David Steffens

David Steffens © Matthias Baus

BARITONE | BASS

Representation: World

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BIOGRAPHY

"It’s rare to find such a beautiful bass voice." - Süddeutsche Zeitung

"David Steffens impresses with an immense full bass" - Der Standard

"Bass David Steffens [...] made it unmistakably clear that he also fulfils the criteria for a successful role debut. Born in Upper Bavaria, he has the role [editor's note: of Ochs auf Lerchenau] palpably in his blood and has all the vocal and dramatic prerequisites for it. With rich depth, long breath, exemplary text comprehensibility and witty humour, he increasingly pulled out all the stops of his ability. [...] We can still have high hopes for this Ochs."

J. M. Wienecke, Das Opernglas

David Steffens received his musical training at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. After making his stage debut at the Salzburg Landestheater as Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, he was accepted into the International Opera Studio at the Opernhaus Zürich and debuted as Sarastro at the Salzburg Festival through its Young Singers Project production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. From 2012 until 2014 he was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt.

David Steffens has been a member of the Stuttgart State Opera ensemble since the 2015/16 season, where he has appeared in a variety of roles, including as Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Heinrich der Vogler (Lohengrin), Fasolt (Das Rheingold), Hunding (Die Walküre), Fafner (Siegfried), Veit Pogner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Gurnemanz (Parsifal), Pimen (Boris Godunow), Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau (Der Rosenkavalier) and Jochanaan (Salome).

Alongside his ensemble engagements in Stuttgart, David Steffens appears as a regular guest on the international opera stage including the Salzburg Mozart Week, Berlin State Opera, Dusseldorf’s Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Real in Madrid, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Opéra national de Lyon, Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam and Volksoper Wien.

At the Salzburg Festival, David Steffens appeared in Richard Strauss' Salome, in George Enescu's Œdipe and as Masetto in a new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni staged by Romeo Castellucci. He made his debut at the St. Gallen Festival as Quasimodo in Franz Schmidt's rarely performed opera Notre Dame, while he was also heard for the first time at the Bregenz Festival as Kaspar in Weber's Der Freischütz.

David Steffens has made prominent house debuts as Sarastro at the Aalto Theater Essen and as Ochs auf Lerchenau in Der Rosenkavalier at the Staatsoper Berlin, followed by role debuts as Félix in Donizetti's Les Martyrs at the MusikTheater an der Wien and as König Marke in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Opéra de Lille. Last season he could be heard as Osmin in a new production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail in a new production of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Berlin State Opera, while at the Staatstheater Meiningen he gave his role debut as Wotan in a new production of Wagner's Das Rheingold.

David Steffens continues his series of important debuts this season, appearing as Fasolt in Wagner’s Das Rheingold for his debut at Zurich Opera House and, at his home theatre in Stuttgart, making his debut as Hans Sachs in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In addition, he can be heard for the first time with the Berlin Philharmonic in Berlin and at the Salzburg Easter Festival in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis under the baton of Kirill Petrenko, while also making his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Haydn’s The Creation under Philippe Jordan.

Mahler's Eighth Symphony has featured as a core work in David Steffens calendar, having previously appeared as a soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Kent Nagano, the NDR Radiophilharmonie under Ingo Metzmacher, the Orquesta Nacional de España under David Afkham, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Danish National Symphony Orchestra, both under Fabio Luisi, and the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich under Yutaka Sado. In the current season, he will also appear as the Pater Profundus once again, this time with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under Gustavo Gimeno.

A sought-after concert singer, David Steffens has appeared at Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie, Pierre Boulez Saal, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Herkulessaal in Munich, the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid and the NHK Hall in Tokyo. As a recitalist he has appeared at the Schubertiade in Hohenems, the International Hugo Wolf Academy Stuttgart and the Vienna Konzerthaus. Throughout his international career, he has worked with conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Semyon Bychkov, Thomas Guggeis, Tomáš Hanus, Philippe Jordan, Axel Kober, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Cornelius Meister, Ingo Metzmacher, Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano, Kirill Petrenko and Sir Simon Rattle.

This biography is to be reproduced withoutt any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.

2026 | 2027

www.davidsteffens.com

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.

DISCOGRAPHY

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 8
Sarah Wegener, Kateřina Kněžíková, Miriam Kutrowatz, Stefanie Irányi, Jennifer Johnston, David Butt Philip, Adam Plachetka, David Steffens
Prague Philharmonic Choir, Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno, Kühn’s children Choir, Czech Philharmonic,
Conductor: Semyon Bychkov
Label: Pentatone (Digital-only) | 2026

VIDEOS

CALENDAR

27Jun2026
David Steffens
BERLIN - Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Staatsoper Berlin, 06:00 pm

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Adela Zaharia, Konstanze
Serafina Starke, Blonde
Siyabonga Maqungo, Belmonte
Michael Laurenz, Pedrillo
David Steffens, Osmin
Bülent Ceylan, Bassa Selim

Thomas Guggeis, musical director
Andrea Moses, director
Raimund Bauer, set design
Anja Rabes, costumes
Michael Höppner | Detlef Giese, dramaturgy