Matthias Koziorowski

"Matthias Koziorowski is back at the Graz Opera. Even as a member of the ensemble, he repeatedly stood out with his dramatic, warm-toned tenor voice. Now he returns to Styria as a guest artist and really shines in the role of the Tambourmajor. In a glittering, Superman-like costume that emphasises his muscular physique, he is almost overwhelmingly masculine, a quality he underlines perfectly with his steely, soaring high notes. Yet he always remains cantabile, with great warmth in his voice.” (‘Wozzeck’: Ö1 Klassik Radio & Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 14 February and 15 February 2026 respectively)

Matthias Koziorowski comes from Essen, where he studied with Prof. KS Wolfgang Millgramm at the Folkwang University of the Arts. He also had the opportunity to complete his musical education by attending master classes with Helen Donath, Janet Williams, Olaf Bär, Anja Harteros and Andreas Homoki. He is currently being coached by Prof. Susanne Schimmack.

The 2025/26 season started with his house debut at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in the title role of Janáček's ‘Zápisník zmizelého’ (The Diary of One Who Disappeared). He then returned to Graz Opera for his role debut as Tambourmajor in Alban Berg's ‘Wozzeck’ and for the title role in the revival of ‘Les contes d'Hoffmann’. In the 2024/25 season, Matthias Koziorowski made three house and role debuts: at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice in the title role of Weill's ‘Der Protagonist’, at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari as Jim Mahoney in ‘The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny’ and at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf as Prince Pao in Zemlinsky's ‘Der Kreidekreis’, to which he will return in the role of Prince Pao in the 2026/27 season.

2021/22 - 2023/24 Matthias Koziorowski was a resident guest of the Graz Opera ensemble. In 2023/24 he made his role debut there in the title role of Offenbach's ‘Les contes d'Hoffmann’ to great acclaim. He also appeared in Graz as Crown Prince Rudolph von Habsburg in the Austrian premiere of E. Kálmán's ‘Marinka’ and as Der Fremde in ‘Venus in Seide’ by R. Stolz. In 2022/23 he made his role debuts at the Graz Opera as Hans in ‘The Bartered Bride’ and Tichon in ‘Katja Kabanova’, as well as with the tenor part in a staged version of Britten's ‘War Requiem’. He has also appeared in concerts with the Graz Philharmonic as soloist in Schumann's ‘Scenes from Goethe's Faust’ and as soloist in Janáček's ‘The Diary of One Who Disappeared’. At the Dresden State Operetta he made a guest appearance as Count Boleslav in ‘Polish Wedding’ by J. Beer. With this role he will also was a guest in Dresden again in 2023/24. In 2021/22 Matthias Koziorowski made his debut at the Graz Opera in three leading roles in his field. He sang Babinsky in Weinberger's ‘Švanda dudák’ (Schwanda the Bagpiper) with extraordinary success, as well as Juan Damigo in Dostal's operetta ‘Clivia’. Furthermore, he took on the role of Peter in the Austrian premiere of the opera ‘Morgen und Abend’ by G. F. Haas.

In 2022 Matthias Koziorowski also performed the title role in Bernstein's ‘Candide’ at the Cologne Philharmonie. Other recent guest engagements have taken him to the Staatstheater Mainz in the double role of Grigori/Dimitrij (Boris Godunow), to the Dortmund Opera as Danilo (The Merry Widow) and to the Teatro Regio di Parma with Weill's ‘Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny’.

2018 - 2020 the tenor was an ensemble member of the Halle Opera, where he made his debut in numerous roles in his field, including Max (Der Freischütz), Alfredo (La traviata), Lensky (Eugene Onegin), Prinz (Rusalka), Stewa (Jenufa), Vasco da Gama (L'Africaine), Sou-Chong (The Land of Smiles), Candide, Fritz (The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein) and Guido Bardi (Eine florentinische Tragödie) in a production by Tobias Kratzer. As a further debut role, he was able to work his way into the role of Erik (The Flying Dutchman) in Halle, but the planned performances had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

From 2015 to 2018 Matthias Koziorowski was a member of the ensemble of the Mecklenburg State Theatre in Schwerin, where he made his debut in the lyric dramatic repertoire in spring 2018 with the role of the Handsome Mr. Herrmann in Hindemith's rarely performed opera ‘News of the Day’. Previously he sang there, among others, Cassio (Otello), Tony (West Side Story), the 1st Stranger (The Cousin from Nowhere), Bob Boles (Peter Grimes), Freddy (My Fair Lady) as well as the four servant roles in ‘The Tales of Hoffman’ and the tenor solo in Beethoven's 9th Symphony. In his very first season, he was awarded the prestigious Conrad Ekhof Prize for exceptionally talented young singers for his performances there. During his time in Schwerin, he also made guest appearances over three seasons as the Witch (Hansel and Gretel) at the Dresden State Operetta, and in the roles of Brighella (Ariadne auf Naxos), Cassio (Otello), 1st Chorister (Der ferne Klang) and Uldino (Attila) at the Lübeck Theatre.

While still a student, he was engaged for two years as a member of the young ensemble at the Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen. Matthias Koziorowski was also the first prize winner of the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg Competition and sang the four servants in ‘The Tales of Hoffmann’ at the opera festival there. He subsequently made several guest appearances at the Theater Kiel, including as Fatty (The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny), Mercury (Orpheus in the Underworld) and Hans Scholl (The White Rose). Other guest engagements during this period also took him to the theatres in Bremen, Dortmund, Chemnitz and Hagen. 

Matthias Koziorowski is also active in the concert field and has already taken on the tenor solo in Beethoven's 9th Symphony several times, including at the invitation of Steven Sloane with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra. He has also sung the Swan in ‘Carmina Burana’, Mozart's Requiem, Haydn's ‘Creation’, Verdi's Requiem, Mendelssohn's ‘Hymn of Praise’ and Mahler's ‘Lied von der Erde’. His concert activities have taken him to the Konzerthaus Dortmund, the Philharmonie Essen, the Berlin Cathedral, the Düsseldorf Tonhalle and the Elbphilharmonie. He was also engaged as soloist in Dvořák's ‘Stabat Mater’ at the Heidelberg Theatre and sang Verdi's Requiem in Düsseldorf, Lübeck and Münster. He made his house debut at the Cologne Philharmonie in 2019 with an operetta gala celebrating Jacques Offenbach's 200th birthday (WDR radio broadcast). He also appeared as soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the Philharmonie Essen and the Alte Oper Frankfurt and sang the tenor solo in Dvořák's ‘Stabat Mater’ at the Festival for European Church Music in Schwäbisch Gmünd. At the end of 2023, Martín Palmeri's ‘Oratorio de Navidad’ brought him back to the Essen Philharmonie. The 2025/26 season was once again dominated by Verdi's Requiem, which he performed at venues including the Cologne Philharmonic Hall and the Konzerthaus Dortmund. In the 2026/27 season, he will perform in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the L’arpe festante orchestra, in Mozart’s Requiem at Essen Cathedral, and in Britten’s ‘Saint Nicolas Cantata’ with the Frankfurter Museumsorchester.