biography
Ted Schmitz is a tenor currently living in Berlin. Highlights include his work with Seattle Opera, Opera Bellas Artes Mexico City, Nico and the Navigators, Bregenzer Festspiele, Aldeburgh Festival, Glyndebourne and The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
The 2024/2025 season for Ted includes the role of the Father in The Girl with the Hurricane Brain by Laura Bowler at the Copenhagen Opera Festival. The season also includes a new stage work Sweet Surrogates, with Nico and the Navigators, the international performance ensemble based in Berlin. With the same company, Ted will perform Silent Songs, an all-Schubert staged concert, and Force and Freedom, an all-Beethoven staged concert, at the Shanghai Concert Hall.
Recent engagements for Mr. Schmitz include DON BASILIO in a new production of Le Nozze di Figaro and the role of JEPPO LIVEROTTO in Lucrezia Borgia with the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen. Ted also returned to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to cover the role of REVEREND ADAMS in Peter Grimes. Additionally, Mr. Schmitz conceived two new works with Nico and the Navigators, the international performance ensemble based in Berlin. The first, Lost in Loops with the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, based on Shaker Loops by John Adams premiered at the Berlin Konzerthaus. The second is The Wasted Land, a staged concert based on T.S. Elliot’s epic poem Wasteland, premiered at Berlin Radialsystem.
Other recent productions include DON BASILIO and DON CURZIO in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Volkstheater Rostock, REVERAND ADAMS in Peter Grimes at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, ACHANTE in the American premiere of Rameau’s Sympathy at Victory Hall Opera, cover of TAPIOCA L’Étoile at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the WITCH OF ENDOR in Handel’s Saul at the Glyndebourne Festival. DER WIRT and both HAUSHOFMEISTER in Der Rosenkavalier with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons, cover of PETER QUINT The Turn of the Screw with Glyndebourne on Tour, WILHELM MEISTER Mignon with New Sussex Opera, REVERAND ADAMS in the Chinese premiere of Peter Grimes National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing, several roles of ACHMET, CROOK and THE GRAND INQUISITOR in Bernstein’s Candide with the MDR Orchestra in Leipzig. And in 2021, a film version for ARTE of a new staged work entitled Force and Freedom with Nico and the Navigators, comprised of Beethoven musical works with the Kuss Quartet.
A regular guest with Nico and the Navigators, Mr. Schmitz can be seen in seven other ongoing productions including: Empathy for the Devil, a staged concert; Niemand Stirbt in der Mitte seines Lebens, a staged concert of pre-existing works based on the theme of death, at Konzerthaus Berlin, Radialsystem Berlin; Silent Songs, an all-Schubert staged concert, performing at BOZAR, Brussels; Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Staatstheater Oldenburug; Staatstheater Braunschweig; Konzerthaus Berlin; Radialsystem Berlin, Hitzacker Festival and Arsenal de Metz; Die Zukunft von Gestern, a new production at Sophiensaele Berlin and Radialsystem Berlin; and Die Stunde da wir zu viel von einander wussten, a new production at Kampnagel Hamburg, Radialsystem Berlin, Opera Nimes and Theatre d’Antibes.
Mr. Schmitz has had much success with the role of ASCHENBACH in Britten’s Death in Venice performed with Opera de Bellas Artes Mexico City and covered with the Aldeburgh Festival. Mr. Schmitz also performed the role of HOTEL PORTER in Death in Venice with Aldeburgh and Bregenzer Festspiele under the direction of Yoshii Oida.
Other opera credits include: DON BASILIO and DON CURZIO in Le Nozze di Figaro with Seattle Opera. PETER QUINT The Turn of the Screw, and DR. CAIUS Falstaff, FERRANDO Cosi fan tutte, TAMINO The Magic Flute all as a Young Artist with Seattle Opera. JOHANSSON in Die Gespenstersonate by Aribert Reimann with Kammer Oper Vienna; DAVID Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with the Mastersingers Company London; TAPIOCA in L’Étoile with New Sussex Opera; GASTONE in La Traviata with Opera Project; REMENDADO in Carmen with the Cambridge Philharmonic; DR. CAIUS Falstaff with Mid-Wales Opera; TAMINO The Magic Flute with Opera Brava; and FERRANDO Cosi fan tutte with Castleward Opera, TELEMACO Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria at the Globe Theatre London with the Britten-Pears Programme; MARS in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Thespis London Kensington Sinfonia; and a West End season of Gilbert & Sullivan at the Gielgud Theatre; and a recording of Ethyl Smyth’s The Boatswain’s Mate with Retrospect Opera.
Mr. Schmitz has premiered songs by Ned Rorem and John Musto with the New York Festival of Song. Other concert credits include Les Noces (Stravinsky) and Paukenmesse (Haydn) with the Auckland Philharmonic in New Zealand, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor Horn and Strings with the North York Moors Festival, Elijah at Birmingham Town Hall with the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra, and the title role in Saint Nicolas (Britten) with the New Elizabethan Singers.
Beginning his studies as both an actor and singer at Northwestern University, Mr. Schmitz continued on at the Manhattan School of Music. Ted furthered his work and training in the Young Artist Programs of Central City Opera, the Britten-Pears Programme, Opera Theatre of St Louis as well as Seattle Opera.
repertoire
Beethoven
Jaquino, Fidelio
Bernstein
Candide, Achmet, Crook, Grand Inquisitor; Candide
Bizet
Remendado, Carmen
Britten
Albert, Albert Herring
Madwoman, Curlew River
Aschenbach, Death in Venice
Grimes, Bob Boles, Rev Adams; Peter Grimes
Prologue, Peter Quint; The Turn of the Screw
Humperdinck
Hexe, Hänsel and Gretel
Janáček
Kudrjaš, Káťa Kabanová
Laca, Jenůfa
Monteverdi
Orfeo, L’Orfeo
Telemaco, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Lucano, L’incoronazione di Poppea
Mozart
Pedrillo, Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Bastien, Bastien und Bastienne
Ferrando, Cosi fan tutté
Don Basilio, Don Curzio; Le Nozze di Figaro
Tamino, Monastatos; Die Zauberflöte
Offenbach
Frantz, Les Contes d’Hoffman
Frick, The Brazilian; La Vie Parisienne
Puccini
Pong/Pang, Turandot
Reimann
Johansson, Die Gespenstersonate
Sondheim
Pirelli, Sweeney Todd
Henrik, A Little Night Music
Sullivan
Nanki-Poo, The Mikado
Mars, Thespis
Fredrick, The Pirates of Penzance
Defendant, Trial by Jury
R. Strauss
Der Wirt, Haushofmeisters; Der Rosenkavalier
Verdi
Fenton, Dr. Caius; Falstaff
Wagner
David, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
gallery
a few favourite publicity and production photos
Photo Credits and Information
PHOTO 1: description: on the big screen, orange coat
from Lost in Loops, Konzerthaus Berlin
Nico and the Navigators
photo by: Falk Wenzel
PHOTO 2: description: between two buildings
photo by Andy Staples
PHOTO 3: description: with girl in green coat crying
from Die Stunde da wir zu viel von einander wussten
Nico and the Navigators
with Yui Kawaguchi, photo by: Dieter Hartwig
PHOTO 4: description: clutching chest
from Le Nozze di Figaro
Seattle Opera
photo by: Rozarii Lynch
PHOTO 5: description: in boat
from Death in Venice
Opera de Bellas Artes, Mexico City
photo by José Brancho
PHOTO 6: description: pulling a suspender
from La Petite Messe Solenelle,
Nico and the Navigators
with Ulrike Mayer, photo by Maik Schuck
Publicity photos on Landing page, Biography, and contact sections all by Andy Staples