Krešimir Stražanac

Biography

Bass-baritone Krešimir Stražanac is one of the most significant Croatian artists who continuouslyachieves international success. Among his many accomplishments, the debut with the Berlin Philharmonicunder Kirill Petrenko in 2023 stands out, featuring concerts in Berlin, Madrid, and Barcelona (the recording ofthe Europakonzert from the Sagrada Familia was broadcast by numerous international radio and televisionstations).

Stražanac has a particular affinity for rarely performed operas, and in recent years he has sung the title roles inthe premieres of Telemann's Orpheus in Amsterdam and Caccini's Liberation of Ruggiero from the island ofAlcina in Vienna's Theater an der Wien, where he also portrayed the Devil in Weinberger's Schwanda, theBagpiper. He interpreted the roles of Ambrosio in Weber's The Three Pintos in Leipzig and the King Froila inSchubert's Alfonso und Estrella in Helsinki. Additionally, he performed in the stage performance of Handel'sMessiah, directed by Robert Wilson, at the Gran Teatre del Lice in Barcelona.

Krešimir Stražanac studied under Dunja Vejzović and studied lied with Cornelis Witthoefft at the University ofMusic and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, and privately with Jane Thorner Mengedoht and Hanns-FriedrichKunz. After graduating, he became a permanent member of the Zurich Opera. Over the course of sevenseasons, he interpreted roles such as Harlequin (R. Strauss's Ariadne on Naxos), Baron Tusenbach (Eötvös'sThree Sisters), Ping (Puccini's Turandot), Don Fernando (Beethoven's Fidelio) and others, under conductorssuch as Vladimir Fedoseeev, Bernard Haitink, Nello Santi, Peter Schneider and Franz Welser-Möst.

In 2017 he made his debut at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, as Pietro Fléville in a new production ofGiordano's opera Andrea Chénier, whereas in 2018 he performed for the first time at the Frankfurt Opera asBaron Tusenbach (Eötvös's Three Sisters). In 2019, he debuted in the roles of Frank (Strauss's DieFledermaus) with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and as Creon (Stravinsky's Oedipus rex) with the PolishNational Radio Symphony Orchestra.

He is the winner of several international competitions, including Cantilena in Bayreuth (in the category of operaand operetta), La voce of the Bavarian Radio Television (in the category of lied) and Hugo Wolf, in thecomposer's hometown of Slovenj Gradec. He was also awarded at the Paula Solomon-Lindberg competitionin Berlin.

As a concert soloist, Stražanac performs throughout Europe, Asia, and North America, singing major vocal-instrumental works, including Haydn's oratorio The Creation, Mozart's Concert arias and Requiem,Beethoven's Missa solemnis and Ninth symphony, Britten's War Requiem, Glass' Passion of Ramakrishna,Mendelssohn's oratorios Elijah and St. Paul, Brahms's German Requiem, Dvořák's Requiem, Franck's oratorioLes Béatitudes, Fauré's Requiem, Puccini's Messa di Gloria as well as Mahler's cycles Des KnabenWunderhorn and Rückert-Lieder.

He has performed with orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the ConcertgebouwOrchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Leipzig GewandhausOrchestra, the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden,Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, under conductors such as HerbertBlomstedt, Ivan Fischer, Manfred Honeck, Alexander Liebreich, Jonathan Nott, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, PetrPopelka, and Jaap van Zweeden. Since 2016, he has regularly and enthusiastically work with conductorPhilippe Herreweghe and the ensembles Collegium Vocale Gent and Orchester des Champs-Elysées.

He is renowned for his performances of the baroque repertoire, especially Handel's oratorios Messiah andAlexander's Feast, as well as numerous Bach’s works: St. Matthew's Passion, St. John's Passion, ChristmasOratorio, Mass in B minor, and many cantatas, including Ich habe genug, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen,and Amore traditore. He performed with ensembles such as Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Collegium 1704,Concentus Musicus Wien, Concerto Köln, Freiburger Barockorchester, Gaechinger Cantorey, and IBarocchisti, under the direction of conductors Giovanni Antonini, Peter Dijkstra, Diego Fasolis, René Jacobs,Václav Luks, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Christoph Rousset, and Masaaki Suzuki.

He has performed in prestigious concert halls, such as the Auditorio nacional in Madrid, Barbican Center in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Koningin Elisabethzaal in Antwerp, Tonhalle Zürich, Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, concert halls of Berlin and Cologne Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Victoria Hall in Singapore, as well as Suntory Hall, MUZA Kawasaki Symphony Hall and Nikkei Hall in Tokyo.

In 2018, Stražanac made his debut at the Salzburg Festival as Herod in the Stradella's oratorio San Giovanni Battista, and has since performed at festivals such as Bachfest Leipzig, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival and Montreal Bach Festival.

He regularly gives lied recitals throughout Europe, Japan and Brazil, performing some of the most famous cycles, such as Schubert's Winterreise and Schwanengesang, Schumann's Dichterliebe, Brahms's Die schöne Magelone and Vier ernste Gesänge, Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death, Martin's Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann and the afore mentioned Mahler cycles in the version with piano. In 2022, he was a member of the jury at the 11th International Competition Franz Schubert and Modern Music in Graz.

His rich discography includes recordings released by labels such as Accent, Accentus Music, BR Klaissk, Carus, Claves, Coviello, Decca, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina, Oehms, Opus Arte, Phi and Profil (Edition Staatskapelle Dresden). His first lied album was released in November 2024 by the Hänssler Classic label. This double CD features the first studio recording of songs by Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa, which he recorded in collaboration with pianist Krešimir Starčević. The album received praise and the highest ratings from critics from portals such as Online Merker (Austria), Kultura-Extra (Germany), Pizzicato (Luxembourg) and glazba.hr (Croatia).


​​​​​​​Photo Credit: Patrick Vogel