American/French bass Christian Zaremba arrived on the opera scene via the martial arts as fencing master and fight choreographer at the Metropolitan Opera House (MET) in New York. He was 25 when he had his first singing lesson and a few years later found himself on the MET’s stage, this time as singer and soloist. His meticulous and sensitive interpretations have been praised by the critics (“a stage animal with the big bass voice” according to the New York Times) and taken him onto the big stages in America and Europe, including the Royal Opera at Covent Garden and the MET playing roles like Angellotti (Tosca), Lesbus (Agrippina) and Achille (Giulio Cesare). He has also played Sprecher and Sarastro (Magic Flute) at the Théâtre Capitole in Toulouse and the Opéra de Montréal; Sparafucile (Rigoletto) for the Colorado Opera, St Louis Opera Theatre and the Michigan Opera Theatre. Other major roles include Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Leporello (Don Giovanni) on several famous stages including the Seattle Opera. Christian Zaremba is also a regular guest in concert repertoires. He recently sang in the Verdi Requiem (Sacramento Symphony Orchestra), Handel’s Messiah (Annapolis Symphony Orchestra), St Matthew Passion and Bach’s Magnificat (Greenwich Village Orchestra). He will soon be heard singing the role of Cardinal (Henri VIII) by Saint Saëns at the Bard Festival NYC, Colline (La Bohème) at the Wichita Grand Opera and Abimelech (Samson and Dalila) at the Colorado Opera, as well as in Europe for the KKL’s Verdi Requiem and concerts in Austria at the Grafanegg Festival.

Spoken languages: English and French

Photo credit: ARR