Biography
As one of the most prominent representatives of German singers, Jochen Kupfer excels both in international concert halls and on opera stages around the world.
In addition to his regular engagements at the Semperoper in Dresden and the Staatstheater Nürnberg, Jochen Kupfer has been invited to perform at the opera houses in Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Strasbourg, Zurich, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, as well as at the Volksoper Wien, the Opera and Styriarte Graz, the Staatsoper Hamburg, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Leipzig Opera, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, and the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.
During previous seasons, his highly acclaimed debuts included Hollander and Amfortas (Wagner, Der fliegende Holländer & Parsifal), the title role in Rubinstein's The Demon, Duke Bluebeard (Bartók, Bluebeard's Castle), Wozzeck in Alban Berg's opera of the same name, Andrej Bolkonski (Prokofiev, War and Peace), Gunther (Götterdämmerung), Mandryka (Arabella), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Orest (Elektra), Peter (Hansel and Gretel), the Villains (The Tales of Hoffmann), Escamillo (Carmen), William Tell in the opera of the same name, Giorgio Germont (La Traviata) and Pizarro (Fidelio).
Jochen Kupfer's debut at the 2016 Glyndebourne Festival in the role of Beckmesser was described by the press as follows: «Beckmesser sings gloriously...» (Daily Express).
The singer has been invited to perform in recitals and concerts throughout Europe, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Hong Kong, Israel, and the United States, as well as at international festivals. His repertoire includes Bach's Passions and Haydn's Creation, as well as the great Romantic oratorios, Orff's Carmina Burana, and the great song cycles, including songs from the late Romantic period and the modern era.
ln 2018 his scenic Lied recital WANDERER had its premiere at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.
Jochen Kupfer has sung under the baton of renowned conductors such as Giuseppe Sinopoli, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Chailly, Vladimir Jurowski, Krzysztof Urbanski, Dirk Kaftan, Constantin Trinks, Raphael Frühbeck de Burgos, René Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe, Jeffrey Tate, Enoch zu Guttenberg, Christof Prick, Kent Nagano, Fabio Luisi, Yuri Temirkanov, Paavo Jarvi, Sir Roger Norrington, and Herbert Blomstedt.
In 2022, Hans Sommer's second CD for Lied Edition was released (in three parts, Naxos/BR Klassik). Other recordings of the highest quality, such as Schubert's Winterreise (CD, MeisterKlang) and Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (DVD, Coviello), complement his numerous recordings in the fields of lieder and concert music.
In 2016, Jochen Kupfer was awarded the honorary title of Bayerischer Kammersänger, one of the most prestigious distinctions in Germany and Austria.
Since 2019, he has been a professor of singing at the University of Music in Würzburg.
Jochen Kupfer began taking singing lessons at the age of nine at the music school in his hometown of Grimma. He then studied singing with Helga Forner (Leipzig Conservatory) and attended masterclasses with Theo Adam, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He completed his studies with Rudolf Piernay, Harald Stamm, and Dale Fundling.