Domen Križaj

Domen Križaj captivates audiences with his warmly timbred, expressive baritone. His repertoire ranges from the major Mozart and Verdi roles through the German and French repertoire to contemporary music theatre and rarely performed works. Through his combination of vocal elegance and wide-ranging musical curiosity, he has established himself as a sought-after baritone on international opera and concert stages.

In the 2026/27 season, he returns to the Oper Frankfurt in the title role of Arthus in the Frankfurt premiere of Ernest Chausson’s Le roi Arthus, under the musical direction of Thomas Guggeis and directed by Manuel Schmitt. He will also once again be heard as Wolfram von Eschenbach (Tannhäuser) in Matthew Wild’s acclaimed production. At the Slovenian National Theatre Ljubljana, he will again appear as Giorgio Germont (La Traviata). In the concert field, he continues his artistic collaboration with Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, performing Pater Profundus in Robert Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and in Luxembourg. Under Hartmut Haenchen and the Noord Nederlands Orkest, he will sing the Weihnachtsoratorium in several concerts in the Netherlands.

In the 2025/26 season, Domen Križaj was heard in Stravinsky’s The Wedding in the season-opening concert of the Philharmonischer Chor Prag under the direction of Lukáš Vasilek and with the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. At the Oper Frankfurt, he sang central roles from his repertoire, including Lescaut (Manon Lescaut), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Macbeth, as well as the title role in the premiere of Kurt Weill’s Der Zar lässt sich fotografieren. At the Slovenian National Theatre Ljubljana, he appeared as a guest as Giorgio Germont (La Traviata).

Before becoming an ensemble member at the Oper Frankfurt, where he quickly developed into one of the ensemble’s defining voices and appeared in leading and title roles in several major new productions, he sang in the ensemble of the Theater Basel. Highlights of his career to date include his interpretations of Onegin (Eugen Onegin), Wolfram von Eschenbach (Tannhäuser), Il Conte Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Albert (Werther), Marcello (La Bohème), Rodrigo (Don Carlo), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) and Lescaut (Manon Lescaut). He has also received great recognition for his engagement with works of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Prince of Homburg (Henze, Der Prinz von Homburg), Guercœur (Albéric Magnard, Guercœur), Pavel (Al gran sole carico d’amore), Emperor Overall (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), Sam (Trouble in Tahiti), Cold Genie and Grimbald (King Arthur), Doctor (Pelléas et Mélisande) and Albert in Dai Fujikura’s Goldkäfer.

Further important engagements have taken him, among other places, to the Tiroler Festspiele Erl as David (Mascagni, L’Amico Fritz), to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden as Alfio (Cavalleria rusticana) and as Orest (Iphigénie en Tauride) under Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, to the Bregenzer Festspiele as Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), to the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor, where he made his debut as Rodrigo (Don Carlo), as well as to the Croatian National Theatre Rijeka and the Festival Zomeropera Alden Biesen in the title role of Eugen Onegin.

Domen Križaj has a broad concert repertoire ranging from major oratorios to song programmes such as Schubert’s Winterreise. He maintains a close artistic relationship with Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, with whom he has appeared, among other projects, in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride (as Orest) and performed Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem throughout Europe. He has also worked with renowned orchestras and ensembles, including the Wiener Philharmoniker, the Camerata Salzburg, the ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, the SWR Symphonieorchester and the Noord Nederlands Orkest.

Domen Križaj is a prizewinner of numerous international singing competitions. His most important distinctions include second prize at the Neue Stimmen competition in 2019, first prize and the Lied Prize at the Ada-Sari Competition in 2017, first prize at the Ferruccio Tagliavini Competition, first prize at the Petar Konjović Competition, as well as three first prizes at the TEMSIG competition for young Slovenian musicians. He also received second prize and the Audience Prize at the Otto Edelmann Competition, as well as third prize at the Zinka Milanov Competition.

Domen Križaj initially studied medicine in Ljubljana before studying voice with Prof. Matjaž Robavs at the city’s music academy. Already during his studies, he gained his first international experience, including as a prizewinner of the International Music Academy Salzburg (2012) and through his participation in the Young Singers Project of the Salzburger Festspiele (2013). Following his master’s degree in 2017 and appearances such as on the SWR programme Junge Opernstars (2016), he consolidated his international career through competition successes and engagements at major opera houses.