Born in Attendorn, Westphalia, German bass Georg Zeppenfeld began his musical career studying to become a teacher of music and German before fully devoting himself to singing. He received his training in concert and opera performance at the music academies in Detmold and Cologne, where Hans Sotin was a major influence. Following early engagements in Münster and Bonn, he joined the ensemble of the Saxon State Opera in Dresden in 2001, which has remained the artistic center of his career ever since.
With his noble and distinctive voice, Zeppenfeld is regarded as one of the most sought-after basses of his generation. He has appeared at major opera houses across Europe and the United States and earned acclaim on many of the world’s leading concert stages. His extensive repertoire includes prominent roles from both the German and Italian traditions, such as Rocco (Fidelio), Kaspar (Der Freischütz), King Karl (Fierrabras), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Zaccaria (Nabucco), Banco (Macbeth), Sparafucile (Rigoletto), King Philip II (Don Carlo), Daland (The Flying Dutchman), Landgrave Hermann (Tannhäuser), King Henry (Lohengrin), King Marke (Tristan und Isolde), Hunding (Die Walküre), Gurnemanz (Parsifal), Hans Sachs and Veit Pogner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Gremin (Eugene Onegin), Arkel (Pelléas et Mélisande), Pimen (Boris Godunov) and La Roche (Capriccio).
One of his signature roles is Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), which he performed under Claudio Abbado in Baden-Baden, among others.
A milestone in his career came with his acclaimed debut as Hans Sachs at the 2019 Salzburg Easter Festival under the baton of Christian Thielemann. Since 2010, he has also been a regular presence at the Bayreuth Festival, where he has excelled in key Wagnerian roles such as Gurnemanz, King Marke, and Veit Pogner.
In the 2025/26 season, Zeppenfeld’s exceptional vocal range and commanding stage presence once again take him to many of Europe’s most important opera and concert venues.
The season opens with his return to the Vienna State Opera as Landgrave Hermann in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, followed by his reprise of King Marke in Tristan und Isolde at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
At his home theatre, the Semperoper Dresden, he appears in two particularly notable productions: Hans Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen and a new staging of Parsifal directed by Floris Visser and conducted by Daniele Gatti.
At the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Zeppenfeld sings Zaccaria in Verdi’s Nabucco, and in Amsterdam, he makes a role debut as Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra under the baton of Fabio Luisi at Dutch National Opera.
At the 2026 Bayreuth Festival, Zeppenfeld returns to one of his signature roles – Gurnemanz in Parsifal – and for the first time takes on the role of Hans Sachs in a new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, conducted by Daniele Gatti and staged by Matthias Davids.
Georg Zeppenfeld has collaborated with many of the world’s most distinguished conductors, including Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Colin Davis, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Harding, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Thomas Hengelbrock, Marek Janowski, Fabio Luisi, Lorin Maazel, Andris Nelsons, Marc Minkowski, Antonio Pappano, Kirill Petrenko, Christian Thielemann, and Franz Welser-Möst. His artistry is documented in numerous CD and DVD recordings, as well as in radio and television broadcasts.
In recognition of his exceptional achievements, Zeppenfeld was named Saxon Kammersänger in 2015, awarded the Semperoper Foundation Prize in 2018, and honored with the Austrian Music Theatre Award in 2022 for his outstanding portrayal of Gurnemanz at the Vienna State Opera.
