German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn has established himself as one of the leading baritones of his generation, acclaimed for his work on the opera stage as well as in concert and recital repertoire. A prize winner at major international competitions—including First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels—he studied in Hanover and Paris before launching a rapidly expanding international career.
Highlights of the 2025/26 season include his debuts at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in Le nozze di Figaro (Conte Almaviva) and the Baden-Baden Easter Festival in Lohengrin (Heerrufer) under Joana Mallwitz. He also returns to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden under Christian Thielemann in Die schweigsame Frau (Schneidebart), and for the world premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s Das kalte Herz. He will also appear with the Berlin Philharmonic in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem and perform the same piece in a staged production at Opéra Rouen.
Hasselhorn began his operatic career as a member of the ensembles at the Wiener Staatsoper and Staatstheater Nürnberg, and now appears regularly at leading houses including the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Oper Frankfurt, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Teatro alla Scala. His wide-ranging repertoire includes the title roles in Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, Pelléas et Mélisande, Mathis der Maler, and Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well as Tannhäuser (Wolfram von Eschenbach), Die Fledermaus (Gabriel von Eisenstein), Die Zauberflöte (Papageno), Così fan tutte (Guglielmo), L’elisir d’amore (Belcore), Ariadne auf Naxos (Harlekin), and Falstaff (Ford). Guest engagements have taken him to major companies including Opéra National de Paris, La Monnaie, Maggio Musicale, and Theater an der Wien where he has collaborated with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Joana Mallwitz, Nathalie Stutzmann, Alain Altinoglu, and Philippe Herreweghe.
Alongside his operatic work, Hasselhorn is deeply committed to Lieder. His long-term “Schubert 200” project with pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz documents the composer’s songs 200 years after their composition for Harmonia Mundi. Their recordings, including Hoffnung, Die schöne Müllerin and Licht und Schatten, have received major accolades such as the Diapason d’or de l’année and the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Regular recital partners also include Helmut Deutsch, Malcolm Martineau, Philippe Cassard, Joseph Middleton, and Julius Drake. He has sung recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, Wigmore Hall, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, among many others.
In concert, he has appeared with leading orchestras and at major venues worldwide including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Atlanta Symphony. His orchestral album Urlicht – Songs of Death and Resurrection, recorded with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra under Łukasz Borowicz, received the International Classical Music Award for Best Vocal Album and Recording of the Year.
A dedicated educator, Hasselhorn teaches regularly at the Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival and has given masterclasses at leading conservatories across Europe and beyond. Praised for the warmth and clarity of his voice, as well as his nuanced and text-driven interpretations, he continues to shape a distinctive artistic profile that bridges operatic tradition and contemporary musical life.
2025-2026
