VALER SABADUS - BIOGRAPHY

In 2020, Valer Sabadus was awarded the Handel Music Prize by the city of Halle. This recognition holds great significance for the countertenor, not only because Handel has played a key role in his career but also due to his long-standing and fruitful collaboration with the International Handel Festival in Halle.

Other highlights of the 2019/2020 season included performances at the Handel Festivals in Karlsruhe and Halle, as well as at the SWR Festival in Schwetzingen with the Venice Baroque Orchestra and the ensemble Nuovo Aspetto. With L’Arpeggiata and the programs Himmelsmusik and La Lyra d’Orfeo, Valer Sabadus performed in concert halls such as the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Konzerthaus Dortmund, and the Opéra Royal de Versailles. The season concluded with extraordinary concerts featuring the classical ensemble SPARK and the successful genre-blending program Closer to Paradise in Giessen, followed by a June tour through France, including performances in Froville.

On November 15, 2024, the album La Lyra d’Orfeo was released under the ERATO Warner Classics label, featuring Valer Sabadus. He is known for his unconventional collaborations and programs. Among his most noteworthy projects are Closer to Paradise with SPARK, Continuum with rapper Samy Deluxe and the ensemble Musica Alta Ripa, as well as Love Songs with singer Dima Orsho and Musica Alta Ripa.

In recent years, Valer Sabadus has enjoyed great success not only with albums such as Caro Gemello (2018) with Concerto Köln but also with major concert tours and a portrait cycle at the Cologne Philharmonie. In addition to concerts across Europe, he made a highly successful debut in Japan and Russia in 2019.

He achieved international fame in 2012 with his outstanding interpretation of Semira in Leonardo Vinci's opera Artaserse, staged at opera houses in Nancy, Lausanne, Cologne, the Theater an der Wien, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Opéra Royal de Versailles, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. This production was also released on CD and DVD and received numerous awards. That same year, German music critics honored him with an award for his solo album Hasse Reloaded (OehmsClassics). He gained further international recognition as Menelaus in Francesco Cavalli’s opera Elena at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, which was also released on DVD. 

In 2013, he debuted in the title role of Handel’s Serse at Deutsche Oper am Rhein in a production directed by Stefan Herheim. In 2015 and 2016, he shone in the title role of Handel’s Teseo at the Handel Festival in Karlsruhe, earning excellent reviews. He experienced extraordinary success with his debut as Emperor Nero in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Theater an der Wien in September 2015.

Between 2016 and 2017, he focused on the works of Monteverdi’s student Francesco Cavalli, performing roles such as Giuliano in L’Eliogabalo and the title role in Il Giasone, which he brought to the stages of the Opéra National de Paris, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. In January 2018, he portrayed the Angel in Handel’s oratorio Jephta, directed by Claus Guth at the Opéra National de Paris.

Valer Sabadus began his vocal studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich under the guidance of Professor Gabriele Fuchs at the age of 17. In 2013, he graduated with distinction as a member of the Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding, specializing in musical theatre. A significant milestone in his career was his participation in the production of Johann Adolph Hasse’s opera Didone abbandonata, which he recorded with the Hofkapelle München under Michael Hofstetter.

In 2009, he made his debut under the baton of Riccardo Muti at the Salzburg Festival in Jommelli’s opera Demofoonte, which was also performed at the Ravenna Festival and the Opéra National de Paris. He achieved great success in roles such as Sesto (La clemenza di Tito) at the Mozart Summer Festival in Schwetzingen, Ruggiero (Orlando furioso) by Vivaldi, and Endimione (La Calisto) by Cavalli at the Frankfurt Opera.

In his rich concert career, Valer Sabadus has also dedicated himself to song and oratorio repertoire. He has performed at prestigious festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, the Schubertiade in Hohenems, and Winter in Schwetzingen. As a soloist, he has appeared at venues including the Philharmonies of Essen and Cologne, the Frauenkirche in Dresden, the Chapelle Royale de Versailles, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Grafenegg Festival, and the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music.

His extensive discography spans from early Baroque works by Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli to Italian sacred and operatic music, as well as contemporary compositions by Enjott Schneider. He has received numerous accolades for his recordings, including ECHO Klassik Awards (2012 and 2015), and in 2013, he was named Young Artist of the Year in the Vocal Music category at the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA).

Photo: Schneider Photography