Matthias Koziorowski

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.

Since the beginning of the 2021/22 season, Matthias Koziorowski has been a resident guest of the Graz Opera ensemble. In 2023/24 he will make his role debut there in the title role of Offenbach's "Les contes d'Hoffmann". He will also appear 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 "Diary of a Lost Man." 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 be 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 December 2022 Matthias Koziorowski also performed the title role in Bernstein's "Candide" at the Kölner 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), Prince (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 another debut role, he was able to work his way into the part of Erik (The Flying Dutchman) in Halle, but the planned performances had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

During his permanent engagement in Halle, he made guest appearances in the role of the Handsome Mr. Hermann in Hindemith's "News of the Day" at the Coburg Landestheater, again at the Staatsoperette Dresden as part of an operetta revue with music by Franz Lehár, and again at the Lübeck Theatre as Vasco da Gama (L'Africaine).

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 spinto 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 Hoffmann" 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, as Fatty at the Koblenz Theatre 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. In 2013, 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. As a result, he made several regular guest appearances at the Kiel Theatre until autumn 2015, including as Fatty (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny), Mercury (Orpheus in the Underworld) and Hans Scholl (The White Rose). Further guest engagements during this time also took him to the theatres in Bremen, Dortmund, Chemnitz and Hagen.

Throughout his studies, he also cultivated a particularly close relationship to the Aalto Musiktheater Essen. There Mr Koziorowski took the stage as a soloist in numerous children’s operas, singing for instance Tamino in a “Children’s Magic Flute”, the Prince in “Sleeping Beauty” and the Witch in an adapted version of Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel”. In addition, he played Ladas in “The Greek Passion” there and also worked in administration, as a theatre pedagogue and as head of the extras.

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 Kölner 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" will bring him back to the Essen Philharmonie