Stephan Rügamer
The German tenor Stephan Rügamer is Katya's husband Tichon in the opera Katya Kabanova here in Bergen in November.
Stephan Rügamer from Kempten in Allgäu (Bavaria) received his musical education mainly at the academies of music in Würzburg and Lübeck.
In the early stages of his career he was engaged at the Theater Lübeck where he had the opportunity to sing the main roles of the lyric tenor repertoire like Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Alfred in Die Fledermaus and Alfredo in La traviata.
Since his 1999 debut at the Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper under den Linden) as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg conducted by Daniel Barenboim he is a regular member of this house. Here he has sung parts like Narraboth in Salome, Cassio in Otello, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Macduff in Macbeth – and Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky's Rakes Progress.
In 2014 as well as in 2017 Rügamer sang the role as Tichon in Janáček's Katya Kabanova, conducted by Simon Rattle at the Berlin State Opera – before he returned in the same role autumn 2019, then with Karita Mattila as his mother Kabanicha, and conducted by Thomas Guggeis. And autumn 2021 he sang Tichon at Komische Oper in Berlin.
Rügamer has appeared as a guest artist at the opera houses in Frankfurt and Essen as well as at the Dresden, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart State Operas. He has also performed several times at Teatro alla Scala di Milano.
Season 2022/23 in Berlin he was Mime in Das Rheingold and Siegfried, Narraboth in Salome –and Vítek in Věc Makropulos (The Makropulos Affair) by Janáček.
After being Tichon here in Bergen this autumn (2023), he will sing even more Janáček at the Berlin State Opera: In January 2024 he will be Laca Klemeň in Jenůfa – and afterwards returning as Mime in Wagner's Ring.
Updated October 2023
