Jochen Schmeckenbecher
Jochen Schmeckenbecher was born in Hockenheim and studied with Kurt Moll at the Cologne University of Music.
After permanent engagements at Theater Hagen and the Komische Oper Berlin, he has worked as a freelance artist, performing the major roles of his repertoire on leading international opera and concert stages.
His artistic focus lies on the German-language repertoire, with roles such as Amfortas and Klingsor (Parsifal), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), the Music Teacher (Ariadne auf Naxos), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Orest (Elektra), Peter Besenbinder (Hänsel und Gretel), the Speaker (Die Zauberflöte), the title role in Wozzeck, and Dr. Schön (Lulu).
He has enjoyed particular success as Alberich (Der Ring des Nibelungen), appearing in this role at the Vienna, Berlin and Hamburg State Operas, the opera houses of Frankfurt and Leipzig, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Liceu in Barcelona (Spain), the Tanglewood Festival, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Kulturpalast Dresden, Müpa Budapest (Hungary), the Opéra Bastille in Paris (France), with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as in several complete CD and DVD recordings.
Since his role debut at the Vienna State Opera as the Music Teacher (Ariadne auf Naxos) in 2010, he has been closely associated with this house, where he regularly appears in roles such as Alberich, Amfortas, Klingsor, Kurwenal, Faninal, Frank (Die Fledermaus), the Speaker, the Music Teacher, Peter Besenbinder and Don Pizarro (Fidelio).
Further engagements have taken him to the state operas of Dresden, Munich and Stuttgart, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Theater an der Wien, the Volksoper Wien, the Salzburg Festival, and the opera houses of Basel, Essen, Lyon, Turin and Zurich, as well as to San Francisco, Dallas and Philadelphia (USA).
His engagements for the 2025/26 season include Alberich at the Berlin State Opera, Peter Besenbinder in a new production of Hänsel und Gretel at the Zurich Opera House, Frank and the Music Teacher at the Vienna State Opera, as well as Alberich at Müpa Budapest and, in the summer of 2026, at the Bayreuth Festival.
In the coming seasons, his engagements will include productions at the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and La Monnaie in Brussels (Belgium).