Martin Snell (Bio)(Eng) (10.10.2014)

Martin Snell
Bass
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Biography
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Martin Snell was born and educated in Dunedin, New Zealand. After law studies and
professional qualification he entered the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, England
to commence postgraduate vocal studies with Patrick McGuigan in September 1991, graduating
with distinction in 1994. He has received many awards and scholarships, including winning the
1993 Mobil Song Quest and a major scholarship from the Peter Moores Foundation, London.
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Martin Snell has been a resident artist with Theater St Gallen, Theater Basel, and Luzerner
Theater. Since August 2005 he has worked as a freelance performer based in Lucerne,
Switzerland and attained Swiss citizenship in 2010.
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Martin Snell’s vocal repertoire comprises diverse works ranging from Monteverdi and Handel to
Mozart and Rossini, Puccini and Strauss to Donizetti and Stravinsky, Verdi and Wagner, Janàcek
and Smetana, Tchaikovsky and Offenbach.
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Future engagements include Christof Loy’s staging of Bellini’s La Straniera at Theater an der
Wien and Brigitte Fassbaender’s production of Der Rosenkavalier in Baden-Baden with Sir
Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as well as further concert and opera
appearances in Germany, France, Switzerland and New Zealand.
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As both a concert and opera singer Martin Snell has performed widely throughout Europe as
well as Asia, Australia, and his native New Zealand with conductors such as John Axelrod,
Bertrand de Billy, Herbert Blomstedt, Sir Colin Davis, Peter Eötvös, Lawrence Foster, Philippe
Herreweghe, René Jacobs, David Parry, Sebastian Weigle, Peter Schneider, Thomas Hengelbrock,
Howard Griffiths, Leo Hussain, Pietari Inkinen, Philippe Jordan, Morten Schuldt Jensen, Carlos
Kalmar, Wolfgang Katchner, Axel Kober, Jiri Kout, Gustav Kuhn, Marko Letonja, Alexander
Polianichko, Lan Shui, Jeffery Tate, Mikhail Tartarnikov, and Christian Thielemann, among many
others.
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Notable opera engagements included his débuts as Kaspar (Der Freischütz) for Oper Graz,
Daland (Der fliegende Holländer) for State Opera of Prague, Landgraf Hermann (Tannhäuser)
for the Greek National Opera at the Megaron Concert Hall, Athens, the title role in Puccini’s
Gianni Schicchi for Southern Opera (New Zealand), and Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin and
the role of Ariodate in Xerxes for NBR New Zealand Opera, his début in Richard Strauss’ Der
Rosenkavalier at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Der alte Graumann (Der ferne Klang) for Opéra national
du Rhin, Kuno (Der Freischütz), Lorenz von Pommersfelden (Mathis der Maler), Don Pedro
(Béatrice et Bénédict), and Foka (Charodeyka) at Theater an der Wien, The King of Heaven in
Somtow Sucharitkul’s The Silent Prince and Daland (Der fliegende Holländer) with Bangkok
Opera.
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Among Martin Snell’s significant concert performances are included Verdi Requiem in Munich,
Haydn’s Die Schöpfung in St Peter (Schwarzwald), his London concert début in Janàcek’s Glagolitic
Mass as well as Kuno (Der Freischütz) with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony
Orchestra, Mozart Requiem in Basel and Milan, Schubert Mass Nr.6 and Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten in
Madrid, Rossini Stabat Mater and Bellini A minor Mass in Basel, Weber’s Die Drei Pintos with the
Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra in Lisbon, Handel’s Messiah in Munich, New Zealand, Sydney
and Switzerland, among many other engagements, including Tannhäuser with Marek Janowski and
the Rundfunkorchester Berlin at the Berliner Philharmonie, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius in New
Zealand, Handel’s Jephtha in Basel, and his début as Fasolt in semi-staged performances of
Wagner’s Das Rheingold in Biel/Bienne.
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Other concert performance highlights include Hunding (Die Walküre) with Marek Janowski and
the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin on tour in Spain, Pater Profundus in Mahler’s Symphony no. 8
with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House and also at the
New Zealand International Arts Festival with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and
Stravinsky’s Les Noces in Birmingham, directed by Graham Vick.
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Please visit his website: www.kiwibasso.com
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(Date/Stand: 10.10.2014)