Biography

Born in Åland, Finnish tenor Dan Karlström studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and later worked with Herbert Brauer in Berlin and in masterclasses with Jaakko Ryhänen, Tom Krause and Elisabeth Werres.
After initial permanent engagements in Wuppertal and at the Staatstheater Darmstadt, he has been a permanent member of the Leipzig Opera ensemble since 2001, where he has performed roles such as Mime/Der Ring des Nibelungen, David/Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Steuermann/Der fliegende Holländer, Luzio/Das Liebesverbot, The Gingerbread Witch/Hansel and Gretel, Monostatos/The Magic Flute, Don Basilio/Le nozze di Figaro, Prince/Lulu, Spoletta/Tosca, Pong/Turandot, Goro/Madama Butterfly and Hunter/Rusalka.

His repertoire also includes numerous roles from opera, operetta and musicals, including Walther von der Vogelweide/Tannhäuser, Tamino/The Magic Flute, Cassio/Otello, Truffaldino/The Love for Three Oranges and Judas/Jesus Christ Superstar.
His concert repertoire includes key works by J.S. Bach and Handel, Mozart and Rossini, Beethoven and Orff.

Dan Karlström has worked with conductors such as Marc Albrecht, Ralf Weikert, Asher Fisch, Sakari Oramo, Patrick Fournillier, Ulf Schirmer and Christoph Gedschold, as well as with directors such as Peter Sellars, Claus Guth, Robert Carsen and Francisco Negrín.

In recent seasons, Dan Karlström has been a member of the Leipzig Opera ensemble, appearing as Spoletta in Tosca, Veit in the new production of Albert Lortzing's Undine, the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel, Roderigo in the new production of Otello, Boles in Peter Grimes and Goro in Madama Butterfly.
Guest engagements have taken him to renowned venues such as the Semperoper Dresden (Don Basilio/Le nozze di Figaro, Goro/Madama Butterfly), the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin (Spoletta/Tosca, Wirt/Der Rosenkavalier, Harry/La fanciulla del West), the Komische Oper Berlin, the Theater Chemnitz (title role in Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg), the Grand Théâtre de Genève (Mime/Ring), the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest and the Bayreuther Festspiele.
He has a close and long-standing connection with the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, where he made his debut as Tobias in Sweeney Todd and has since appeared as Mime/Siegfried, Pong/Turandot, Lindorf, Coppelius, Dapertutto and Dr. Miracle/Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Yonas/Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater, among others.
He is also a welcome guest at the Savonlinna Opera Festival (Monostatos/Die Zauberflöte, Remendado/Carmen, Don Basilio/Le nozze di Figaro, Goro/Madama Butterfly Kimmo/Sallinens Kullervo).
At the Opernhaus Halle, he took on the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann, and in Italy he appeared as Piet vom Fass in Le Grand Macabre at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo and as the Fourth Jew in Salome at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples.In recent seasons, he has appeared in concert at the Magdeburg Theatre with the tenor part in Beethoven's 9th Symphony, at the Lausitz Festival in concert performances of Candide, and at the Pori Theatre in Mahler's Song of the Earth.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel at the Finnish National Opera,  Pirelli in Sweeney Todd at the Tampere Opera House, and in spring 2026 his debut as the Dance Master in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, before taking on the role of Mime in Siegfried in Singapore in the summer.

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VideoCosi fan tutte- Ferrando
Tradito schernito"Platz da" from Elektra (Ein junger Diener)"Es muss gelingen" from The Bartered Bride (Hans)

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