Günther Groissböck

Full Biography

Austrian bass Günther Groissböck is one of the most sought-after singers of his generation, appearing regularly at the world’s leading opera houses including the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra national de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin and the Bayreuth Festival.

Groissböck’s 2025/26 season begins at Opernhaus Zürich as Baron Ochs in the premiere of Lydia Steier’s new production of Der Rosenkavalier, conducted by Joana Mallwitz. He then appears as Hunding in Die Walküre at the Opéra national de Paris under Pablo Heras-Casado in a production by Calixto Bieito. At La Scala, he participates in David McVicar’s Ring cycle, appearing as Hunding in Die Walküre, and making his role debut as Hagen in Götterdämmerung, under the baton of Alexander Soddy and Simone Young. Further engagements include Kecal in The Bartered Bride at Teatro Real Madrid, as well as a series of performances at the Vienna State Opera as Baron Ochs (Der Rosenkavalier), Hunding (Die Walküre) and Hagen (Götterdämmerung), both conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado in Sven-Eric Bechtolf’s production, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, directed by Barbora Horáková and conducted by Ivor Bolton. The season concludes with Daland in Der fliegende Holländer at the Birgit Nilsson Festival in Båstad, Sweden.

Concert appearances include collaboration with Igor Levit at the Vienna Musikverein, featuring repertoire by Shostakovich, Ravel, Liszt, and Mahler. With pianist Julius Drake, he presents a wide-ranging Lied programme at Carnegie Hall, featuring both core repertoire and rare works by 19th-century song composers including Schumann, Hans Rott, Bruckner, Wolf, Mahler, and Strauss. At Musiktheater Linz, he appears in Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin with pianist Florian Krumpöck. He also performs Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in Košice with the Slovak State Philharmonic under Robert Jindra. At the Taggenbrunn Festival, he gives a concert performance as part of the festival’s summer programme.

Operatic highlights of recent seasons include his appearances as Hermann in Tannhäuser at the Vienna State Opera and the Bayreuth Festival, as well as King Marke in Tristan und Isolde and Gurnemanz in Parsifal at Deutsche Oper Berlin, with further appearances as Marke at Bayreuth. At the Vienna State Opera, where he is a frequent guest, his repertoire has included Veit Pogner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Orest (Elektra), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Heinrich der Vogler (Lohengrin), Baron Ochs (Der Rosenkavalier), Papst Pius IV (Palestrina), and Peneios (Daphne). He has also appeared as Baron Ochs and Hunding (Die Walküre) at Teatro alla Scala, as Heinrich der Vogler (Lohengrin) at Staatsoper Berlin and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and as Baron Ochs at Staatsoper Berlin.

An acclaimed concert and Lied singer, Groissböck has performed at major venues including the Vienna Musikverein, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Carnegie Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus, Munich Philharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Boston Symphony Hall. His repertoire in concert ranges from Haydn’s Die Schöpfung to Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 Babi Yar, and he is widely praised for his musical expression, stylistic assurance, and exceptional textual clarity in both symphonic and vocal repertoire.

Groissböck’s discography spans major releases across leading labels, including Winterreise / Schwanengesang and Herz-Tod with Gerold Huber for DECCA Classics. For Gramola, recordings include Nicht Wiedersehen! with Malcolm Martineau (awarded with Choc de Classica), Männerliebe und -leben, and Wiener Lieder with the Philharmonia Schrammeln, alongside In Te Domine Speravi with Matthias Giesen on the Bruckner organ in St. Florian. Orchestral and operatic recordings include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Philippe Jordan, Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Lohengrin with Marek Janowski, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Bruckner’s Mass No. 3, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk with Andris Nelsons for Deutsche Grammophon. DVD releases include Der Rosenkavalier (Salzburg 2015), the Grammy-nominated Metropolitan Opera production (2017), and Der Rosenkavalier at Staatsoper unter den Linden (2020), directed by André Heller.

Groissböck studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Robert Holl, later continuing his training with José van Dam and Erik Halvarson. He was a member of the ensembles of the Vienna State Opera and Opernhaus Zürich. In 2021, he made his stage directing debut with Tristan Experiment at Theater an der Wien, a production awarded the Austrian Music Theatre Prize and marking the beginning of a new artistic path, which he continued with Don Carlo at the Klosterneuburg Opera Festival in 2023.

© CSAM, April 2026