Biography

The 24 year-old German bass Fabian Jakob Balkhausen joins the ensemble of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden for the 24/25 season, and will be heard as Schabernack in a new production of G. Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre, Zuniga in Carmen, König vom Theater in Offenbach's Fantasia, 2. Geharnischter / 2. Priester / Sprecher in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and will also be heard in Tosca and Le nozze di Figaro.  

In the summer of the 2024 he was invited to the prestigious Opera Studio of the Bregenz Festival and d debuted there as Betto di Signa in Brigitte Fassbaender's production of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.  

He completed his studies under the tutelage of Prof. Martin Vácha at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He has also studied with other prolific teachers including Marlena Malas and Susan Graham to name a few.

In summer 2023 he debuted the role of Simone (Gianni Schicchi) at the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory in New York. He also sang the male lead in the world premiere of Jack Dauner’s opera Toadette during the Tête à Tête Opera Festival in London’s Cockpit Theater. He has been seen onstage in multiple roles including Colline (La Bohème) and Mícha (The Bartered Bride) at Schlosstheater Schönbrunn among others.  Fabian Jakob Balkhausen also debuted Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte) in multiple productions, one of them being a production at the Klassik-Klang-Festival Berndorf under the direction of Daniela Fally in 2022. The young bass was able to make his debuts as the Badger (The Cunning Little Vixen) and Masetto (Don Giovanni) at the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory in New York, USA.

Fabian is also an avid song and oratorio singer, including repertoire from Baroque to Romantic periods.

He is a scholarship holder of the Richard Wagner Association.