Wilhelm Schwinghammer is one of the leading German basses of his generation. Born in Bavaria, he received his early musical training with the renowned Regensburger Domspatzen choir before studying at the Berlin University of the Arts with Harald Stamm and furthering his education in masterclasses with Kurt Moll and Marjana Lipovšek. After joining the Hamburg State Opera’s Young Artist Programme and later its ensemble, he embarked on an international career that has established him among the most respected basses of today.
His extensive repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary music and includes many of the great bass roles of the German and Italian repertory, such as Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Leporello (Don Giovanni), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Osmin (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), King Henry (Lohengrin), King Marke (Tristan und Isolde), Daland (Der fliegende Holländer), Hunding, Fasolt and Fafner (Der Ring des Nibelungen), Rocco (Fidelio), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Orest (Elektra) and Baron Ochs (Der Rosenkavalier).
He has appeared at major opera houses including those of Munich, Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Hamburg, Lyon, Milan, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Washington and Toronto, as well as the Hong Kong Arts Festival. A regular guest at both the Salzburg and Bayreuth Festivals, he made his acclaimed Bayreuth debut in 2012 as King Henry in Lohengrin and has since returned in several Wagnerian roles, including Fasolt and Fafner.
Alongside his operatic career, he is a distinguished concert artist, performing regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Concerto Köln. He has collaborated with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Kirill Petrenko, Andris Nelsons, Sir Simon Rattle, Marek Janowski, Sebastian Weigle and Simone Young.
Among his distinctions are First Prize and the Audience Prize at the prestigious ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2009.
He made his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in the 2012/13 season with Lohengrin and has returned with Ariodante (2017/18).