Biography.
With a “shimmering velvet voice,” “Wagnerian power” (Ôlyrix), and a “radiant high register” (Das Opernglas), American tenor Christopher Sokolowski captivates audiences with his vivid, electrifying portrayals, establishing himself in some of opera’s most challenging and iconic roles on the international stage.
The 2024/25 season marks several significant debuts: Sokolowski will open the season at Theater Bremen with his role debut as Lohengrin in a new production by Frank Hilbrich, under the baton of Stefan Klingele. He then appears at the prestigious Konzerthaus Berlin, performing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. Following these concerts, he returns to Staatsoper Hannover to debut as Manolios in Martinů’s Greek Passion, in a new production by Barbora Horáková, conducted by Stephan Zilias.
In the 2023/24 season, Sokolowski made his debut as the title role in Verdi’s Ernani at Theater St. Gallen, receiving widespread praise from the press. He was hailed as “an ideal casting” (Oper! Magazin, Kronenzeitung) and lauded as “an extremely convincing, intense interpreter of Ernani, […] able to fill the role with natural, perfect vocal support and a dynamic, precisely nuanced tone” (Oper Aktuell). He was further recognized for his portrayal as an “unbelievably agile performer … [with] a highly individual timbre, a well-developed middle range, and a radiant high register” (Das Opernglas), bringing “a vibrant power and a compelling, sometimes almost wild presence” to the role (Ostschweizer Kultur).
The 2022/23 season brought performances in St. Gallen as Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Siegmund (Die Walküre, “Der Ring an einem Abend”), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), as well as serving as the tenor soloist in a scenic production of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, about which the Polish magazine Ruch Muzyczny remarked that “Christopher Sokolowski has the talent, personality, and makings of a great spinto tenor.” He made additional debuts at Staatsoper Hannover as Wagner and Neréo in Boito’s Mefistofele, at Oper Frankfurt as Ken in Vito Žuraj’s Blühen, and as the Prince in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges at Des Moines Metro Opera, “unleashing torrents of gleaming sound, each phrase more impressive than the last” (Opera Today).
As a member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart Opera Studio during the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, Sokolowski shared in over 100 performances with the company, taking on supporting roles in both critically acclaimed new productions and repertory works. While in the studio, he appeared in concert with the company at the Baden-Baden Festspiele and Opéra National du Rhin and made his debut in the title role of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito at Theater Bregenz. The 2020/21 “COVID” season brought film adaptations of works of Purcell and Monteverdi with the Staatsoper Stuttgart.
Sokolowski has garnered recognition in several prestigious competitions, most recently as a grand finalist of the Paris Opera Competition at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées where he displayed “a technical maturity well beyond his years, enabling him to master the multiple facets of his shimmering velvet voice” (Ôlyrix). He was awarded the Rohatyn Great Promise Award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition, the Hermann Leopoldi Musikpreis in Vienna’s International Otto Edelmann Competition, and was a grand finalist in Innsbruck’s International Cesti Competition. In concert he has performed in venues across the world with a repertoire spanning from Baroque to world premieres.
A native of New York’s Hudson Valley, Sokolowski completed his vocal studies at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music (M.M.) and the Purchase Conservatory (B.M.). He has been a guest artist at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Fondation des Treilles Académie de la Voix.
[photo © Philippe Girard]
