Alumnus Marcel Brunner has been awarded the OPUS KLASSIK 2026 in the ‘Young Artist of the Year’ category.
The bass-baritone studied singing at the Karlsruhe University of Music under Prof. Christiane Libor and Stephan Klemm. After completing his studies, he went on to become an internationally sought-after artist on the opera stage.
From 2018 to 2024, Marcel Brunner was a member of the ensemble at the National Theatre in Mannheim, where he performed numerous leading roles in his vocal range. Guest engagements have taken him to venues including the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Leipzig Opera, the Stuttgart State Opera, the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the Aalto Theatre in Essen, the Prague State Opera, the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp/Ghent, and the Berlin Philharmonic’s Easter Festival in Baden-Baden.
Marcel Brunner also appears regularly as a concert soloist in renowned concert halls and at major festivals. He has sung, amongst other venues, at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, DeSingel in Antwerp, the Pfalzbau in Ludwigshafen, at the Ghent Festival in Sint-Baafs, and at the International Music Days in Speyer Cathedral.
In September 2025, his debut album REMEMBRANCE was released on the hässler CLASSIC label, in collaboration with pianist Doriana Tchakarova. The recording was highly praised by the specialist press, nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award, and earned him two nominations for the OPUS KLASSIK 2026: as ‘Young Artist of the Year’ and in the category ‘Vocal Solo Recording of the Year’.
In awarding him the title of ‘Young Artist of the Year’, the jury recognised the artistic development to date of a singer who has established himself in a short space of time as a versatile and distinguished artist.