Introducing German-American barihunk Malte Roesner

Malte Roesner (left) as Nick Shadow and Arthur Chen (right) as Tom Rakewell

German-American baritone, Malte Roesner came to our attention when a reader in Germany pointed him out as the Nick Shadow in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at the Staatstheatre Braunscwhweig.

Roesner began his musical education when he was five years old and took violin lesson.  He then performed with the Hanover Boy’s Choir in Germany, before continuing his studies at the University of Hamburg and at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, where he majored in both musicology and in opera performance. He was awarded scholarships from both the German National Academic Foundation and the Richard-Wagner-Foundation.

Malte Roesner in Mascagni's Isabeau (left)

He has been a member of the ensemble at the Staatstheatre Braunschweig since 2006, where he has performed more than fifty roles. In addition to most of the major baritone Mozart roles, his operatic repertoire includes Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Pasquale in Haydn’s Orlando Paladino, Ping in Puccini's Turandot, Schaunard in Puccini's La Bohème and Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Dr. Falke in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Paolo in Simone Boccanegra, Heerrufer in Lohengrin, Masaniello in the German premiere of Carlos Gomes’ Salvator Rosa and in the world premiere of the operatic version of Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle.

In the opening-production of the 14th Munich Biennial for Modern Music Theater 2014 he sang Marco Polo in Marco Nikodijevic’s Vivier. Ein Nachtprotokoll. Other roles in Braunschweig this season include Manfred in For a Look or a Touch by Jake Heggie, Silvano in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore.

Tenor Ray Wade Jr & Malte Roesner sing "All'Armi!" from Salvator Rosa's Carlos Gomes: 

As Joe Gillis in the musical Sunset Boulevard, his first major musical part, he attracted a great deal of positive attention from the German press.

Roesner’s lied and art-song repertoire span the works of Schumann, Wolf and Haydn to those of Ibert, Mahler and Coplnd. In his most recent series of recitals in Zurich, he presented the song-cycle Die schöne Magelone by Brahms. Prior to that he had done a program with songs of death by Schubert, the Hölderlin-Gesänge by Fortner and the Neue Alexanderlieder by Rihm. In the ballet Schattengänger at the Brunswick National Theater, he appeared as a vocal soloist performing Schumann’s Liederkreis op. 39, Dichterliebe and Kerner-Songs.

Malte Roesner as Papageno

There are additional performances of The Rake's Progress this year on December 12 and 23 and tickets are available online. He is also performing in Die Zauberflöte and The Elixir of Love. 

The Staatstheater Braunschweig, which was rebuilt in the 19th century, goes back to the first standing public theatre in Germany, founded in 1690 by Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Goethe's Faust premiered at the theatre on January 29, 1829.

Donovan Singletary

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