Björn Bürger

Björn Bürger (born 10 October 1985) is a German operatic baritone. The winner of the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin in 2012, he was a member of Oper Frankfurt from 2013 to 2018, where he performed roles such as the title role in the 2017 world premiere of Arnulf Herrmann's Der Mieter. He has appeared in Europe, including as Rossini's Figaro, Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, and Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, at the Glyndebourne Festival. He has been a member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart since 2019.

Life Born in Darmstadt, Bürger, the son of two teachers and five years younger than his brother the actor and theater director Lars Bürger, spent his childhood and youth in Rodgau near Frankfurt am Main.

School and university years After primary school, Bürger first attended the Heinrich-Böll-Schule, an integrated comprehensive school in his home town and changed in mid-2002 to the .

From 2007 to 2013 Bürger studied opera singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main in the class of Hedwig Fassbender. During his studies he had four engagements in productions of the Oper Frankfurt besides further solo appearances as Rio-Reiser interpreter and guest roles as opera singer. He also took part in various annual productions at his university, such as the Höchster Opernsommer in the lead role of Osmin in Mozart's Zaide and in the lead role of King Argante at the Handel Festival Karlsruhe. He also appeared in the lead role of Victor Hugo in the world premiere of Paul Leonard Schäffer's operetta Eine Kapitulation to a libretto by Richard Wagner at the .

In November 2012, at the age of 27, Bürger won the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin finals at the Komische Oper Berlin

Three months later, together with the mezzo-soprano Dorottya Láng, Bürger received the Emmerich Smola prize, one of the highest endowed prizes for young singers. He remained an ensemble member until 2018. He performed as a guest in leading opera houses in Europe, such as Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Oslo Opera House, Wolfram von Eschenbach in Wagner's Tannhäuser at Dutch National Opera, and Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at La Monnaie in Brussels, among others.

For the 2019-20 season Bürger joined the ensemble of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, where he has performed roles such as Posa in Verdi's Don Carlo, Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus by Johann strauss, Count Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, the title role of Don Giovanni, and Bill in Weill's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny.

Scholarships, honours and prizes 2003 – Culture Award of the City of Rodgau. 2010 – Scholarship of the . 2011 – "MainCampus academicus-Stipendium" of the Frankfurt am Main. 2011 – Scholarship of the Da Ponte Foundation. 2012 – First prize of the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang (Berlin). 2013 – Emmerich Smola Award (Landau).