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Biography

from celebrated soprano soloist to countertenor

Alois Mühlbacher
„One of the most sought-after countertenors“ (Helmut Mauró, Sueddeutsche Zeitung)

At the age of 15 he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera and celebrated great successes on the podiums of international concert halls.

Coming from the forge of the renowned as well as traditional St. Florian Boys Choir, the young countertenor can now be heard all over the world.

He has performed at the opening gala of the new opera house in Vladivostok and at the New Year's Eve concert of the Mozarteum Orchestra in the Großes Festspielhaus under Ivor Bolton, among others. At the Great Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, he appeared on stage as Daniel in Handel's oratorio Susanna, as alto soloist in Bach's Mass in B minor, the St. John Passion, the St. Matthew Passion and in the Christmas Oratorio under Martin Haselböck. Guest appearances with the Vienna Academy have taken him to Munich, Los Angeles and Mexico.

As Amyntas in Telemann's Pastorelle en musique under the musical direction of the renowned recorder player and conductor Dorothee Oberlinger and alongside the Vocal Consort Berlin and Ensemble 1700, the acclaimed production made guest appearances at the Telemann Festival in Magdeburg, the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival, the Innsbruck Early Music Festival and Musica Bayreuth. Under the direction of Alfredo Bernardini, he appeared as the title character Assalonne in Caldara's oratorio of the same name in Salzburg in November 2022.

With the Ensemble Ars Antiqua Austria and Gunar Letzbor he has been connected for many years by an intensive collaboration in concerts (Festival for Early Music Utrecht, Resonanzen in the Vienna Konzerthaus, ... ) and numerous CD recordings.

Recently Alois Mühlbacher made his debut at the Landestheater Linz in the world premiere of Gisle Kverndokk's Fanny and Alexander based on the film of the same name by Ingmar Bergman. He is currently singing Eustazio in George Frideric Handel's Rinaldo at the Musiktheater Linz.

Together with his piano partner Franz Farnberger, he has already given numerous recitals. His distinctive, smooth, and versatile voice timbre enables him to perform a wide-ranging repertoire from Schubert to Richard Strauss, which is unusual for countertenors. His most recent CD recording Urlicht with works by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss was celebrated by the specialist press.

He completed acting studies in Linz and studied solo singing at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien with Prof. Uta Schwabe. He is currently continuing his master's studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Michael Chance.

Alois Mühlbacher lives in Vienna and London.

Highlights in 2023 include an Alcina tour with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre (Paris, Bordeaux, Hamburg, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia). Debut at the Gasteig in Munich, a Farinelli aria concert with the baroque ensemble Real Camara at the Festival de Sintra in Portugal and Bach cantatas with Martín Haselböck and the Vienna Academy at the Vienna Musikverein.

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