René Pape, one of the leading international basses, received his musical education in his native city Dresden. He made his debut while still a student in 1988 at the Berlin State Opera and has been a member of the company ever since. His roles include König Marke, König Heinrich, Wotan (Das Rheingold/Die Walküre), Gurnemanz, Rocco, Sarastro, Figaro, Leporello, Don Giovanni, Philip II, Faust (Mephisto) and Boris Godunow. He has appeared at all the major opera houses and concert halls in Europe, Japan and the USA and at the Bayreuth, Glyndebourne, Lucerne, Orange, Salzburg, St. Petersburg White Nights and Verbier Festivals.
He has made TV-appearances, recordings and DVD’s among others on the BMG, EMI, DGG, TELDEC labels under conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, James Levine, Sir Georg Solti, Sir Antonio Pappano, Valerij Gergiev.
TV-portrait within the series "Maestro" for ARTE. Film productions The Magic Flute/Sarastro and Sprecher, directed by Kenneth Branagh and The Hunter's Bride/Der Freischütz (2009). Metropolitan Opera New York, The Magic Flute/Sarastro – special version in English – high definition transmission of a live performance into movie theatres and TV-broadcast. Solo-CD "Gods, Kings & Demons", Staatskapelle Dresden and a Wagner-CD, Staatskapelle Berlin/Daniel Barenboim (released in 2011) for DGG. René Pape has won two Grammy Awards and is Vocalist of the Year 2002 of the magazin "Musical America". January 2007, "Opera News Award", New York. "MET Meistersinger" honored by the Metropolitan Opera Guild in October 2010. Europäischer Kulturpreis (2019).