Axel Köhler
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2015) ) |
Axel Köhler (born 1959 in
Early life
Axel Köhler studied violin pedagogy and singing at the
Singing career
Since 1984, Köhler has belonged to the ensemble Halle an der Saale, first as a baritone and later as a countertenor. In 1995, Köhler sang at the Royal Opera House in London at the premiere of Arianna by Alexander Goehr. In 1998 he took over the title role in the world premiere of Farinelli by Siegfried Matthus. In 2001, he played the devil in Detlev Glanert's comic opera Scherz, Satire, Ironie und tiefere Bedeutung at its premiere. He sang the role of Ajib in L'Upupa by Hans Werner Henze in 2003 at the Salzburg Festival premiere. In 2006, Köhler designed the title role in Cantor – Die Vermessung des Unendlichen by Ingomar Grünauer, a world premiere in which he sang as a baritone.
In 2005, Köhler sang at the Semper Opera in Dresden in the role of Poro in
As a concert singer, Köhler worked with early music ensembles and conductors René Jacobs, Marcus Creed and Howard Arman. Köhler has released four solo CDs on the Capriccio and Berlin Classics labels.
Directing career
Since 2000, Axel Koehler also worked as a director. He made his debut with Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea, and in 2001 followed with Handel's Rodrigo. In 2005 he followed with A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten. Koehler's staging of Handel's opera Teseo was performed in 2003 in Germany, Switzerland and England.
In 2006, he staged opera air productions of Amadigi in Dresden and Alceste in Halle. In 2007 he brought
In 2009, Koehler staged Argenore by
Awards
Axel Köhler was honored in 1994 for his performances with the Handel Festival Prize. In 1998, he received the 1999 Prize of the Critics' Berliner Zeitung.