Biography

- NEWS -

Christian Immler shares the honour of winning the 'Opera Recording of the Year' 2023 OPUS Klassik Award with conductor René Jacobs, tenor Maximilian Schmitt and Freiburger Barockorchester for Weber’s dark, magical folktale, Der Freischütz (Harmonia Mundi)Limelight magazine writes that, “Christian Immler is by turns authoritative and tender. …in the expanded role of The Hermit. …making the most of his restored scene.”

https://imgartists.com/news/jakub-jozef-orlinski-jakub-hrusa-constantin-trinks-and-christian-immler-victorious-at-the-2023-opus-klassik-awards/

- MORE NEWS -

The new song CD 'Das heiße Herz', just released by Alpha, with Jörg Widmann's fantastic eponymous cycle in combination with Robert Schumann's late Lenau and Harfnerlieder (together with pianist Andreas Frese), will receive both a 'Diapason d'Or' and a 'CHOC de Classica'! Here is more - www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjG_EwBAQfI and https://outhere-music.com/de/alben/das-heisse-herz


From the Tölzer Knabenchor as a boy alto soloist to singing at major concert halls, festivals and opera houses, German bass-baritone Christian Immler is a particularly versatile artist with the rare ability to switch enthusiastically between the worlds of oratorio and opera. He studied with Rudolf Piernay at the Guildhall School of Music in London and won the International Nadia et Lili Boulanger Competition in Paris, launching his career.

 

In concert, he has immersed himself in the works of Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Mahler and, particularly, Bach, appearing all over world. Christian has worked with such conductors as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Herbert Blomstedt, Masaaki Suzuki, Raphaël Pichon, Marc Minkowski, Christophe Rousset, Philippe Herreweghe, Ivor Bolton, Daniel Harding, Kent Nagano, James Conlon, Michel Corboz, Laurence Equilbey, Lawrence Renes, Ottavio Dantone, Giovanni Antonini, Thomas Hengelbrock, Frieder Bernius,William Christie and Leonardo García Alarcón performing at places such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Sydney Opera House, the Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence and Lucerne Festivals and the BBC Proms. Recent highlights include Mahler 8 with Minnesota Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony, the world premiere of Detlev Glanert’Prague Symphony with Semyon Bychkov and the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the Gewandhaus Leipzig.

 

Alongside his concert work, Christian’s operatic career is flourishing. He starred as both Commendatore and Masetto in Don Giovanni with René Jacobs, Speaker in The Magic Flute with Christophe Rousset at Dijon Opera and with Raphaël Pichon at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (directed by Simon McBurney), Rocco in Fidelio and Eremit in Freischütz with Laurence Equilbey and the Insula Orchestra in Paris, Brussels and the Theater an der Wien, Musiklehrer in StraussAriadne auf Naxoin Luxembourg (directed by Katie Mitchell), Docteur Itard/Vicaire in the world premiere of Fénelon’s JJR (directed by Robert Carsen) and Dodo/Frog Footman/Mock Turtle in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. He has also sung Seneca in Poppea and the title role in Graupner’s Antiochus und Stratonica at the Boston Early Music Festival BEMF, Achis in David & Jonathas conducted by William Christie, Jupiter in Castor et Pollux with Raphaël Pichon at the Opéra Comique and Pharnaces in Zemlinsky’s Der König Kandaules at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. In 2015 Christian recorded Steffani’s Niobe whose recording received a Grammy Nomination.

 

The 2023/4 season will see him sing Fasolt in Wagner’s Das Rheingold with Kent Nagano, Oberpriester in Raff’s Samson with Bern Symphony Orchestra, Nettuno in Monteverdi’s Ulisse with I Gemelli in France and Madrid’s Teatro Real as well as Handel’s Messiah at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires with Rubén Dubrovsky.

 

A keen recitalist, Christian has been invited to perform at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Frick Collection in New York, the Paris Philharmonie, the Salzburg Mozarteum, and the Tonhalle Zurich. He recently gave an acclaimed Winterreise at the Schubertiade Hohenems together with pianist Helmut Deutsch, a longtime partner with whom he released the album entitled ModernTimes which was awarded both the Diamant dOpéra and the prestigious Diapason Découverte. The world-premiere recording of Jörg Widmanns Das heiße Herz (together with pianist Andreas Frese) recently received a Diapason dOr. He collaborates regularly with Kristian Bezuidenhout, Silvia Fraser and Danny Driver and alongside his impeccable Lied pedigree retains a soft spot for Leonard Bernstein and Cole Porter.

 

His more than 60 recordings have been awarded prizes such as a 2023 Opus Klassik Award, a 2016 Grammy Nomination, the Echo Klassik, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, several Diapason d’Or, Diamant d’Opéra and France Musiques’ Enregistrement de l’année. Christian loves teaching and is much in demand for worldwide masterclasses. He has taught the Lied and oratorio class at the International Summer Academy Mozarteum Salzburg on several occasions and gives regular masterclasses in Royaumont and Orford Summer School.