Born in Salzburg, Andreas Lettowsky received his initial musical training as a soloist with the Salzburg Domkapellknaben. Concurrently he performed his first operatic role as Bastien in Mozart’s „Bastien and Bastienne” at the Bundesrealgymnasium (secondary school), Salzburg. In 1979 he had the honor to perform the soprano solo for a private audience with Pope John Paul II in Castel Gandolfo.
After high school graduation, Mr. Lettowsky studied voice with Josef Loibl in Graz and Munich. Subsequently he was a winner at the music competition „Jugend Musiziert”. His first professional engagements came while he completed his studies, notably at the Oper Graz as Jäger in Schubert’s „Alfonso and Estrella”, at the Theater Sankt Pölten as Theseus in Britten’s „A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, at the Theater Leoben as Baron Zeta in Lehar’s „The Merry Widow”, and at the Styriarte Graz as Scherge in Schubert’s „Des Teufels Lustschloss”. He completed his studies in master classes with Astrid Varnay, Hans Hotter, Walter Berry and Hermann Winkler.
In 1994, Andreas Lettowsky joined the ensemble of the opera studio at the Bavarian State Opera, where he debuted in 1995 as the Prison governor in Orff’s „The Wise”. Shortly thereafter he gave a highly successful Bartolo in „The Barber of Seville”. At the 1995 Munich Opera Festival he collaborated with conductor Michael Boder and the director Willy Decker as Bauer in Reimann’s „Das Schloss”. 1996 brought the role of Figaro in „The Marriage of Figaro”.
The following years brought a number of engagements including Baculus in Lortzing’s „The Poacher” in Hof and Regensburg along with the Director of Music in Jessel’s „Black Forest Girl” and Pontius Pilate in „Jesus Christ Superstar” in Eggenfelden.
In 2005 Mr. Lettowsky joined the ensemble at the Schwerin State Opera. Here he was able to expand his repertoire in the bass-baritone fach with such roles as Achilla, Melisso and Harapha in Handel’s „Giulio Cesare”, „Alcina”, and „Samson”, Leporello in „Don Giovanni”, Don Alfonso in „Cosi fan tutte”, Papageno in „The Magic Flute”, Bartolo in „The Barber of Seville”, Mesner in „Tosca”, Peter the broom-maker in „Hansel and Gretel”, Lord Tristan in Flotow’s „Martha”, General Bumm in Offenbach’s „The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein”, and Zsupan in J. Strauss’s „The Gypsy Baron”.
In consideration of his ever increasing range, he has of late extended his repertoire to include roles in the kavalierbariton fach, notably Ford in „Falstaff”, Sharpless in „Madam Butterfly”, Ottokar in „The Freeshooter”, and Silvio in Leoncavallo’s „Pagliacci”.
Despite an intense schedule at the Schwerin State Opera, he was able to guest in a number of productions including „The Barber of Seville” in Gera as Bartolo – his third foray in this role. He repeated the same role as a guest at the opera house in Chemnitz.
Andreas Lettowsky continues to be a sought-after oratorio and concert singer. His repertoire includes the bass solos in Handel’s „The Messiah” and „Dettingen Te Deum” and in a number of Bach cantatas. He has performed the baritone solo in Beethoven’s „Ninth Symphony” twenty-five times.
Additionally, Mr. Lettowsky is an avid interpreter of the German „Lied”. Schubert’s „Die Winterreise”, Brahms’s „Fünf Lieder für eine tiefe Stimme”, Poulenc’s „Le Bal Masqué“ and a number of recitals consisting of diverse song literature by Schubert, Schumann and Hugo Wolf are a sampling of his repertoire.
His concert career has brought him together with such well-known conductors as Michael Gielen, Roberto Abbado, Michael Boder, Donald Runnicles, Mario Venzago and Gerrit Priessnitz.
Since 2012 Andreas Lettowsky has been working freelance. This was followed by engagements in Barcelona, Bremen and Zwickau. In 2023 he sang the role of Baloo in the children’s opera “The Jungle Book” in Lübeck Theatre. In 2024 he will be singing in Lübeck Theatre the prison director Frank in “Die Fledermaus” by Strauß and in the Schwerin State Opera the Alcindoro and the customs officer in “La Bohème” (Puccini).
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