AGLAIA BÄTZNER Piano and musical direction

was born in Karlsruhe. She studied with Robert Levin and Georg Sava and took part in the lied master classes of Aribert Reimann and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in Berlin. She won a special prize for lied accompaniment at the Paula Lindberg-Salomon Wettbewerb at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and has worked as a collaborative artist with singers such as Stella Doufexis, Ursula Hesse-von den Steinen, Christine Schäfer and Max Raabe at the Berliner Festwochen, the Berliner Philharmonie and at the Salzburg Festival.  She forms a piano duo with Cristina Marton-Argerich . Together they have won first prizes at the international „Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition“ in Miami/Florida and at the international competition for chamber music in Caltanissetta/Sizilien. Aglaia Bätzner has performed in duo recitals and as a soloist  with orchestras in Europe, South America and the USA, for instance at the Spoleto-Festival USA, the Music Festival of the Hamptons, New York and at the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Festival in Miami. Alfred Brendel, Radu Lupu and Andras Schiff have advised and inspired her in personal coachings. She has recorded several CDs and her performances have been broadcast by radio and television stations such as  the national Deutschland-Radio, the Norddeutscher Rundfunk, the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Educational Radio South Carolina und WPBT Miami. With renowned choreographer Sasha Waltz she was involved in the conception and performance of a ballet  based on Schubert's "Fantaisie in f minor" at the Opéra de Lyon.

STEFFEN LAUBE Stage Director/Designer

Steffen Laube made his acting debut at the age of 12 at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe.

After studying drama, voice and dance, he worked as an actor and singer at national theatres in Karlsruhe, Wiesbaden, Mannheim, Kassel, Koblenz, Ulm and at Bonn Opera. On several occasions he has collaborated with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn in concerts and recordings. For the last ten years Steffen Laube has beeen involved as a performer and director in musical theatre productions such as Cabaret, La Péricole, Jesus Christ Superstar, Dirty Dancing, Sweet Charity, My Fair Lady, Blume von Hawaii and Black Rider.

He has taught Acting Seminars at the Universities of  Tel Aviv and Haifa in Israel. In 2014 he won the prestigious German drama prize "Monica Bleibtreu" in the category Comedy for Achtung Deutsch.

UTA BUCHHEISTER Idea, Organization and Juliette

After a bachelor´s degree in Philosophy and Modern Languages from the University of Oxford, Uta Buchheister studied voice at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ with Brenda Mitchell. She attended masterclasses of Christa Ludwig, Sena Jurinac and Ruth Berghaus and was a scholar of the „Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes“, the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. Her first prize at the Viennese competition „Das Schubertlied“ led to engagements into some of the most prestigious lied venues in the world such as Wigmore Hall, London and Musikverein, Vienna. For the part of „Béatrice“ in Berlioz´ opera Béatrice et Bénédict with the European Union Opera, she was nominated as „best newcomer“ in the yearbook of Germany´s „Opernwelt“ magazine. In recent years she has expanded her opera and musical theatre repertoire with roles such as Rosina, Hänsel, Boulotte, Mrs Lovett, Suzuki and Cherubino and has appeared at numerous theatres throughout Germany including Staatsoper Berlin, Staatstheater Karlsruhe and Nationaltheater Weimar.

MARTINA JÄGER Soprano

Martina Jäger was born in Weil am Rhein. She studied voice with Martha Sharp at the Mozarteum Salzburg and with Jutta Schlegel at the Universität der Künste, Berlin. Master classes by René Jakobs, Breda Zarkotnik and Lorraine Nubahr complimented her education.

In 2003, after winning the prize for best interpretation at the voice seminary in Burg Beeskow, Martina Jäger received a scholarship at the Summer Festival Oper Oder-Spree. With the Berliner Kammerorchester, she has appeared as a soloist in prestigious venues such as  the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Liederhalle Stuttgart and the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg. Her opera repertoire includes the title-roles in Monteverdi's Poppea and Tchaikovsky's Iolanthe, "Judith" in Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle and Kálmán's Countess Maritza (at the Monschau Klassik Festival). Martina Jäger is a laureate of the Markgräfler Art Prize, endowed by the foundation of the Sparkasse.

THOMAS WYSS Tenor

The lyric tenor Thomas Wyss began voice training at the age of 15 with Bernhard Gärtner and Stefan Kohlenberg at the Hochschule für Musik, Karlsruhe. After his high school diploma he studied voice and voice pedagogy at the Hochschule für Musik Mannheim with Professor Ramirez. He attended master classes of Peter Elkus. His concert and opera repertoire encompasses sacred and profane works from early to contemporary music. Thomas Wyss appears regularly as a soloist with the Bachchorus and Coro Piccolo Karlsruhe. His Lied recitals have taken him to venues troughout Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

JOACHIM HERRMANN Bariton

Joachim Herrmann was born in Karlstadt, Unterfranken. After his school diploma he first received vocational training in the hotel business in Baden-Baden. Soon he discovered his passion for music and decided to study voice. His vocal teachers at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe were Jean Cox, Anna Reynolds und Prof. Marga Schiml. He continued his education at the Karlsruhe Opera Institute with Renate Ackermann and in Lied- and master classes of Hartmut Höll, Mitsuko Shirai, Ulrich Rademacher, Karl Kammerlander, Semjon Skigin, Hanno Blaschke, Ingrid Bjoner, Hilde Zadek and Rudolf Piernay.
 He has sung a wide range of opera- and operettaroles and keeps a busy schedule of liedrecitals and oratorios. As a freelancer he has had guest appearances at the Theater Baden-Baden, the Bayerische Kammeroper Würzburg, Neuburger Kammeroper, Opera Minora Amsterdam, Opernfestival Bad Hersfeld, Ettlinger Schlossfestspielen, Festival Altusried and the New European Festival. As an oratorio singer he has appeared in the cathedrals of Würzburg,Salzburg and Ulm, in the Tonhalle Zürich and in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall. He has performed throughout Europe as well as in Japan, Brasil and China.