The German-British tenor Kieran Carrel is equally at home on the operatic stage, in concert, and in song, captivating audiences with his exceptional versatility. His musical journey began at a young age as a member of a boys’ choir, laying the foundation for his vocal career. Bilingual from birth—his mother is German, his father English—Carrel's cultural identity and expressive artistry have been shaped by both traditions.
His breakthrough came in 2020 when he won second prize at the German National Singing Competition, opening the door to the world of opera. He has since become a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he has taken on leading roles in his fach early in his career: Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Walther (Tannhäuser), Erik (Der fliegende Holländer), Froh (Das Rheingold), Narraboth (Salome), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). He appeared as Rinaldo in Haydn’s Armida at the Bregenz Festival and recently made his debut as Tamino at the Cologne Opera. Upcoming engagements will take him to the Glyndebourne Festival and the Zurich Opera House, among others.
Equally vital to his artistic identity is his work in concert and song repertoire. Carrel has performed Tippett’s A Child of Our Time at the Glyndebourne Festival, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Evangelist in Bach’s St John Passion with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. In the current season, he will sing Britten’s War Requiem at the Staatstheater Darmstadt under Daniel Cohen, Haydn’s The Seasons at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Marc Minkowski, and Haydn’s The Creation with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under Joana Mallwitz—this latter performance will also be recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. He will also appear in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and sing the Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion with the Noord Nederlands Orkest.
Carrel made his song recital debut in 2019 at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal and was a finalist in the same year at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition. He has since been a regular guest at both venues. At Wigmore Hall, he has appeared in a Hugo Wolf Gala with Christoph Prégardien and James Baillieu, performed Haydn Canzonettas with Sir András Schiff, and sang Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music with the Nash Ensemble. Recent highlights include Schwanengesang by Schubert alongside Kristian Bezuidenhout at the 2024 MA Festival in Bruges, Schumann lieder at the Philharmonie Luxembourg with Graham Johnson, and his debut at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. A long-standing collaboration with the Heidelberger Frühling Festival saw him return for the opening concert of the past season’s edition.
He began his formal training with Christoph Prégardien in Cologne, continuing at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Neil Mackie—a student of Peter Pears. He also received significant artistic guidance from Thomas Hampson and Hartmut Höll as part of the Heidelberg Lied Academy.
"Proud, vulnerable, and powerfully expressive – a spectacular role debut."
(Süddeutsche Zeitung, October 20, 2024, on Sophie Rennert as Carmen at the Gärtnerplatztheater)
Austrian mezzo-soprano Sophie Rennert is among the most distinguished singers of her generation. A true child of a musical family, she began her training at an early age: after violin and piano lessons, she received her first voice instruction at the age of twelve from her mother, soprano Sigrid Rennert. She went on to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under Karlheinz Hanser and Charles Spencer, and gained further inspiration from masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Ann Murray, and Helmut Deutsch.
Rennert’s extensive operatic repertoire reflects her remarkable versatility, including roles such as Carmen, Dorabella, Donna Elvira, Cherubino, Ruggiero, Nicklausse, Orlofsky, Rosina, Hänsel, Angelina, and Charlotte. She has appeared at the Theater an der Wien (Das Paradies und die Peri), the Nationaltheater Mannheim (Giulio Cesare, Hippolyte et Aricie), the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music (Juditha Triumphans), and in Utrecht (Das Paradies und die Peri).
She enjoys a particularly close relationship with the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg and Hohenems, one of the most prestigious festivals for song and chamber music, where she is a regular guest, captivating audiences with her deeply expressive interpretations of the Lied repertoire.
In the concert hall, her repertoire ranges from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Mozart’s Requiem to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. Her performances span baroque roles such as Irene (Vivaldi’s Tamerlano) and Piacere (Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno), as well as contemporary works like Eötvös’ Angels in America, in which she portrayed Harper Pitt.
Rennert collaborates with pianists such as Joseph Middleton, Graham Johnson, and Helmut Deutsch, and with conductors including David Afkham, Ivor Bolton, Semyon Bychkov, Ottavio Dantone, Ádám Fischer, Philippe Jordan, Joanna Mallwitz, Jordi Savall, and Andreas Spering. She has performed with orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Orquesta Nacional de España, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Her discography includes Leopold Mozart’s Missa Solemnis (Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie), Handel’s Lotario (Göttingen), Brahms Lieder with Graham Johnson (Hyperion), Vivaldi’s Tamerlano (Accademia Bizantina under Ottavio Dantone), and the album Von den Göttern weiß ich nichts, featuring contemporary vocal works by Uli Rennert.
Sophie Rennert has received numerous awards, including distinctions from the International Mozart Competition Salzburg and both the Second Prize and Audience Prize at the 7th International Cesti Competition for Baroque Singing (Innsbruck, 2016). In the 2017/18 season, she was selected for the “Great Talents” programme of the Vienna Konzerthaus
