A broad range of repertoire on leading international stages distinguishes Peter Kálmán as one of the most dynamic bass-baritones before the public today. Highly regarded for his engaging character portrayals in the Italian buffo tradition, he is no less accomplished in the dramatic roles of Bartók, Strauss, and Wagner. Collaborations have yielded performances with many of the world’s most prestigious conductors including Alain Altinoglu, Christoph von Dohnányi, Ádám Fischer, Valery Gergiev, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Enrique Mazzola, Giacomo Sagripanti, Nello Santi, Stefan Soltész, Franz Welser-Möst, and Jaap van Zweden. A Kammersänger since spring 2024 and a recipient of honors from the Hungarian State Opera, Peter Kálmán brings his artistry to leading international stages this season. At Teatro Real, he makes a role debut as Dikoj in Christof Loy’s new production of Katya Kabanova, and he portrays the title role of Falstaff in his debut with the Polish National Opera. He returns to the Salzburg Festival as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, guarding Cecilia Bartoli’s Rosina, and to the Vienna State Opera, where he revisits two acclaimed portrayals: Dulcamara in the audience favorite L ’elisir d’amore and Sulpice in La fille du régiment. The season continues with Alberich in Davide Livermore’s new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.
Highlights of recent seasons include Metropolitan Opera performances as Sulpice in La fille du Régiment and as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Selim in Mariame Clément’s playful production of Il turco in Italia for a return engagement at Glyndebourne, both the title role of Falstaff and as Méphistophélés in Faust at the Hungarian State Opera, and a debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Mozart’s Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro.
His varied and vibrant diary has included a new production by Martin Kušej of Le nozze di Figaro at the Salzburger Festspiele led by Rafaël Pichon, La cenerentola for a debut at Semperoper Dresden and in a new production by Damiano Michieletto at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées led by Thomas Hengelbrock, Giulio Cesare at the Wiener Staatsoper conducted by Gianluca Capuano, and L ’elisir d’amore at the Latvian National Opera. The Budapest native has bowed as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Baron Scarpia in Tosca, in the title role of Don Pasquale, the Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, and as Klingsor in Parsifal all at the Hungarian State Opera.
Peter Kálmán made his American operatic debut as Don Magnifico in La cenerentola at Seattle Opera, and other Buffo highlights of the recent past include Mustafà in L ’italiana in Algeri at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in a new co-production directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier under the baton of Jean Christophe Spinosi, a debut at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie as Michele and Gianni Schicchi in a new Tobias Kratzer production of Il trittico conducted by Music Director Alain Altinoglu, La cenerentola at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées conducted by Enrique Mazzola, a debut at Glyndebourne as Bartolo in a revival of the Michael Grandage production of Le nozze di Figaro, a new production by Laurent Pelly of Donizetti’s Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali at the Grand Théâtre du Genève, and a new production of Il barbiere di Siviglia at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées directed by Laurent Pelly and led by Jérémie Rhorer. Equally adept in the dramatic bass-baritone repertoire, the artist has achieved particular international success as Alberich in Der Ring des Nibelungen and has performed the role in Budapest under the baton of Ádám Fischer and with the Hong Kong Philharmonic led by Jaap van Zweden (recorded commercially for the Naxos label).
Additional credits that further illustrate his artistic versatility include Schubert’s Fierrabras under the baton of Ingo Metzmacher at the Salzburg Festspiele, Norma in a cast anchored by Cecilia Bartoli with performances in Paris, Baden-Baden, and Monte-Carlo, Rossini’s Otello at the Opernhaus Zürich, Le Comte Ory at the Theater an der Wien, Handel’s Semele at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, and staged presentations of Le nozze di Figaro under the batons of Paul McCreesh at Vlaamse Opera, at Theater an der Wien with Marc Minkowski, and in concert under the direction of the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt in Vienna.
(photo: Dorina Bognar)
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