Maximilian Schmitt discovered his passion for music as a member of the renowned Regensburger Domspatzen boys’ choir. He studied voice with Prof. Anke Eggers at the Berlin University of the Arts, complemented by private studies with Roland Hermann, and currently works with Tobias Truniger. After gaining his first stage experience at the Bavarian State Opera’s Opera Studio, he spent four seasons as a member of the ensemble at the National Theatre Mannheim, where he built a broad operatic repertoire.
He first attracted international attention in 2012 with his debut as Tamino at Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam under Marc Albrecht. Further engagements followed as Idomeneo at the Opéra national du Rhin, Don Ottavio at the Vienna State Opera, and Pedrillo in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at La Scala in Milan under Zubin Mehta. He has appeared as Max in Weber’s Der Freischütz at Aalto-Musiktheater Essen and as Erik in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer in Graz, Cologne and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. In the 2023/24 season, he expanded his Wagner repertoire with his role debut as Siegmund in Die Walküre with Concerto Köln under Kent Nagano, followed by his debut as Lohengrin at Hanover State Opera in 2025.
A highly sought-after concert and oratorio singer, Maximilian Schmitt appears regularly with leading orchestras including the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Vienna Philharmonic. He has collaborated closely with conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Kirill Petrenko, Teodor Currentzis, Daniel Harding, Manfred Honeck, Fabio Luisi, Philippe Herreweghe, Thomas Hengelbrock and René Jacobs.
During the 2026/27 Beethoven season, the composer’s works form the centrepiece of his concert engagements. Highlights include performances of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis under Petr Popelka in Paris and Stockholm, under Paavo Järvi in Zurich, and with the Prague Symphony Orchestra under Tomáš Netopil. He also performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under Kent Nagano in Madrid as well as in Rotterdam, Vienna and Heilbronn. Further highlights include Franz Schmidt’s Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln in Tokyo and the Evangelist in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne under Rubén Dubrovsky during the Easter season.
His operatic engagements in 2026/27 include his role debut as Hans in a new production of Smetana’s The Bartered Bride at Oper Köln, Baron Kronthal in Lortzing’s Der Wildschütz at the Semperoper Dresden, and a return to Wagner’s Erik in Der fliegende Holländer at the Baden-Baden Whitsun Festival under François-Xavier Roth.
Song recitals remain a central part of his artistic profile. Together with pianist Gerold Huber, he has appeared at the Heidelberg Spring Festival, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London’s Wigmore Hall and the Cologne Philharmonie, among many other venues.
Maximilian Schmitt’s extensive discography includes the solo albums Träumend wandle ich bei Tag, Die schöne Müllerin and Wie freundlich strahlt der Tag. He also recorded Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under René Jacobs for harmonia mundi. His recording of Wagner’s Die Walküre (Siegmund) with Concerto Köln under Kent Nagano will be released shortly.
