Born in 1978, the Austrian tenor is one of the most sought-after Evangelists and Bach interpreters of his generation. He studied church music as well as vocal arts with Margit Klaushofer and Robert Holl in Vienna. Mr. Johannsen participated in master classes with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Nicolai Gedda and Christa Ludwig and was a prizewinner at the Bach, Schumann, Mozart, Hilde Zadek and Wigmore Hall Competitions.
Since his debut in 1998, appearances as a concert, lieder and opera singer have taken him to the major musical centres of Europe (Vienna Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie), North America (Carnegie Hall, New York; Maison Symphonique de Montréal), Japan and the Middle East, where he sings works from every period. He appears at leading festivals (Styriarte Festival Graz, George Enescu Festival Bucharest, Heidelberger Frühling, yearly at international Bach festivals), and he has been performing under such distinguished conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Trevor Pinnock and Philippe Herreweghe with various ensembles, including Vienna Philharmonic, Freiburger Barockorchester and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Daniel Johannsen is a regular participant at today’s most important Bach cantata projects (J.S. Bach Foundation St. Gallen, All of Bach).
The lyric tenor is engaged by such theatres as the Münchner Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, the Leipzig Opera, the Vienna Volksoper and the Bonn Opera, where he is heard in Mozart roles, Baroque, 20th-century and contemporary works as well as several operetta roles.
Song recitals featuring the entire range of German repertoire, in addition to English and French compositions, are a central focus in the work of the singer, who collaborates with such pianists as Graham Johnson, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Helmut Deutsch and Charles Spencer. His solo albums 360° Hugo Wolf (with Andreas Fröschl), Wiener Melange (with Matthias Krampe) and Lieder ohnegleichen (Schubert songs with Christoph Hammer) were highly acclaimed by several Austrian and German radio programs as well as by the trade press. In addition, numerous other recordings, radio and television broadcasts document his creative output.
In the 2024-25 season, Mr. Johannsen was participating in a concert series for the Netherlands Bach Society under the baton of Lars Ulrik Mortensen. He gave his debuts as Male Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia in Freiburg as well as Johannes in Franz Schmidt’s oratorio Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln at Berliner Philharmonie. Concerts with Hans-Christoph Rademann took him to Stuttgarter Liederhalle and Hamburger Elbphilharmonie. His recent NAXOS recording of Erich J. Wolff songs was nominated for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik.
