With his sympathetic and down-to-earth authenticity Countertenor Benno Schachtner belongs to the leading singers in the Early Music field worldwide. His refreshing spontaneity and the pleasure he takes in the unpredictable art that is created in the spark of the moment are qualities that are particularly favoured by his audience as well as his colleagues.
Musical intelligence, emotional depth and a warm soothing timbre characterize this extraordinary singer.
His thrilling expression and performance are highly praised. Among the many top-level CD productions that show Benno’s work, his own current Solo Album Clear or cloudy – a collection of songs by Dowland, Purcell & Co. – has attracted a lot of attention and received international recognition.
Benno Schachtner is a regular guest performer in the most renowned concert halls all over the world. In the season 2019/2020 he will be coming to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin with the production of Scarlatti’s opera Il primo omicidio under the musical direction of René Jacobs and set on stage by Romeo Castelucci, that already spent a successful season at the Opéra National de Paris. Further highlights of this season include concert tours with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightment, RIAS Kammerchor, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, B’Rock Orchestra and Collegium 1704. A driving force behind Benno’s artistic work is the collaboration with René Jacobs and Vàclav Luks. A novelty of the coming season are concerts with the Bach Collegium Japan under the direction of Masaaki Suzuki in their home country Japan.
In April 2020 Benno Schachter is appointed professor. The countertenor teaches an international cast of singing students about historically informed performing practice at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen.
From 2016 until 2020 Benno Schachtner taught the subject historical performing practice at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim.
Schachtner has a broad academic and practical background as well. In his first course of studies at the Music University in Detmold he studied church music, and completed his Master‘s degree under the tutelage of Prof. Gerhard Weinberger in 2009. Following his penchant for Early Music, he continued his studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, and completed a further Master‘s degree in vocal studies with Prof. Ulrich Messthaler.
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