"The singer has an exemplary vocal balance, warmth of flow and dramatic differentiation at his command." Words of praise indeed in the daily paper "Die Welt" for bass-baritone Raimund Nolte after a lieder recital in Berlin.

After first completing studies in mathematics, music pedagogy and viola in Cologne, he was violist with Musica Antiqua Cologne for a number of years. His formative vocal training was with Prof. Josef Metternich and Prof. Irmgard Hartmann, supplemented with courses with Hartmut Höll and Max van Egmond. Now he is working with Gundula Hintz.

Following initial stage appearances with the opera studio of the German Rhine Opera he was heard by Harry Kupfer in 1996 and asked to join the Komische Oper in Berlin, remaining an ensemble member for the following four crucial years. Further engagements led him on to numerous European opera houses (Bielefeld, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Karlsruhe, Darmstadt, Kassel, Salzburg, Rouen, Copenhagen, Catania and Amsterdam). Between 2005 and 2009 he was engaged at the opera house in Halle, in demand not least as a notable Handelian (earning him the accolade from the magazine "Opernwelt" of "Rising Young Singer of the Year") in addittion to singing many othe major roles belonging to his vocal métier. Thus he sang the title roles of Dallapiccola's "Il Prigioniero", Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni, the Count in "nozze di Figaro", Faninal in "Rosenkavalier", Wagner's "Das Rheingold" and "Die Meistersinger", the father in "Hänsel und Gretel" and Enrico in "Lucia di Lammermoor". Since 2009 he works as a freelance.

As a concert singer Raimund Nolte has appeared from the outset at the leading European festivals, such as at the Styriate in Graz under Nikolaus Harnoncourt's baton, at the Dresden Musikfestspiele with René Jacobs, at the Festwoche in Innsbruck with Howard Arman, in the role of Jesus in Bach's Matthew Passion under Trevor Pinnock during the "Bach" year of 2000 (Salzburg Festspiele, tour throughout Europe and Japan). As a guest he has been heard at the Bachwochen in Ansbach, the Flanders and Holland Festivals, in Prague, Paris, London, at the Schlossfestspiele in Ludwigsburg, the Handel Festivals in Karlsruhe, Göttingen and Halle. Conductors of the likes of David Stern, Martin Haselböck, Alan Curtis, Gustav Kuhn, Enoch zu Guttenberg, Hans-Martin Schneidt, Bruno Weil, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, Nicholas McGegan, Jan Willem de Vriend and Reinhard Goebel have all been convinced of his versatility.

Among his numerous CD recordings particlar mention should be made of his performance as Jesus in the Bach Matthew Passion conducted by Helmut Müller-Brühl for NAXOS, Bernstein's "Candide" with Loriot as narrator (CAPRICCIO), Bach's B Minor Mass under Frieder Bernius's baton (CARUS Label, Editor's Choice, Gramophone magazine), Michael Haydn's "Andromeda e Perseo" under Reinhard Goebel's direction (OEHMS CLASSICS) and Handel's Messiah in the "Herder" version with Wolfgand Katschner (Deutsche HARMONIA MUNDI). A complete recording of Handel`s Italian solocantatas for bass is in preparation.

Version October 2011

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After first completing studies in mathematics, music pedagogy and viola in Cologne, Raimund Nolte studied singing principally with Prof. Josef Metternich and Prof. Irmgard Hartmann.

Following initial stage appearances with the opera studio of the German Rhine Opera he was heard in 1996 by Harry Kupfer and asked to join the Komische Oper in Berlin, remaining an ensemble member for the following four crucial years. Further engagements led him on to numerous opera houses, most recently to the opera company at Halle (2005 - 2009). There he was in demand not least as a Handelian, but also in many of the major roles of his vocal métier, for example the title roles of Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni and Dallapiccola's "Il Prigioniero".

As a concert singer he has worked with major conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Trevor Pinnock, René Jacobs and Reinhard Goebel, appearing under their baton at many of the leading European music festivals, for example, Salzburg, Ansbach, Prague, Paris, London, Graz. Ludwigsburg, Dresden, Canary Islands, Flanders and Dutch Festivals, Handel Festivals in Karlsruhe, Halle and Göttingen.

Numerous CDs covering Bach to Bernstein attest to his versatility. A complete recording of Handel`s Italian solocantatas for bass is in preparation.

Version October 2011

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