Carnegie Hall

Hamburg-born Simon Bode appears at prestigious opera houses and concert halls around the globe, and he is equally beloved for his warm, bright timbre as for his forthright stage presence and distinguished artistry. The tenor is a frequent guest at prestigious international festivals that include the Salzburg Festival, Bregenzer Festspiele, Beethovenfest Bonn, and Elbphilharmonie, among others.

Mr. Bode collaborates with many of the world’s leading conductors, including Constantinos Carydis, Peter Eötvös, Alan Gilbert, HK Gruber, Joana Mallwitz, Kent Nagano, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Sebastian Weigle. His broad range of repertoire spans from the J. S. Bach passions and the masses of Mozart, Haydn, and Schubert, to works written by many eminent living composers.

Engagements for the 2023–2024 season include Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Vienna Symphony led by Constantinos Carydis; Weill’s Die sieben Todsünden with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Ms. Mallwitz; and Luigi Nono’s Il canto sospeso with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Jonathan Stockhammer. J. S. Bach features prominently in Mr. Bode’s diary, with performances of his Christmas Oratorio in collaboration with Ensemble Schirokko Hamburg, and the St. John Passion with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and RIAS Kammerchor Berlin led by Justin Doyle.

Mr. Bode has given highly praised recital performances at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, Rheingau Musik Festival, and—on numerous occasions—Wigmore Hall. He was artist-in-residence at Wigmore Hall in the 2022–2023 season, performing three recitals: Winterreise with Simon Lepper; Die schöne Müllerin accompanied by Igor Levit; and a varied program of art song in collaboration with Jonathan Ware.

Highlights of recent seasons include Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with the Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Gustavo Dudamel; J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion with Christoph Prégardien, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, and Bavarian Radio Chorus; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Maxim Emelyanychev and the Munich Philharmonic; and the world premiere of Alex Nante’s Mysterium with the Orchestre National de Lille conducted by Ben Glassberg.

Acclaimed for his exemplary and spirited playing, song accompanist and chamber musician Jonathan Ware is a regular guest in the world’s leading recital venues, with recent appearances at Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Elbphilharmonie, Philharmonie Luxembourg, l’Auditori, the Concertgebouw, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Pierre Boulez Saal.

Last season saw Mr. Ware with Elsa Dreisig at Bayerischer Rundfunk, Kölner Philharmonie, and Wigmore Hall in a new 1920s program; with Bejun Mehta at Elbphilharmonie, Philharmonie Luxembourg, and Mozartfest Augsburg; with Camilla Tilling at Spivey Hall in a Jenny Lind–inspired selection; and with Brenda Rae at Wigmore Hall in a program of Schubert and Strauss. Following recent appearances at the Verbier Festival and Lied Festival Würzburg with Ema Nikolovska, the pair reunited at Wigmore Hall this season, where Mr. Ware also collaborated with tenors Simon Bode and Kieran Carrel. Also in the UK, Mr. Ware collaborated with violinist Randall Goosby, violist Timothy Ridout, and cellist Maciej Kułakowski, appearing at St. David’s Hall, Cardiff; St. George’s Bristol; Leeds Town Hall; and Wigmore Hall.

Soprano Golda Schultz is a key collaborator in the duo’s specially devised program of female composers, This Be Her Verse, touring to Berlin, Cologne, Aix-en-Provence, Edinburgh, Philadelphia, and Vancouver, among other cities, and appearing last season at Wigmore Hall and the Lucerne Festival. Mr. Ware was highly acclaimed for his “especially fine form” (BBC Music Magazine) and “theatrical sensibility” (The New York Times) for the album release of This Be Her Verse on Alpha Classics.

Highlights in the 2023–2024 season include a new collaboration with Samuel Mariño at the Sala Sinfónica Pablo Casals in Puerto Rico, a UK tour with clarinetist Jonathan Leibovitz, and a Schumann and Franck program with Timothy Ridout at the Vancouver Recital Society.

Mr. Ware’s awards include the pianist’s prize at both Das Lied and Wigmore Hall / Kohn Foundation international song competitions, as well as first prize with Ludwig Mittelhammer in the International Hugo Wolf Competition.

Born in Texas, Mr. Ware now resides in Berlin, where he teaches at Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler and Barenboim-Said Akademie. He regularly attends Academia Vocalis and Samling Institute for Young Artists as a mentor.