only competition, duty but no propensities at all.
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FAZ
faz.de
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| The highlight is undoubtedly Tannhäuser’s „Rome Narrative “, which the versatile Micheal Weinius sings with brilliant and touching moments. In doing so, the dramatic impulse of the tragedy clearly stands out over and over again, reminding of the „Tristan und Isolde“ style.
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Online Merker
onlinemerker.com
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| Palau de la Música de Valencia – Salome - HERODES |
| Very Impressing and probably the best singer of the evening, was Michael Weinius, perfectly performing with a marvelous recitative the initial greed, the morbidity and finally the desperation when faced with his daughter’s supplication both vocally and dramatically. All this within one square meter, considering his composure.
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valencia plaza
valenciaplaza.com
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| Symphonieorchester Bern - SAMSON |
Particularly worth mentioning are all the singer’s comprehensibility – all the more so, as it is an international ensemble , whose members are mainly from not-German countries. Being so, one was not only able to enjoy the beauty of the voices, but also to understand the action plot without using a textbook or under titles. The main character‘s interaction lived from the gifted characterizing skills of its actors. Magnus Vigilius, Olena Tokar and Robin Adams presented Samson, Delilah and King Abimelech who is, in Raff’s Selilah’s father) as round characters with their strength and weakness...
...which were perfectly portrayed by Michael Weinius and Christian Immler.
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The New Listener
the-new-listener.de
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| Oper Bern – Samson - MISCHA |
| For the CD recording and this concert performance Michael Weinius could be engaged (he has sung in Switzerland Tristan under Noseda at the Zurich Opera House and Siegfried in the RING DES NIBELUNGEN in Geneva). For me Weinius is one of the most divinely gifted Wagner Helden tenors of our time. As Mischa he also has a strong impact in Bern, enriching the ensembles ( quintets, sextets, that sound like concertati, something Wagner hated , Raff however effectively used) with his brilliant Helden tenor voice.
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oper aktuell
koper-aktuell.info
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| The part of Micha, sung here by Michael Weinius, is the second huge, extremely demanding tenor part of the piece. Weinius’ tenor voice is darker colored ( he started his career as baritone) than Vigilius’ voice, which provokes a beautiful contrast. He also gives an impeccable interpretation with exemplary text comprehensibility.
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Online Merker
onlinemerker.com
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| Cesis Festival Lettland - Siegfried - SIEGFRIED |
| The soloists all made a highly concentrated and first class impression. Particularly worth mentioning are both protagonists, who exceedingly stood out from the ensemble. First there is Michael Weinius’ title hero Siegfried, whose portrayal left nothing to be desired. Such a differentiated phrasing, exactly intonating and performing Heldentenor is seldom heard in the opera business nowadays. He surely is a recommendation for Bayreuth.
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Klassik begeistert
klassik-begeistert.de
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| Opéra de Paris – Tristan und Isolde - TRISTAN |
| Tristan was beautifully rendered in fully heroic operatic terms by Swedish heldentenor Michael Weinius, fulfilling as well the broad humanity of director Sellars’ casting ethos.
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Opera Today
operatoday.com
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| Los Angeles Philharmonic – Tristan und Isolde – TRISTAN |
| The singers, Swedish tenor Michael Weinius as Tristan and soprano Miina-Liisa Varela, threw themselves into the roles. Having no others to compare them to, I can say they were the best I ever heard;...
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Forbes
forbes.com
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| Wiener Staatsoper - Siegfried - SIEGFRIED |
| The Swedish tenor Michael Weinius, who makes his role debut at the Vienna State Opera, isn’t just an impressive figure: although a proper rowdy at the beginning, he sings the huge role with remarkable condition and performing power. Comedy inclusive.
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Der Standard
www.derstandard.at
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| Deutsche Oper am Rhein - Walküre – SIEGMUND |
The part of Siegmund was sung by the Swedish tenor Michael Weinius, who will also sing Siegfried in the Düsseldorf’ Ring. Right from his entrance on stage in the first few notes „Wes Herd dies auch sei, hier muss ich rasten…“ , Weinius attracted highly positive attention. He gave an outstanding, fantastic vocal performance.
His interpretation of the part is well conceived, absolutely fitting the Wälsingen’s changing emotional condition. His exceptionally strong tenor voice doesn’t show any sign of weakness, not even in the middle or low registers. Long slurs, dynamic differentiation, an extremely high expressiveness combined with a clear text articulation make it clear that he is one of the greatest heldentenor singers on stage today.
In the exposed parts of the first act, like „Ein Schwert verhiess mir der Vater, ich fänd‘ es in höchster Not….“ Weinius develops the vocal sound with a tension arch. In „Wälse Wälse – Wo ist dein Schwert Das starke Schwert, das im Sturm ich schwänge, bricht mir hervor aus der Brust, was wütend das Herz noch hegt…“ the entire tenoral brilliance of his voice erupts in a very splendid way. Most impressive how this heldentenor succeeds in vocally enacting all required dynamic possibilities, which arise from play and text. The encounter in the third act, fourth scene between Siegmund and Brünnhilde is an important musical moment of this opera. Weinius sings every single dynamical step of his questions addressed to Brünnhilde with an endless vocal line, high expression and fantastic tonal coloration. One can hear the hero’s each emotion.
„Der dir nun folgt, wohin führst du den Helden….,In Walhalls Saal Walvater find‘ ich allein,…. Fänd‘ ich in Walhall Wälse, den eignen Vater,…. Grüsst mich in Walhall froh eine Frau,… Begleitet den Bruder die bräutliche Schwester Umfängt Siegmund Sieglinde dort“ is incredibly touching, sending shivers down your spine. Also in his acting Michael Weinius presents a Wälsungen desperate at first, than bursting with energy and frantically convinced he can achieve everything with his twin sister Sieglinde. Defeated and betrayed by the father of gods, he falls to his knees. This evening, Michael Weinius became a true Siegmund and presented a top vocal performance.
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Opernmagazin
www.opernmagazin.de
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| Already in an excerpt of the first act at his first Klangrausch-Concert in November 2011 I was really struck by him. “a Siegmund, who does not just make the best of the text, without letting his declamatory efforts affect his vocal line but who also attracted vocal attention with his slightly dark tenor voice that effortlessly reaches high notes.” It was wonderful to experience that he also succeeds in singing the entire part on this high level without efforts. As I have written before, one would love to see him more often at the Rhine Opera and elsewhere in this repertoire.
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Online Musik Magazin
www.omm.de
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| Grand Théâtre de Genève - Ring des Nibelungen - SIEGFRIED |
| Another major winner of the evening was Michael Weinius. Imposing stature, the singer portrays the role of Siegfried with quiet and complimentary perseverance. Should his voice be able to gain more brilliance and richness, he saved it for the strong moments in the Forge Scene and the Love Duet with Brünnhilde. There are powerful heights, adequately carried in the high registers. Weinius interpretation of the character is truly adorable. By the end of the opera, his initial qualities weren’t reduced at all.
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Olyrix
www.olyrix.com
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| Especially worth mentioning was the exceptional Siegfried by Michael Weinius, who truly shines with his sublime, sonorous, heroic voice without any stagnating or force: outrageously youthful, brilliant, sparkling in the high registers and velvety, dark and juicy in the middle with a magnificent diction. The Love Duet with Brünnhilde is simply splendid both with regard to the voices and the orchestra with its brilliant metals.
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Bachtrack
www.bachtrack.com
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| Deutsche Oper am Rhein - Götterdämmerung - SIEGFRIED |
| Michael Weinius‘ Siegfried is also a revelation. With just a little edge but lots of character in his voice, that can produce brilliant heights on the right places. Anyway, the challenge in Siegfried’s part are the nuances– changing from boisterousness to fear for the approaching death. His cultivated middle register is of use here.
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WZ
www.wz.de
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| Bayerische Staatsoper München - Parsifal - PARSIFAL |
| Michael Weinius with his well-focused voice as Parsifal sang the part to the full and made a lasting impression especially in the second act.
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Der Opernfreund
www.deropernfreund.de
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| Deutsche Oper am Rhein – Samson et Dalila - SAMSON |
| The couple of the evening were of course Michael Weinius with his steel tenor voice and Ramona Zaharia.
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Terzwerk
www.terzwerk.de
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| Oper Leizig – Lohengrin - LOHENGRIN |
| The Swedish tenor Michael Weinius , rather a warrior king than a lover in the title part, in no way vocally yields to the philharmonic assaults of the Gewandhaus Orchestra.
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NMZ
www.nmz.de
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| Staatstheater Kassel – Tristan ud Isolde - TRISTAN |
| It is admirable to see with which passion and vocal power Michael Weinius portrays Tristan’s agonizing phantasies even in the ludicrous final scene.
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HNA
www.hna.de
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| Royal Opera Stockholm – Batseba - DAVID |
| Michael Weinius played a dark David, dying of the load of royal dignity. All leading role voices are technically impeccable: perfectly balanced in all registers and yet powerfully resounding.
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Operapoint
www.operapoint.com
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