Michael Borth
Michael Borth is a versatile baritone with a strong stage presence and a pronounced ability to portray roles with distinctive character. His repertoire ranges from the central roles of the lyric and dramatic baritone repertoire to works of the 20th and 21st centuries whose particular stylistic and psychological demands correspond to his artistic profile. International engagements have taken him to houses and festivals including the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, the Opéra national du Rhin, the Theater Basel, the Komische Oper Berlin and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.
In the 2026/27 season, Michael Borth continues his artistic development with several notable role debuts. He will appear as Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) in the Wagner production at the Stadttheater Minden under the musical direction of Frank Beermann and directed by Jakob Peters-Messer. At the Staatstheater Braunschweig, he will take on the role of Ludwig in Hans Sommer’s rarely performed opera Lorelei, directed by Kay Kuntze and under the musical direction of Alexander Sinan Binder. At the Musikalische Komödie Leipzig, he makes his debut as Count Danilo (Die lustige Witwe) in the new production by André Kaczmarczyk under the musical direction of Tobias Engeli.
In the 2025/26 season, Michael Borth appeared in the world premiere of Jan Müller-Wieland’s melodrama Der Reisende with the Dresdner Philharmonie under the musical direction of Gergely Madaras. Together with Ulrich Noethen and Birgit Minichmayr, he performed in this staged musical project based on the novel by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz. At the Theater Freiburg, he returned as Count Monterone in a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, directed by Emily Hehl and under the musical direction of Artem Lonhinov. At the Theater Basel, he made his role debut as Clov in György Kurtág’s Fin de Partie, directed by David Marton and under the musical direction of Gábor Káli.
Formative stages in his career to date include his appearance as Donner (Das Rheingold) in the Ring cycle at the Theater Basel under Jonathan Nott and directed by Benedikt von Peter, as well as his debut at the Bregenzer Festspiele as Kilian (Der Freischütz) in Philipp Stölzl’s spectacular lakeside production. His interpretation of Mark Rutland (Marnie by Nico Muhly) also attracted considerable attention, earning him a nomination for „Sänger des Jahres“ — “Singer of the Year” — in the 2023 Opernwelt critics’ poll. With his debut as Platon Kusmitsch Kowaljow (Die Nase) at the Theater Basel, directed by Herbert Fritsch, he impressively demonstrated his particular strength in modern repertoire.
His broad-ranging repertoire includes roles such as Eugen Onegin, Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress), Joseph de Rocher (Dead Man Walking), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Mackie Messer (Die Dreigroschenoper), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Lescaut (Manon), the Forester (Das schlaue Füchslein), the title character in Mr. Emmet Takes A Walk, as well as Peter Vogel (Der Ring des Polykrates). From 2018 to 2023, Michael Borth was a member of the soloist ensemble of the Theater Freiburg, where he continuously expanded his repertoire in numerous central roles of his fach.
Further international guest engagements have taken him, among other places, to the Teatro Massimo Palermo, the Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro and the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona. In Japan, he appeared as Il Dio (Silla) with Europa Galante under Fabio Biondi. Over the course of his career, he has worked with conductors including Jonathan Nott, Hartmut Haenchen, Roberto Abbado, Henrik Nánási, Michele Spotti, Josep Pons, André de Ridder and Emmanuel Villaume.
His recording projects include the studio recording of Janáček’s Das schlaue Füchslein in Fabrice Bollon’s chamber orchestra version for SWR, which was nominated for the Goldene Grammophon, the live recording of Fabrice Bollon’s opera The Folly, with Michael Borth as Erasmus of Rotterdam, as well as the DVD production of Puccini’s Turandot at the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona.
Michael Borth studied at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar with Siegfried Gohritz and continued his training at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin with Kammersänger Roman Trekel. He received further important artistic impulses as a member of the Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo in Valencia, where he made his debuts, among others, as Albert (Werther) and Starveling (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).