Samuel Hasselhorn

Biography

Samuel Hasselhorn, born in Göttingen in 1990, is now one of the most influential performers in his field. After studying in Hanover and Paris and winning major prizes – most notably the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2018 – he has established himself internationally on the opera stage as well as in the field of song and concert performance.

As an opera singer, Hasselhorn was initially a member of the ensemble at the Vienna State Opera and then at the Nuremberg Opera. Today, he regularly performs at major opera houses such as the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden, the Frankfurt Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and La Scala in Milan. In the 2025/26 season, he will make his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in a new production of Mozart's “Le nozze di Figaro” as Conte Almaviva and at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival as Heerrufer (Lohengrin) under the baton of Joana Mallwitz. He will return to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden under the baton of Christian Thielemann as Barbier Schneidebart in Die schweigsame Frau, as well as for the world premiere of Matthias Pintscher's Das kalte Herz and concerts featuring Brahms' Requiem, which he will also sing in a staged production at the Opéra Rouen.

Alongside his opera career, Hasselhorn is also dedicated to singing Lieder. One of his main projects is the “Schubert 200” series, where Hasselhorn and pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz are recording songs by Franz Schubert for Harmonia Mundi until 2028, each of which was written exactly 200 years ago. The first two albums, “Die schöne Müllerin” and “Licht und Schatten”, were awarded the Diapason d'or de l'année and the German Record Critics' Award. He is also making his mark in the field of orchestral song: his orchestral album “Urlicht – Songs of Death and Resurrection,” recorded with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra under Łukasz Borowicz, was released in the summer of 2024 and won both Best Vocal Album and Recording of the Year at the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA).

Concerts and recitals will take him to Wigmore Hall, Berlin's Pierre Boulez Saal, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Schubertiade in Hohenems, the Opéra Rouen, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Salle Bourgie in Montréal, among other venues.

Critics praise not only the clarity and warmth of his voice, but also his intense interpretation of the text and his ability to translate musical dramas into subtle psychological nuances. With a combination of technical brilliance, stylistic breadth, and a pronounced artistic curiosity, Samuel Hasselhorn has secured a firm place on international stages. His career combines the classical heritage of the great baritones with a fresh, modern interpretive approach—a voice that is decisively shaping the opera and song singing of the present day.