Krešimir Stražanac

Bass-baritone Krešimir Stražanac is one of the most significant Croatian artists who continuously achieves international success. Among his many accomplishments, the debut with the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko in 2023 stands out, featuring concerts in Berlin, Madrid, and Barcelona (the recording of the Europakonzert from the Sagrada Familia was broadcast by numerous international radio and television stations).

Stražanac has a particular affinity for rarely performed operas, and in recent years he has sung the title roles in the premieres of Telemann’s Orpheus in Amsterdam and Caccini’s Liberation of Ruggiero from the island of Alcina in Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, where he also portrayed the Devil in Jaromír Weinberger’s Schwanda, the Bagpiper. He interpreted the roles of Ambrosio in Weber’s The Three Pintos in Leipzig and the King Froila in Schubert’s Alfonso und Estrella in Helsinki. Additionally, he performed in the stage performance of Handel’s Messiah, directed by Robert Wilson, at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

 

Krešimir Stražanac studied under Dunja Vejzović and (lied) with Cornelis Witthoefft at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, as well as privately with Jane Thorner Mengedoht and Hanns-Friedrich Kunz. After graduating, he became a permanent member of the Zurich Opera. Over the course of seven seasons, he interpreted roles such as Harlequin (R. Strauss’s Ariadne on Naxos), Baron Tusenbach (Eötvös’s Three Sisters), Ping (Puccini’s Turandot), Don Fernando (Beethoven’s Fidelio) and others, under conductors such as Vladimir Fedoseev, Bernard Haitink, Nello Santi, Peter Schneider and Franz Welser-Möst.

 

In 2017 he made his debut at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, as Pietro Fléville in a new production of Giordano’s opera Andrea Chénier, whereas in 2018 he performed for the first time at the Frankfurt Opera as Baron Tusenbach (Eötvös’s Three Sisters). In 2019, he debuted in the roles of Frank (Strauss’s Die Fledermaus) with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and as Creon (Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex) with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

 

He is the winner of several international competitions, including Cantilena in Bayreuth (in the category of opera and operetta), La voce of the Bavarian Radio Television (in the category of lied) and Hugo Wolf, in the composer’s hometown of Slovenj Gradec. He was also awarded at the Paula Solomon-Lindberg competition in Berlin.

 

As a concert soloist, Stražanac performs throughout Europe, Asia, and North America, singing major vocal-instrumental works, including Haydn’s oratorio The Creation, Mozart’s concert arias and Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and Ninth symphony, Britten’s War Requiem, Glass’ Passion of Ramakrishna, Mendelssohn’s oratorios Elijah and St. Paul, Brahms’s German Requiem, Dvořák’s Requiem, Franck’s oratorio Les Béatitudes, Fauré’s Requiem, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria as well as Mahler’s cycles Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Rückert-Lieder.

 

He has performed with orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, under conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Ivan Fischer, Manfred Honeck, Alexander Liebreich, Jonathan Nott, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Petr Popelka, and Jaap van Zweeden. Since 2016, he has regularly and enthusiastically work with conductor Philippe Herreweghe and the ensembles Collegium Vocale Gent and Orchestre des Champs-Elysées.

 

He is renowned for his performances of the baroque repertoire, especially Handel’s oratorios Messiah and Alexander’s Feast, as well as numerous Bach’s works: St. Matthew’s Passion, St. John’s Passion, Christmas Oratorio, Mass in B minor, and many cantatas, including Ich habe genug, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, and Amore traditore. He performed with ensembles such as Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Collegium 1704, Concentus Musicus Wien, Concerto Köln, Freiburger Barockorchester, Gaechinger Cantorey, and I Barocchisti, under the direction of conductors Giovanni Antonini, Peter Dijkstra, Diego Fasolis, René Jacobs, Václav Luks, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Christoph Rousset, and Masaaki Suzuki.

 

He has performed in prestigious concert halls, such as the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, Barbican Centre in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Koningin Elisabethzaal in Antwerp, Tonhalle Zürich, Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, concert halls of Berlin and Cologne philharmonics, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Victoria Hall in Singapore, as well as Suntory Hall, MUZA Kawasaki Symphony Hall and Nikkei Hall in Tokyo.

 

In 2018, Stražanac made his debut at the Salzburg Festival as Herod in the Stradella’s oratorio San Giovanni Battista, and has since performed at festivals such as Bachfest Leipzig, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival and Festival Bach Montreal.

 

He regularly gives lied recitals throughout Europe, Japan and Brazil, performing some of the most famous cycles, such as Schubert’s Winterreise and Schwanengesang, Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Brahms’s Die schöne Magelone and Vier ernste Gesänge, Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death, Martin’s Sechs Monologe aus Jedermann and the aforementioned Mahler cycles in the version with piano. In 2022, he was a member of the jury at the 11th International Competition Franz Schubert and Modern Music in Graz.

 

His rich discography includes recordings released by labels such as Accent, Accentus Music, BR Klassik, Carus, Claves, Coviello, Decca, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina, Oehms, Opus Arte, Phi and Profil (Edition Staatskapelle Dresden). His first lied album was released in November 2024 by the Hänssler Classic label. This double CD features the first studio recording of songs by Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa, which he recorded in collaboration with pianist Krešimir Starčević. The album received praise and the highest ratings from critics from portals such as Online Merker (Austria), Kultura-Extra (Germany), Pizzicato (Luxembourg) and Operwire (USA).