The German-American baritone Gabriel Rollinson is known for his “robust-virile” sound (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and his “attractive, impressive stage presence” (Opera News). He has already been awarded several prizes in prestigious competitions, such as the Song Prize of the 11th International Stanisław Moniuszko Competition and the Song Prize of the Mirjam Helin Competition 2024.
Gabriel Rollinson gained experience on the leading opera and concert stages of Europe, including the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Bregenz Festival, the Berlin State Opera, the Frankfurt Opera, the George Enescu Festival, the Eppaner Lied Sommer, and the Schubertiada in Vilabertran. He has worked with renowned conductors such as Vladimir Jurowski, Johannes Debus, and Sebastian Weigle.
Bridging Opera, Concert, and Lied
In the 2024/25 season, Gabriel Rollinson will perform Beethoven’s Missa solemnis under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock in Hamburg, Madrid, Barcelona, Luxembourg, and Dortmund. He can be heard in recital – accompanied by Hartmut Höll on the piano – in Berg and Frankfurt and as a soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Gabriel Rollinson has already recorded several albums with the BR under the direction of Ivan Repušić and the Bayerisches Rundfunkorchester, including the St. John Passion by composer Damijan Močnik and Ernani by Giuseppe Verdi. In July 2024, his first solo album with songs by the American composer William Grant Still was released on cpo.
Gabriel Rollinson has also performed in numerous world premieres, including Micha Hamel’s Caruso a Cuba at the Dutch National Opera or Elisabeth Naske’s The Star That Could Not Shine at the Salzburg Festival.
He studied at the Manhattan School of Music, the August Everding Theater Academy in Munich, and the Karlsruhe University of Music with Hartmut Höll and Mitsuko Shirai. He gained artistic inspiration at the Heidelberger Frühling Song Academy with Thomas Hampson and from artists such as Brigitte Fassbaender, Tobias Truniger, Rudolf Piernay, Thomas Quasthoff, and Renée Fleming.
After being a member of the opera studios at the Frankfurt Opera and the Bayerische Staatsoper (the latter with a scholarship from the New York Opera Foundation), he joined the ensemble of the Staatstheater Mainz in the 2023/24 season, where he has performed roles such as Silvio (Pagliacci), Hans (The White Rose), Metternich (L’Aiglon), and Ping (Turandot). Born in England, Gabriel Rollinson grew up in Germany and the USA, where he received his first musical impulses playing the cello and piano.
