Andreas Schager, recognised as one of the world’s leading Wagnerian tenors, makes his debut at the Hungarian State Opera on 15 November 2026. As part of the Stars' Recitals with Piano series, the acclaimed singer will perform Schumann’s Dichterliebe, songs by Richard Strauss, and excerpts from Wagner’s operas. He will be joined by pianist Donka Angatscheva and violinist Lidia Baich.
Andreas Schager began his career with operetta roles and Mozart operas before gradually establishing himself in the heroic tenor repertoire of Wagner and Strauss. He has sung roles including Siegmund, Siegfried, Tannhäuser and Parsifal on the world’s leading opera stages. In 2016, he made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Erik in Der fliegende Holländer. In 2025, he was awarded the title of Kammersänger by the Vienna State Opera. Beside his leading operatic roles, he also performs as a soloist in major symphonic works by Beethoven, Mahler, and Schönberg.
The first half of Schager’s debut recital at the Hungarian State Opera features Schumann’s song cycle Dichterliebe. Composed to poems by Heinrich Heine, this work of sixteen songs follows its lyrical protagonist’s journey from the hope of love to disillusionment. The piano does more than accompany the voice: it also carries the emotional nuances of the story forward in its own right.
Four songs by Richard Strauss reveal further facets of love. Strauss’s music has also played a significant role in Schager’s career: he has performed Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos and the Emperor in Die Frau ohne Schatten in Berlin, and the latter role in Vienna as well. The songs featured in this recital offer a glimpse into the composer’s more intimate world. These four settings of late nineteenth-century German Romantic poetry express the hope of a shared future, the joy of love, the excitement of a nocturnal encounter and grateful devotion, all in a sensitive musical dialogue with the piano.
The Wagner selection that concludes the evening offers a taste of the lyrical and dramatic riches of the heroic tenor repertoire. The Grail Narration from Lohengrin reveals the identity of the mysterious knight; in the prayer from Rienzi, a hero threatened by impending downfall appeals to heaven for help; and in the Spring Song from Die Walküre, Siegmund recognises his awakening love in nature’s rebirth. These excerpts also reflect recent milestones in Schager’s career: he sang the title role in Rienzi at the Bayreuth Festival in summer 2026 and will appear in Tannhäuser at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin in March 2027. In Budapest, audiences will hear Wolfram’s Song to the Evening Star from Tannhauser, performed by the internationally renowned tenor.
Schager’s partners for the evening are Donka Angatscheva, a pianist who performs regularly as both a soloist and chamber musician in leading concert halls around the world. A Bösendorfer artist, she has also served as president of the International Chopin Society in Vienna since 2025. Lidia Baich, professor of violin at Vienna’s MUK (Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna), is likewise a regular soloist with leading symphony orchestras worldwide and has been the celebrated tenor’s partner in private life for more than a decade. The two instrumentalists will also present works of their own: together, they will perform Schubert’s and Liszt’s Grand Duos. Beyond their similar titles, the two works are linked by the equal footing and virtuoso interplay of their instruments. Here, the violin takes over from the voice, sustaining the song-like atmosphere of the programme.
Andreas Schager’s debut at the Hungarian State Opera will reveal not only the heroic tenor but also the art of the Lied singer. In an intimate setting, one of the world’s leading tenors will explore the finest nuances of vocal expression, joined by outstanding instrumentalists in a programme that spans the full range of human emotion, from lyrical Romantic songs to some of Wagner’s most beautiful arias.
Photos by Petra Kamenar / Danis Jerusalem / Sandu Cucui
