Lortzing Competition in Germany in 2013, and winner of the Royal Melbourne
Philharmonic Aria competition in 2009.
Most recently Robert made his debut with Opera de Lyon performing Tybalt in Boris
Blacher’s Roméo et Juliette, and with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in the
role of Pong in Turandot. He also performed Israel in Egypt for the Halberstädter
Domfestspiele, Bach St John Passion in Belgium and Rossini’s Petite Messe for
Canberra International Music Festival along with his return to the Halberstädter
Domfestspiele for Haydn’s The Seasons. His 2017 engagements include St Matthew
Passion (Evangelist) with Sydney Philharmonia, the role of Kornelius in Saint Saëns’
The Japanese Princess for Lyric Opera, Carmina Burana and Belshazzar (Handel)
with Adelaide Philharmonic Chorus and his debut with Melbourne Symphony
Orchestra in the Kats-Chernin version of the prologue to Monteverdi’s Orfeo. He
will also return to Germany and Japan for concert performances and will reprise
the role of Renaud in Lully’s Armide on tour in Europe.
Robert made his European Opera Debut in the virtuosic role of Ircano in Hasse’s
Semiramide in Graz and Leipzig in 2014, for which he was highly acclaimed by
the Austrian critics. On the opera stage, he has also sung Monostatos (The Magic
Flute) for West Australian Opera; Orfeo (Peri’s Euridice) for Woodend Winter
Arts Festival; the title role in Rameau’s Pygmalion for the Peninsula Festival;
Notary (La Sonnambula), Parpignol (La Boheme), Beppe (Pagliacci) and 3rd Jew
(Salome) for State Opera of South Australia; Acis (Acis and Galatea) in Malaysia
and Singapore; the roles of Echo and Pastore (and understudying the title role)
in L’Orfeo with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for Brisbane Festival and
in Sydney and Melbourne; and he has also performed with Pinchgut Opera, Lyric
Opera of Melbourne and Co-Opera.
Robert is known internationally for his performances of Bach, in particular the
Evangelist of the St. John and St. Matthew Passions, and was the 2008 and 2009
Bach Scholar in the St. Johns Bach Cantata program in Melbourne. He made his
debut in Leipzig’s Thomaskirche in 2013 as the tenor soloist in Bach’s Mass in B
Minor, with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Thomanerchor under the direction
of Georg Christoph Biller, returning the following year to perform Wär Gott nicht
bei uns diese Zeit. Other acclaimed concert performances include soloist in semi-
staged performances of St. Matthew Passion for Opera Queensland; Britten St
Nicolas with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra; Mozart Great Mass in C minor
at St George’s Cathedral, Perth; Handel’s Messiah and Solomon; Monteverdi’s
Vespers at the Melbourne Recital Centre and the Adelaide Festival; Britten’s
Serenade and Les Illuminations; recitals of Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin,
Winterreise and Schwanengesang and Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Liederkreis
with pianist Leigh Harrold, Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch with Anthony Legge,
and for ArtSong Canberra and The Firm in Adelaide.
Robert also performs in the new music ensemble Duo Trystero with guitarist
Aleksandr Tsiboulski, which has given the Australian premieres of works by Alec
Roth, Wolfgang Fortner, Alexander Goehr and Paul Dessau and world premieres
of works by David Kotlowy, Luke Altmann and Anne Cawrse.
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