Martin Snell

Guest of Prague State Opera

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. A recipient of many singing awards Martin Snell’s successes include the 1993 MOBIL Song Quest, New Zealand’s foremost singing competition, and the inaugural RNCM Leslie & Dorothy Blond Award for young dramatic singers in 1994, and a Scholarship from the Peter Moores Foundation London. In July 1995 Martin Snell completed his full time vocal studies as a member of the International Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zürich. From 1995-1997 Martin Snell was a member of the Solo Ensemble of the Stadttheater St Gallen and from 1997-2001 was engaged as a soloist at Theater Basel. From 2001 until 2004 he was again engaged as a soloist at Theater St Gallen. For the Season 2004/05 Martin Snell was engaged as a soloist at Luzerner Theater, where he continues to live, and now works as a freelance performer. Martin Snell’s vocal repertoire comprises diverse roles ranging from Monteverdi and Handel to Mozart and Rossini, Puccini and Strauss to Donizetti and Stravinsky, Verdi and Wagner, Janacek and Smetana, Tchaikowsky and Offenbach. Among his successes include stage performances as Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin) for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2002 conducted by Daniel Harding, Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau (Der Rosenkavalier), Hunding (Die Walküre), Timur (Turandot), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Rychtář (Jenufa) and Dikoj (Katja Kabanova) and Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin) in St Gallen conducted by Jiri Kout, the Bass-Solo in a critically-acclaimed staging by Andreas Homoki of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at Theater Basel conducted by Baldo Podic, Surin (Pique Dame) in a revival of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden production staged by Francesca Zambello for the Grand Théatre de Genève, conducted by Marko Letonja, and a further production by Mariusz Trelinski for the Staatsoper unter den Linden, Berlin, conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Also at the Staatsoper Berlin Martin Snell sang the role of Angelotti (Tosca) conducted by Plácido Domingo. Additionally Martin Snell has performed Conte di Monterone (Rigoletto) at the Herbert von Karajan Festspiele Baden-Baden 2004 conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock and Der Tod (Kaiser von Atlantis by Viktor Ullmann) directed by Dominique Mentha as part of the Lucerne Festival 2004, Sparafucile (Rigoletto) directed by Vera Nemirowa and Ned in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha in Lucerne directed by Verena Weiss. Other stage successes have featured Ein Steuermann (Tristan und Isolde) and 4. Edler (Lohengrin) for the Bayreuther Festspiele 2005, Truffaldino (Ariadne auf Naxos) directed by Laurence Dale for Opéra de Monte-Carlo and conducted by Lawrence Foster, Klingsor (Parsifal) for the New Zealand International Festival 2006 together with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Publio (La Clemenza di Tito) in Geneva and Caen, Ein Steuermann (Tristan und Isolde) for the Bayreuther Festspiele 2006, Kanna in the World première performance of Franz Schubert’s Sakontala at the Hermann Prey Festival Bad Urach, Hans Foltz (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) in Geneva, Truffaldino (Ariadne auf Naxos) in a revival of Christof Loy’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden production for the Grand Théatre de Genève conducted by Jeffery Tate, and most recently Hermann Ortel (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) in Bayreuth, directed by Katharina Wagner and conducted by Sebastian Weigle, followed by Kaspar in a revival of Marco Arturo Marelli’s Volksoper Wien production for Oper Graz conducted by Dirk Kaftan. As a concert singer Martin Snell has appeared widely throughout Europe as well as Asia, and has also performed regularly in New Zealand, with conductors such as Peter Eötvös, Herbert Blomstedt, Philippe Herreweghe, David Parry, René Jacobs, Sebastian Weigle, Howard Griffiths, Jiri Kout, Jeffery Tate, and Lan Shui, among many others.

Future stage engagements include revival performances of Hermann Ortel (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) and Ein Steuermann (Tristan und Isolde) for the Bayreuther Festspiele 2008 and further concert appearances in New Zealand Switzerland, Germany, Singapore and Lithuania.