With his sensational success as Alberich at the Vienna State Opera in 2008/09, and now as Jochanaan, Wotan/Wanderer, and Telramund, Tomasz Konieczny has established himself among the foremost dramatic bass-baritones of his generation. His upcoming engagements include performances at the Bayreuth Festival, Zurich OperaHouse, and Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Born in 1972 in Lodz, Poland, Konieczny first studied acting at the Film, TV, and Theatre Academy. He debuted in film with Oscar-winning director Andrzej Wajda in The Ring with the Eagle, and worked extensively in Polish TV, film, and theatre. During this period, he began vocal studies at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy in Warsaw before continuing with Prof. Christian Elßner at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden. In 1998, he won the 33rd Dvořák International Vocal Competition in Carlsbad. His operatic debut came in 1997 as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro at the Poznan Opera, leading to roles in Leipzig, St. Gallen, Chemnitz, and Mannheim. In 2002, he joined the ensemble at the National Theater Mannheim, where he performed as Orest, Pimen, King Marke, Amfortas, Wotan, Pizarro, Jochanaan, and the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlo. In 2004, he was awarded the Arnold-Petersen-Award for outstanding young talents. From 2006 to 2014, Konieczny was a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf/Duisburg, where he expanded his repertoire with roles like Wotan, Osmin, Golaud in Pelleas et Mélisande, Kurwenal, Holländer, Barak, Balstrode in Peter Grimes, Selim in Il Turco in Italia, Falstaff, and Escamillo.
Konieczny has been a regular at the Budapest Wagner Days Festival, where he performed under Adam Fischer as Amfortas in 2006, Wotan in Die Walküre in 2007 and 2009, Kurwenal in 2010 and 2011, and Wanderer in 2010 and 2016. In 2008, he debuted at the Semperoper Dresden as Alberich in Das Rheingold and Siegfried, directed by Peter Schneider. The same year, he appeared at the Teatro Real Madrid as Dr. Kolenaty in Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair.
His debut as Alberich at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2010 brought him widespread acclaim. In 2011, he appeared as Amfortas at the National Theater in Prague, then as Biterolf in Tannhäuser at the Opéra National de Paris (returning in 2017 as Telramund in Lohengrin). In 2012, he debuted as Pizarro with the NSO Washington and reprised this role at the Bayerische Staatsoper München. Highlights included his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2012 as Stolzius in Zimmermann’s Soldaten, followed by his success as Jupiter in Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae in 2016. In 2014, he performed at Carnegie Hall as Jochanaan in Salome, followed by a celebrated debut as Wozzeck in Berg’s Wozzeck at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2015. In 2017, he debuted at Teatro alla Scala as Commendatore and at the Canadian Opera Company as Mandryka in Arabella. In 2018, he debuted as Wotan in Die Walküre at the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse and as the Devil in Hoffmann’s Tales at the New National Theatre Tokyo.
In 2018, he made three notable debuts: as Telramund in Lohengrin at Bayreuther Festspiele, as the Father in Hansel and Gretel at the Edinburgh International Festival, and in a recital of Schubert’s Winterreise set to Stanisław Barańczak’s poetry at the Chopin and His Europe Festival. In March 2019, Konieczny’s stunning debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Alberich in Rheingold was met with praise, as Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times wrote:
“The standout member of the cast was Tomasz Konieczny, a powerhouse bass, in a breakthrough Met debut as Alberich. I tend to prefer portrayals that bring out Alberich’s suffering and bitterness; with a big, penetrating voice that can slice through the orchestra, Mr. Konieczny made Alberich sneering and dangerous.”
In 2013, he recorded two significant productions of Ring des Nibelungen: as Wotan under Marek Janowski with Pentatone Classics, and as Alberich with Christian Thielemann for Deutsche Grammophon. In 2015, he recorded Das Rheingold as Alberich with Sir Simon Rattle.
Since 2009, Konieczny has been a prominent figure at the Vienna State Opera, where his performances are highly cherished by the Viennese audience. In 2017, he was awarded Austrian honorary citizenship, and in January 2019, he received the distinguished title of Österreichischer Kammersänger at the Vienna State Opera.
Tomasz Konieczny’s concert engagements have earned him acclaim for his unique vocal timbre and stage presence. His repertoire includes Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, as well as works by Penderecki, Schubert, Mahler, and Rachmaninoff. Upcoming concerts will feature performances with the Warsaw Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic in Prague, and BBC London.
