Maximilian Schmitt

Tenor Maximilian Schmitt has a wide repertory comprising opera, lieder, and concert music, and extending from <a href="spotify:artist:5iAhVgz6P8Nylxijb0C65v">Monteverdi</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:7MJ1pB5d6Vjmzep2zQlorn">Britten</a>. He has been successful in both traditional and historically informed performances.

Schmitt was born in West Germany in 1977. His first professional experiences came as a chorister in the <a href="spotify:artist:0OMiaStMiMP5VPXoRO2mUx">Regensburger Domspatzen</a>, Germany's most renowned boychoir. Schmitt attended the Berlin University of the Arts, studying voice with Anke Eggers, and he honed his skills as a member of the Bavarian State Opera's Youth Ensemble in 2005 and 2006. He made his debut in Austria at the Salzburg Landestheater as Tamino in <a href="spotify:artist:4NJhFmfw43RLBLjQvxDuRS">Mozart</a>'s Die Zauberflöte and then appeared in several productions at the Bavarian State Opera's Opera Studio before landing a position as a permanent member of the ensemble at the National Theater in Mannheim, Germany. He remained there until 2012, appearing in such roles as David in <a href="spotify:artist:1C1x4MVkql8AiABuTw6DgE">Wagner</a>'s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Lensky in <a href="spotify:artist:3MKCzCnpzw3TjUYs2v7vDA">Tchaikovsky</a>'s Eugene Onegin, and a host of <a href="spotify:artist:4NJhFmfw43RLBLjQvxDuRS">Mozart</a> parts. Schmitt has since appeared in major houses in many countries, making his debut at La Scala in Milan as Pedrillo in <a href="spotify:artist:4NJhFmfw43RLBLjQvxDuRS">Mozart</a>'s Die Entführung aus dem Serail under conductor <a href="spotify:artist:3FEd0qHPFOgcpfw7bCXB4x">Zubin Mehta</a> in 2016, and later appearing at the Wiener Staatsoper and Theater an der Wien in Vienna, among others. He is notable for his wide experience in historically informed productions, maintaining a close partnership with conductor <a href="spotify:artist:2ozcTa5tl8qhSbhJKM60I5">Philippe Herreweghe</a> and performing with the <a href="spotify:artist:1R1hwKrqqLqYiD53NtXEBJ">Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin</a> and other groups. Schmitt is in demand among traditional orchestras as well: he has appeared with world-class groups, including the <a href="spotify:artist:0jJszR81GjA87jeRq0Jgwz">Cleveland Orchestra</a>, the <a href="spotify:artist:0SlNRZ8zBLAgyB1lsoYxAa">Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig</a>, and the <a href="spotify:artist:74gWOpgM97HU3Mn8A8d0Vm">Symphonieorchester des bayerischen Rundfunks</a>. He has performed <a href="spotify:artist:2UqjDAXnDxejEyE0CzfUrZ">Schumann</a>'s song cycle Dichterliebe and other lieder repertory, often working with accompanist <a href="spotify:artist:76BGE6sNIHPvJejRb7mkVI">Gerold Huber</a>.

Schmitt has recorded mostly lieder for the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Oehms%22">Oehms</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Phi%22">Phi</a>, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Harmonia+Mundi%22">Harmonia Mundi</a> labels. In 2019, he appeared as Florestan on a recording of Beethoven's Leonore, the original version of Fidelio, Op. 72, conducted by <a href="spotify:artist:3hwPQDlJr99FzncxqZD2SU">René Jacobs</a>. The following year, Schmitt was heard in the recording of <a href="spotify:artist:656RXuyw7CE0dtjdPgjJV6">Haydn</a>'s Die Schöpfung, Hob. 21/2, on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Alpha%22">Alpha</a> label's Haydn 2032 cycle.