Ulrich Messthaler- at the beginning he studied piano and philosophy in Munich and after than he studied solo singing in Augsburg, New York and Basel. His teachers are Emmy Lisken, Kurt Widmer, Denis Hall, Thomas LoMonaco and Gérard Souzay. Ulrich Messthaler made his debut in Basel with Ann-Sophie von Otter and Paul Frey in "Ariadne on Naxos" and later he starred in such productions as "Idomeneo" directed by Armin Jordan, "The Merry Wives of Windsor” or "Orontea" by Cesti under the baton of René Jacobs and "Orpheus" with Joshua Rifkin. He also participated in opera productions in Basel, Monte Carlo, Hamburg and Stuttgart with such roles as Caronte in “Orpheus” and Escamillo in “Carmen” by Bizet. His concert activities have led him to such important music centers as Tonhalle Zürich, Musikverein Wien, Berlin Philharmonic, Cologne Philharmonic, Palais Garnier Paris and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. The artist is often a guest at festivals in Rastatt, Urach, Ambronay, Piccardie, Lyon, Paris, Beaune, Arles, Fribourg, Innsbruck, in the famous series of concerts of “St. Maurizio” in Milan and the “Printemps des Arts” in Monte Carlo where he collaborated with such musicians as Anthony Rooley, Louis Devos, Jordi Savall, Michael Radulescu and Martin Gester. At the Théatre Champs-Elysées in Paris, he sang under the direction of René Jacobs the Word of Christ from the Passion of St. John by Bach. Radio France transmitted it all over the Europe on Good Friday. Ulrich Messthaler has gained his popularity thanks to recitals that revitalized the old tradition of accompaniment while singing on Hammerflügel. It is worth mentioning successes at "Schubertiades in Limoges" with Christoph Coin and Quattuor Mosaique, at the Festival de Royaumont in Paris and other festivals in Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland and Slovenia. He recorded over 30 CDs and DVDs with the works of Monteverdi and Händel, Buxtehude and Bach's oratorios, Schubert's songs, Ravel's works. Many of them have been awarded with the Diapason d`Or, the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, the Grammophon Award, and the "Best record of the year" of “New York Times”. For more than 30 years, Ulrich Messthaler has not been only a singer but he has been also a valued vocal consultant and singing teacher. Since 1990, he has had the class of solo singing and interpretation of songs at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. His purpose is to open new perspectives for an international circle of students. These perspectives are based on historically well-established interpretative methods. His master courses in France, Germany, England, Slovenia, Poland and Brazil, which are based on competence, historical knowledge and which are combined with the vocal work of the whole body, are always of great interest. Ulrich Messthaler participates regularly in seminars and courses at Fondation Royaumont near Paris and he participates in research projects in collaboration with the Sorbonne University. Ulrich Messthaler teaches in London singers and groups like Voces8. In seminars, publications, international congresses he engages in a topic that affects the singing: exploring the forgotten aspects of singing aesthetics and their artistic performance in the present day. Since 2006 Ulrich Messthaler has been the artistic director of the “Festival des Cordes Sensibles” in southern France.
International Giulio Perotti Singing Competition
in Ueckermünde