MATJAŽ STOPINŠEK
tenor
In 2023-24, Matjaž Stopinšek sings Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus und Éléazar in La Juive at the Landestheater Linz, where he has been a member of the ensemble since the 2020-21 season. Other roles he performed in Linz were Jason in Medée, Sou Chong in Das Land des Lächelns, Florestan in Fidelio, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Graf René in Der Graf von Luxemburg, Tassilo in Gräfin Mariza, and David in Die Meistersinger.
Most recent guest engagements were his debut as Faust in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust at the Theater Erfurt (2023) as well as the title role in Gounod’s Faust, Belmonte, and Florestan, all at the Theater Baden and Kokhkaryov in Bohuslav Martinu’s The Marriage at the Slovene Chamber Theater.
Matjaž Stopinšek has also established himself as a specialist in the operetta repertoire, and has sung a large number of leading roles such as Caramello in Eine Nacht in Venedig (Slovene National Theater Ljubljana), Jan in Der Bettelstudent (Stadttheater Leoben), the title role in Der Zarewitsch (Stadttheater Leoben), Georges Duménil in Heuberger’s Der Opernball (Stadttheater Leoben, Theater Baden), Edwin in Die Csárdásfürstin (Lehár Festival Bad Ischl), Jonel in Lehár’s Zigeunerliebe (Lehár Festival Bad Ischl), Graf René in Leo Fall’s Madame Pompadour (Theater Baden, Festival Ludesch) as well as Barinkay in Der Zigeunerbaron, Herzog in Eine Nacht in Venedig, Sultan Suleiman in Johann Strauss’ Tausend und eine Nacht, Raoul Severac in Oscar Straus’ Eine Frau, die weiß was sie will, Symon Rymanowski in Der Bettelstudent, Karel in Leo Falls Die geschiedene Frau, Stanislaus in Der Vogelhändler (all at the Theater Baden) and the classics Sou Chong in Das Land des Lächelns (Theater Baden, Landestheater Linz), Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus (Lehár Festival Bad Ischl, Slovene National Theater Maribor, Landestheater Linz), and Danilo in Die lustige Witwe (Oper Graz, Slovene National Theater Ljubljana, Slovene National Theater Maribor).
Matjaž Stopinšek was born in Celje (Slovenia) and studied at the University for Music and the Performing Arts in Graz (Austria). While still a student, he made his debut as Belmonte with the Styrian Musikverein. Further engagements followed with the Theater im Palais in Graz and the Stadttheater Leoben before he joined the ensemble of the Slovene National Theater Ljubljana, where he expanded his operatic repertoire with standard roles such as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Don Narciso in Il Turco in Italia, and rarities such as Florindo in Le Donne Curiose by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari and Franz Waldung in Les Fées du Rhin by Jacques Offenbach, a role he would repeat in the Festspielhaus St. Pölten, the Theater Winterthur and in the Theater Bozen. In 2008 he was engaged by Karen Kamensek at the Slovene National Theater Maribor, where he scored his first major success as Don José in Carmen. Further opera roles in Maribor included Ferrando, Pinkerton, Alfredo, Werther, and Chekalinsky (The Queen of Spades). His regular guest appearances at the Slovene People’s Theater Celje, and both the Slovene National Theaters in Ljubljana and Maribor, allowed Matjaž Stopinšek to also take on leading roles of the Slovenian repertoire, such as Goldhorn (Viktor Parma), The Peers of Teharje (Benjamin Ipavcek), The Nightingale from Gorenjski (Anton Foerster), and The tenth Brother (Aleš Makovac).
Concert appearances have brought Matjaž Stopinšek to international venues such as the Slovene Philharmonie (Consortium musicum Ljubljana), Munich’s Philharmonie am Gasteig (Münchner Symphoniker under Ken David Masur), the Cankarjev Dome in Ljubljana (RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra) and the Peterskirche and Minoritenkirche in Vienna. Since 2018, he regularly sings New Year’s Concerts in the US, which have brought him to Boston Symphony Hall, Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center, and the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Ft. Myers.
