ENDRIK WOTTRICH AS SAMSON – FOR A SECOND TIME WITH A BULGARIAN DALILA
01 Dec 2014

ENDRIK WOTTRICH AS SAMSON – FOR A SECOND TIME WITH A BULGARIAN DALILA

The famous tenor will be guest-performer for a second time in a production of Sofia Opera

Also in his second participation in the role of Samson the well-known German tenor Endrik Wottrich will be on the stage with a Bulgarian performer – the mezzo-soprano Nadia Krasteva. The first time Wottrich took part in a production of Deutsche Oper – Berlin several years ago together with another famous Bulgarian singer, Vesselina Kasarova. Endrik Wottrich has kept a wonderful memory from his first participation in “Samson et Dalila” and now he begins the rehearsals in Sofia in the production of Hugo de Ana. This will be the first meeting between them on the big stage. The renowned Argentine director chose him for the role after having heard him on the stage of Sofia Opera as Florestan in Beethoven’s “Fidelio” during the past season.

“I like the Sofia audience, most of all because of the way it listens and takes part in the spectacle. You like the big voices, and the part of Samson requires a bigger voice. In comparison with Wagner’s characters it is more lyrical, but at some places, especially in Act I, it has to sound warlike too. “Samson et Dalila” is beautiful with its sonority, with the beauty of the parts of the main characters. That is why it is decisive for their voices to express sensuality, especially in the relations among them.”

Endrik Wottrich makes a parallel between Florestan, one of his other favourite characters, and Samson. “Both of them are close to me, each one in his own way. The weakness of Saint-Saëns’ character is Dalila – she betrays him, depriving him of his power. He is heart-broken, when he understands that his beloved serves the enemy camp, that everything connected with their love is false.”     

The destiny of the born in Celle, Germany, Endrik Wottrich is connected with music since his earliest age. Having studied the violin, he trained himself vocally in Würzburg, before graduating the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Personally Daniel Barenboim invited the young tenor to sing at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden in 1993. Since then Wottrich is frequent and very wished guest-performer at leading international festivals, opera stages and concert halls, among which Carnegie Hall, La Scala di Milano, where during 9 seasons he sung Tannhäuser and other roles, Wiener Staatsoper and Wiener Volksoper, Covent Garden in London, Chicago, Madrid, Nationaltheater Munich, New National Theatre – Tokyo, Opera House in Montreal and Semperoper in Dresden. He is guest-performer at the Orange Festival in France. 13 seasons from his biography are connected with the Bayreuth Festival.

He has sung Walther von Stolzing and David from “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”, Erik from “Der fliegende Holländer” and Siegmund in “Die Walküre” by Wagner. Upcoming for him are a guest-performance in Montreal in January 2015 in “Samson et Dalila” and in “Tannhäuser” in Beijing in 2016.

He has participations, recordings and radio broadcasts with Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Jeffrey Tate, Antonio Pappano, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and others. He has been on the stage with René Pape, Karita Mattila, Bryn Terfel, Thomas Hampson. With Kurt Rydl he made a debut on the stage of Sofia Opera in Beethoven’s “Fidelio” past season.

Since 2005 Endrik Wottrich is Professor at the University of Music Würzburg. He has held classes at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in St. Petersburg. He has given recitals with his pianist, the well-known Russian Professor Semyon Skigin.