Victor von Halem
Bass
Victor von Halem has had one of the longest and most historic careers ever by a basso. He was born in Berlin but spent the formative years of his life in Italy and Portugal. His singing career began when Herbert von Karajan engaged him at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, subsequently choosing him for recordings and inviting him the Salzburg Festival. He has made 35 recordings and his long career has led him to the worlds great stages from La Scala to Carnegie Hall, Opéra de Paris, San Francisco Opera, Tokyo Opera, Vienna State Opera, San Carlos Lisbon, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt, Bonn, Hong Kong and Dresden.
The Festivals include Athens, Edinburgh. Glynebourne, Maggio Musicale Florence, Orange, Tanglewood, Arena di Verona, Vienna, Spoleto, Salzburg, Israel and Barcelona. In addition to Herbert von Karajan, he has performed with great conductors such as Abbado, Maazel, Mehta, Muti, Ozawa, Pretre, Sinopoli, Wung Chung, Chailly, Thielemann and Argiris.
His range of operatic representation embraces over a hundred roles including Sarastro, Phillip II, Hans Sachs, Rocco, Gurnemanz, Hagen, Osmin, La Roche, Basilio and Ramfis. His latest recording success includes his legendary La Roche, released in Vienna for Decca and Rocco in Leonore at the Beethovenhalle under Maestro Soustrot. Further, he was cited for a Grammy Award for his recording of Parsifal and also received the Pegasus prize for the his first interpretation of Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger at the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds.
Still singing with as fresh a voice as ever, Mr. Von Halem is also in demand as a teacher and conducts Master Classes around the world from Paris to London, Brussels, Hong Kong, Macao, Shanghai and Beijing.