"The singer has an exemplary vocal balance, warmth of flow and dramatic differentiation at his command." Words of praise indeed in the daily paper "Die Welt" for bass-baritone Raimund Nolte after a lieder recital in Berlin.

After first completing studies in mathematics, music pedagogy and viola in Cologne, he was violist with Musica Antiqua Cologne for a number of years. His formative vocal training was with Prof. Josef Metternich and Prof. Irmgard Hartmann. He received his diploma at the Musikhochschule in Mainz and is now working with Gundula Hintz.

Following initial stage appearances with the opera studio of the German Rhine Opera he was heard in 1996 by Harry Kupfer and asked to join the Komische Oper in Berlin, remaining an ensemble member for the following four crucial years. Further engagements led him on to numerous opera houses, most recently to the opera company at Halle (2005 - 2009). There he was in demand not least as a Handelian, but also in many of the major roles of his vocal métier, for example the title roles of Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni and Dallapiccola's "Il Prigioniero".

After his debuts in recent seasons at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, at the Hamburg State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Semperoper in Dresden, the Opéra Bastille in Paris and the Teatro Real in Madrid since 2015 Raimund Nolte is regularly heard at the Bayreuth Festival. In 2022 and 2023 he sang "Donner" in "Das Rheingold" in the new production of "Der Ring der Nibelungen". Other recent highlights were Wagner's Tristan and Isolde with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Karina Canellakis in the Stockholm Konzerthuset, Bach's Matthäus Passion with the Nederlands Kamerorchest under the direction of Jonathan Cohen in the Concertgebouw, Messiah with La Chapelle Harmonique in Versailles and Mendelssohn`s Elias in the Brussels Palais Beaux-Arts. In Badajoz he debuted as Gurnemanz in Wagner's "Parsifal" under the direction of Pablo Heras-Casado. At the Seebühne of the Bregenz Festival he sang 2024 Kuno in Weber's "Der Freischütz" in Philipp Stölzl's acclaimed production. Nolte can also be heard in this role in 2025 at the opera houses in Ghent, Antwerp and again in Bregenz.

As a concert singer he has worked with major conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Trevor Pinnock, René Jacobs and Reinhard Goebel, appearing under their baton at many of the leading European music festivals, for example, Salzburg, Ansbach, Prague, Paris, London, Graz. Ludwigsburg, Dresden, Canary Islands, Flanders and Dutch Festivals, Handel Festivals in Karlsruhe, Halle and Göttingen.

Numerous CDs covering Bach to Bernstein attest to his versatility. His complete recording of Handel's Italian solocantatas for bass got best reviews in international magazines.

Raimund Nolte is lecturer in singing at the University of Music and Dance in Cologne.

Version January 2025

After first completing studies in mathematics, music pedagogy and viola in Cologne, Raimund Nolte studied singing principally with Prof. Josef Metternich and Prof. Irmgard Hartmann. He received his diploma at the Musikhochschule in Mainz and is now working with Gundula Hintz.

Following initial stage appearances with the opera studio of the German Rhine Opera he was heard in 1996 by Harry Kupfer and asked to join the Komische Oper in Berlin, remaining an ensemble member for the following four crucial years. Further engagements led him on to numerous opera houses, most recently to the opera company at Halle (2005 - 2009). There he was in demand not least as a Handelian, but also in many of the major roles of his vocal métier, for example the title roles of Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni and Dallapiccola's "Il Prigioniero".

As a concert singer he has worked with major conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Trevor Pinnock, René Jacobs and Reinhard Goebel, appearing under their baton at many of the leading European music festivals, for example, Salzburg, Ansbach, Prague, Paris, London, Graz. Ludwigsburg, Dresden, Canary Islands, Flanders and Dutch Festivals, Handel Festivals in Karlsruhe, Halle and Göttingen.

After his debuts in recent seasons at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, at the Hamburg State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Semperoper in Dresden, the Opéra Bastille in Paris and the Teatro Real in Madrid since 2015 Raimund Nolte is regularly heard at the Bayreuth Festival. In 2022 and 2023 he sang "Donner" in "Das Rheingold" in the new production of "Der Ring der Nibelungen". Other highlights this year are Wagner's Tristan and Isolde with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Karina Canellakis in the Stockholm Konzerthuset, Bach's Matthäus Passion with the Nederlands Kamerorchest under the direction of Jonathan Cohen in the Concertgebouw, Messiah with La Chapelle Harmonique in Versailles and Mendelssohn's Elias in the Brussels Palais Beaux-Arts. In Badajoz he debuted as Gurnemanz in Wagner's "Parsifal" under the direction of Pablo Heras-Casado. At the Seebühne of the Bregenz Festival he sang 2024 Kuno in Weber's "Der Freischütz" in Philipp Stölzl's acclaimed production. Nolte can also be heard in this role in 2025 at the opera houses in Ghent, Antwerp and again in Bregenz

Numerous CDs covering Bach to Bernstein attest to his versatility. His complete recording of Handel's Italian solocantatas for bass got best reviews in international magazines.

Raimund Nolte is lecturer in singing at the University of Music and Dance in Cologne.

Version January 2025

» Word document

The bass-baritone Raimund Nolte initially studied mathematics, school pedagogy and viola and was a viola player in the ensemble musica antiqua köln for several years.

He studied singing with Prof. Josef Metternich and Prof. Irmgard Hartmann.

For several years he was a member of the ensembles of the Komische Oper Berlin and the Halle Opera House. Guest engagements led him to the state operas in Berlin and Hamburg, the Semperoper Dresden, the Paris Opéra Bastille, the Opéra national du Rhin and the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Vlaamse Opéra in Antwerp and Ghent, among others.

He has been appearing regularly at the Bayreuth Festival since 2015 and sang “Donner” in Rheingold in the new ring in 2022 and 2023.

As a concert singer, he works with well-known conductors, including Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Trevor Pinnock, René Jacobs and Reinhard Goebel, under whose direction he sang at many important European festivals (e.g. Salzburg Festival, Vienna Festival Weeks, Ansbach, Prague, Paris, London, Graz, Ludwigsburg, Dresden, Canary Islands, Flanders and Holland Festival, Handel Festival in Karlsruhe, Halle and Göttingen). Under the direction of Pablo Heras-Casado he sang Gurnemanz in Wagner's Parsifal for the first time. At the Seebühne of the Bregenz Festival he sang 2024 Kuno in Weber's "Der Freischütz" in Philipp Stölzl's acclaimed production.

Numerous CD productions from Bach to Bernstein document his versatility. His complete recording of G.F. Handel's Italian solo cantatas for bass received the highest critical acclaim.

Raimund Nolte is lecturer in singing at the University of Music and Dance in Cologne.

Version January 2025

» Word document