Matthias Rexroth

Matthias Rexroth (b. Nürnberg, Germany, 7 January 1970) is a German countertenor and voice teacher. Winning 1st prizes at the Francisco-Viñas in Barcelona [1] and the 'Belvedere Competition' in Vienna[2] in 2000, preceded an extensive international performing and teaching career.

Matthias Rexroth
Matthias Rexroth, photo by Johannes Ifkovits
Born (1970-01-07) January 7, 1970
Nürnberg, Germany
OccupationCountertenor opera and concert singer
Years active1999 – present
Awards
  • 1st Prize, Francisco Viñas International Singing Contest (2000)
  • 1st Prize, Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition (2000)
Websitematthiasrexroth.de

Early life and education

Matthias Rexroth was raised in Coburg and completed studies as an oboist, playing professionally before discovering his countertenor voice. He usually refers to himself as an Altus (In English, a "Male alto").[3]

Rexroth studied at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and privately with Marilyn Horne. In 1999 he received a stipend award from the cultural foundation of the state of Baden Württemberg. [4]

Voice Teacher

Rexroth is a professor of voice at the Warsaw Opera Academy of the national theater Teater Wielki[5] and gives masterclasses at the Berlin Hans Eisler Musikhochschule, the Meistersingerakademie in Neumarkt,[6] Frankfurt Opera, Kyoto City University of Arts, Duszniki Zdroj,[7] Daegu, Novosibirsk and the Kaunas Music Academy[8] as well as masterclasses for ENOA.[9]

Career

Rexroth was hired by Pamela Rosenberg for his debut at the Staatsoper Stuttgart with Purcell's King Arthur in 1999.[10] A year later, in 2000, followed Apollo in Legrenzi's opera La divisione del mondo at the Schwetzingen Festival with Thomas Hengelbrock.[11] His first major concert appearance was the internationally televised Bach-year 2000, Bach Mass in B minor from the Leipzig Thomaskirche with Thomaskantor Georg Christoph Biller, the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhaus Orchestra.[12] [n 1]

Also in 2000, Rexroth won two competitions, both wins as first countertenor ever: the 37th Francisco-Viñas in Barcelona - first prize in the category Male voices, as well as ‘best counter-tenor’[14] and the 19th 'Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition' in Vienna, winning the first prize and eight additional prizes.[15][16]

In 2001 the Cologne Philharmonie nominated Matthias Rexroth for the "Rising Star" award, with a tour of major European concert houses.[17] In 2003 he represented Germany in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.[18]

Matthias Rexroth has collaborated frequently with the conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt in roles such as Unulfo in Handel's Rodelinda at the Theater an der Wien,[19] Hamor in Handel’s Jephtha, Didymus in Handel’s Theodora[20] and Purcell’s Ode to St. Cecilia at the Vienna’s Musikverein and the Styriarte festival in Graz. Notable concerts include those with the Vienna Philharmonic under Riccardo Muti, Fabio Luisi with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia Rome, and Danish National Symphony Orchestra,[21] Nicola Luisotti and Donato Renzetti[22] with the Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos with the Wiener Symphoniker, the ORF Radiosymphonieorchester and Vladimir Fedoseyev.[23] Rexroth performs recitals regularly, at the Berlin Philharmonie, Prinzregententheater in Munich,[24] Bad Kissingen,[25] and with pianists Semion Skigin,[26] Matteo Pais, Mariusz Kłubczuk[27][28] and Eytan Pessen.[29]

Matthias Rexroth has also been a judge for the 10th Stanislaw Moniuszko competition.[30] His performance of Admeto[31] was nominated for the category best singer performance of Der Faust 2007.[32] He has conducted the Georgisches Kammerorchester[33] and the "Ensemble del' Arte" in Ingolstadt.[34][35] In 2010 Rexroth appeared in a book of cooking recipes by famous opera singers Die Oper kocht by Evelyn Rillé and Johannes Ifkovits.[36]

Rexroth Matthias 012 jpg

Opera

Rexroth sang the title roles in Handel's Giulio Cesare (directed by Stefan Herheim) at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo in 2005,[37] Gluck's Ezio with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf in 2007, and Handel's Admeto[38] at the Handel Festival, Halle. For his performance of Admeto, Rexroth was nominated "Best Singing Actor" for the 2007 German theatre prize Der Faust.[39] He performed the title role of Handel's Ottone in Halle in 2011.[40] Other Handel roles include Athamas in Semele in Essen, Arcane in Teseo in Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt and Staatsoper Stuttgart, Armindo in Partenope (under Christophe Rousset)[41] and Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare in Frankfurt (2013-5).[42][43]

Apart from Handel repertoire, Matthias Rexroth performed Corindo in Antonio Cesti's Orontea under Ivor Bolton (2014) at the Frankfurt opera, Nibbio in Giambattista Martini's L'impresario delle Isole Canarie at the Semperoper Dresden (2014) (where he also performed various roles in Purcell's King Arthur -2014), Telemann's Der geduldige Socrates with René Jacobs at the Festwochen der Alten Musik in Innsbruck and at the Staatsoper Berlin, Ottone in Monteverdi's Poppea at Hamburg State Opera, Oberon in Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream at the Staatstheater Darmstadt.[44] Ozia in Almeida's La Giuditta in Frankfurt,[45] Musico in Donizetti's Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali at the Staatsoper Stuttgart,[46] and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus in the Aalto Theatre in Essen under Stefan Soltesz,[47] and Alfonso in Francesco Cavalli's Veremonda.[48]

Concerts

Concert appearances with the Vienna Philharmonic, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Radio Televisione Española Madrid, Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Santa Cecilia orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin,[49] Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Concerto Köln,[50] Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart,[51] the Berliner Philharmoniker Scharoun Ensemble[52] Orchestra Montis realis,[53] and the festivals of Schwetzingen, Innsbruck,[54] Ludwigsburg, Rheingau, Baden-Baden and Shanghai.

The composer Wolfgang Rihm wrote Kolonos (“Oedipus auf Kolonos”)[55] for Rexroth, performed and recorded by the SWR and the Rossini in Wildbad opera festival in 2008, and with Constantin Trinks in Darmstadt.[56][57]

Recordings

Recordings with all major broadcasting companies in Germany have taken place. These include: Bayerischer Rundfunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, Hessischer Rundfunk, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, SFB, Südwestrundfunk, ORF and Deutsche Welle.

Specific recordings
  • 2001: J.S. Bach Mass in B minor, Universal Music Classics & Jazz ASIN: B003TXPUN2
  • 2004: Rossini Tancredi, Nef ASIN: B0002CPFCE [58]
  • 2004: Solo recital: Stimme der Könige, Matthias Rexroth NEF ASIN: B0001TSYZS
  • 2007: Händel, Admeto, Arthaus ASIN: B000M2EBTC
  • 2007: Gluck's Ezio
  • 2008: CPE Bach Magnificat / Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, ASIN: B001GHD43G
  • 2011: Telemann Germanicus, CPO, ASIN: B005UU066S
  • 2012: Handel Teseo, Carus, 2012, ASIN: B002QEIQVI
  • 2012: Mozart Ascanio in Alba, K. 111 (Excerpts) Ars Produktion ASIN: B008Y1VLGE

Interviews
  • Heinrich Becker, "Matthias Rexroth Temperament für die Bühne", Orpheus, March–April 2003, pp. 10–11 (In German)
  • Live interview on NDR (In German)
  • 2008 interview retrieved June 2013. (In German)

References
  1. Rexroth’s appearance in this concert is discussed effusively by a character named ‘Andre’ in a novel by Roland Schreyer.[13]

Notes

  1. Bernd Krause, "Der Stuttgarter Countertenor Matthias Rexroth gewinnt den Gesangswettbewerb in Barcelona", Stuttgarter Zeitung, 1 February 2000
  2. Peter Jarolin, "BÜHNE-Sonderpreis – ein Porträt des Siegers", Wiener Bühnen, September 2000, p. 39
  3. Heinrich Becker, "Matthias Rexroth Temperament für die Bühne", Orpheus, March–April 2003, pp. 10-11
  4. Andreas J. Wiesand, Handbuch der Kulturpreise 4, Arcult Media, 2001. ISBN 978-3930395248
  5. https://teatrwielki.pl/en/ludzie/matthias-rexroth/
  6. https://meistersingerakademie.com/faculty&sa=U&ei=nl1vU8qIO8jf8AHInIHoAg&ved=0CCgQFjAC&usg=AFQjCNGumWHmzZ4PwjSuuUgA0XniGBgHcA
  7. http://ma.vdu.lt/menine-veikla/tarptautiniai-meistriskumo-kursai
  8. https://www.tiketa.lt/LT/xxiv_pazaislio_muzikos_festivalis_margas_dainu_rastas_21250
  9. https://www.enoa-community.com/matthias-rexroth
  10. Klaus Zehelein, Editor, „Anders“, raumzeit3 Verlag, ISBN 978-3981100761 (2006),
  11. Bernhard Hermann ,Peter Stieber, Ein Arkadien der Musik: 50 Jahre Schwetzinger Festspiele, 1952-2002 Verlag: Metzler (2002) ISBN 978-3476019073 s. 246
  12. J.S. Bach: Mass in B minor, Universal Music Classics & Jazz, 2001, ASIN: B003TXPUN2
  13. Roland Schreyer , Akte St. Nikolai, B.O.D (2010) ISBN 978-3839157114
  14. Bernd Krause, "Der Stuttgarter Countertenor Matthias Rexroth gewinnt den Gesangswettbewerb in Barcelona", Stuttgarter Zeitung, 1 February 2000
  15. Peter Jarolin, "BÜHNE-Sonderpreis – ein Porträt des Siegers", Wiener Bühnen, September 2000, p. 39
  16. Barbara Rett, "Hans Gabor Wettbewerb geht online" Archived 2013-06-01 at the Wayback Machine, Barbara Rett's online blog, 7 July 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2013
  17. Christopher Morley, Financial Times (London), 28 January 2002
  18. Cardiff Competition website also Graeme Kay's blog (see "additional sources" below)
  19. Opera News, July 2011
  20. Vienna Musikverein, Monatszeitung, Meistersinger aus Nürnberg retrieved 10 July 2013
  21. https://www.dr.dk/radio/p2/p2-koncerten/p2-koncerten-torsdagskoncert-med-luisi-carmina-burana
  22. https://www.ottopagine.it/ce/cultura/130957/alla-reggia-la-magia-dei-carmina-burana-di-carl-orff.shtml
  23. https://bachtrack.com/review-rso-fedoseyev-schnittke-shostakovich-musikverein-january-2016
  24. Klaus Kalchschmid, "Matthias Rexorh Gefeiertes Debut", Süddeutsche Zeitung, 21 November 2005
  25. Ahnert, Saale Zeitung, 28 June 2011
  26. Dirk Aschendorf, (Engl. "Wahnfried's first Counter", WAT, 4 October 2008
  27. https://www.coburg-kongress.de/de/?id=198%3Aqcoburgs-finestq&catid=1%3Averanstaltungskalender
  28. https://www.np-coburg.de/leben/tipps/np/tipps-np/In-Kuerze;art126812,5693165
  29. Recital review: Albrecht Schmidt, "Jeder Ton ein Ereignis, Matthias Rexroth singt, dass einem der Atem stockt", Damstädter Echo, 15 April 2002
  30. http://szymanowski-competition.com/en/competition/przebieg-konkursu/
  31. Händel, Admeto, Arthaus ASIN: B000M2EBTC
  32. http://www.buehnenverein.de/de/der-faust/der-faust-2007_100.html
  33. Sandra Hummel, "Grandios: Matthias Rexroth und die Georgier im Festsaal", Donau Kurier, 30 September 2010
  34. Josef Heumann, "Eine Stimme, die Emotionen weckt", Donaukurier, 20 January 2013
  35. https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/neuburg/Ensemble-del-Arte-feiert-25-Jaehriges-id55980646.html
  36. Rillé, Evelyn and Johannes Ifkovits, Die Oper kocht (The Opera Cooks), Opera Rifko (2010) ISBN 978-3-9502956-1-0
  37. Ingrid Gäfvert, Opera News, 5 February 2005
  38. Brooke Bryant, "Admeto re di Tessaglia by George Frideric Handel; Howard Arman; Matthias Rexroth; Romelia Lichtenstein; Mechthild Bach; Tim Mead; Raimund Nolte", Notes, Second Series, vol. 66, No. 3 (March, 2010), Music Library Association, pp. 621-622
  39. Article: "Deutscher Theaterpreis, Rexroth mit Admeto nominiert", Neue Presse, Coburg, 28 September 2007
  40. Review in Opernwelt (magazine), August 2011
  41. Ulrich Weinzierl, Die Welt, 24 February 2009
  42. Hans-Klaus Jungheinrich, Frankfurter Rundschau, 4 December 2012
  43. Claus Ambrosius, Opernwelt, February 2013
  44. Orpheus magazine, 8 September 2002
  45. Barbara Röder, "Giuditta, una opera sacra", Scherzo (magazine), N.255, September 2010 p. 39
  46. Götz Thieme, Kunst und Wahnsinn, Stuttgarter Zeitung, 24 March 2001
  47. Radio review by Ulrike Gondorf, dradio.de, December 12, 2011
  48. https://www.ft.com/content/64ef5562-105b-11e6-91da-096d89bd2173
  49. Online at akamus.de
  50. Matthias Boll, "Die klangvoller Rückkehr eines Stars", FN, 17. January 2007, p.4
  51. Review of Handel's Messiah with Helmuth Rilling, Stuttgarter Zeitung, 12 December 2005
  52. Christine Gehringer, "Ein Klang wie aus höheren Sphären", Badisches Tagblatt, 14 June 2003
  53. Giancarlo Satragni, La Stampa, 10 November 2006, p.57
  54. Klaus Kalschmid, "Telemann Der Geduldige Sokrates", Opernwelt (magazine), October 2007
  55. Information on the work on universaledition.com
  56. Ausgabe: 10/08 - 57 online review Jahrgang
  57. Online review on echo-online.de
  58. Roman Fryscheisen, "Tancredi mit Counter Matthias Rexroth und beiden Finale Fassunge", Opernwelt (magazine), August 2004

Additional sources

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