Mitglieder des Philharmonia Chors Wien
The Philharmonia Chor Wien is an internationally active professional opera and concert choir.
It was founded in 2002 on the initiative of former Salzburg Festival Artistic Director Gerard Mortier and was initially known, depending on the project, as the Chor der RuhrTriennale or the Festspielchor Baden-Baden.
Since 2006, the choir has been an independent association under the name Philharmonia Chor Wien. It has performed under renowned conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, Marc Minkowski, Kent Nagano, Thomas Hengelbrock, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, and Riccardo Muti, among others, in opera productions at major festivals and venues — including the Musikfest Bremen ("L’Arlésienne"), Reggio Emilia and Ferrara ("The Magic Flute"), Baden-Baden ("Parsifal", "The Magic Flute", "Tannhäuser"), and the RuhrTriennale ("Don Giovanni", "The Magic Flute").
In April 2008, the choir took part in the Salzburg Festival’s guest performances of Le nozze di Figaro in Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo. In January 2009, Der Rosenkavalier under Christian Thielemann was staged at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, with concert performances in Paris and Munich.
At Whitsun 2009, the Philharmonia Chor appeared at the Baden-Baden Festival in Robert Wilson’s new production of Der Freischütz under Thomas Hengelbrock, later performed in concert form at the Lucerne Festival in August 2009.
In January 2010, the ensemble prepared Elektra under Christian Thielemann at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. At the Salzburg Whitsun Festival 2010, under Riccardo Muti, Mozart’s Betulia liberata was staged and Jommelli’s Betulia liberata performed in concert; both works were later presented at the Ravenna Festival.
In 2011, the Philharmonia Chor returned to the Salzburg Whitsun Festival with Saverio Mercadante’s I due Figaro and Cherubini’s Requiem, both conducted by Riccardo Muti. I due Figaro was subsequently performed at the Ravenna Festival, Teatro Real Madrid (March 2012), and Teatro Colón Buenos Aires (August/September 2012).
After having participated in the Salzburg Festival’s Japan tour of Le nozze di Figaro in 2008, the choir made its Salzburg Festival debut in 2010 with Betulia liberata under Muti. This was followed by I due Figaro in 2011, and later appearances in Falstaff (2013, under Zubin Mehta) and Giovanna d’Arco (concert version under Paolo Carignani). In 2014, the choir performed in Don Giovanni under Christoph Eschenbach and La Favorite under Roberto Abbado.
Recent engagements include concert performances of Rienzi under Alejo Pérez in Madrid and Bellini’s La straniera under Pietro Rizzo at the Vienna Musikverein.
Since 2014, the Philharmonia Chor Wien has also appeared regularly at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival under Sir Simon Rattle (Manon Lescaut, Der Rosenkavalier, Tristan und Isolde), and at the Baden-Baden Whitsun Festival (Faust under Thomas Hengelbrock, Mefistofele under Stefan Soltész in 2016).
The ensemble was again invited to the Salzburg Festival 2016, where it celebrated major success in Gounod’s Faust under Alejo Pérez, as well as in a concert performance of Thaïs under Patrick Fournillier with Plácido Domingo. The revival of Don Giovanni was conducted by Alain Altinoglu.
The Philharmonia Chor Wien, led by its founder Walter Zeh, is also in high demand as a concert choir and has established itself as one of the leading ensembles on the international stage.
In the 2025/2026 season, members of the Philharmonia Chor Wien will reinforce the opera and extra chorus of the Salzburg State Theatre for the production of "The Flying Dutchman" at the Felsenreitschule. Represented will be Roman Baijzik, Juraj Chlpik, Rotraut Geringer, Alexander Lang, Antonio Lizarraga, Daniel Ottischnig, Pavol Oravec, Thomas Reisinger, Gerhard Sulz, Jakob Weingartner, and Eiji Yoshimura.
Last updated: October 2025