Werner van Mechelen

The versatile Belgian bass-baritone Werner Van Mechelen is recognized as one of the leading singers in his field, both in the world of opera and in concert and art song performance on an international level.

Werner Van Mechelen studied at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven with Roland Bufkens and attended masterclasses with Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Robert Holl, Mitsuko Shirai, Hartmut Höll, and Malcolm King. He has received numerous international awards, including prizes at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, the International Vocal Competition in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Toulouse, the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition in Barcelona, and the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

As a guest singer, he has recently appeared as Kothner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Bayreuth Festival, Peter in Kinderen der Zee by Mortelmans at the Royal Opera House La Monnaie in Brussels, Musiklehrer in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Saarländisches Staatstheater in Saarbrücken and the Flemish Opera Antwerp, Alberich in Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Staatsoper Hamburg, Wolfram in Tannhäuser at the Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken, and Pandolphe in Massenet’s Cendrillon at the Komische Oper Berlin.

In addition to his operatic career, Werner Van Mechelen is also highly successful in the concert world, performing as a guest soloist with the Freiburger Bachchor in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, in Mozart’s Requiem, Carmina Burana, and more. He is also very active in the art song repertoire, with performances of Schubert’s Winterreise, Schumann’s Dichterliebe, and thematic song programs such as Light and Darkness and A Homage to César Franck.

His discography reflects his artistic versatility, featuring recordings of lieder by Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss, Claude Debussy, and Francis Poulenc, as well as opera recordings of Mendelssohn’s Elias, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, Pergolesi’s Livietta e Tracollo, and Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Das Rheingold. Additionally, he has recorded works by Flemish composers such as Lodewijk Mortelmans and Peter Benoit, whose music holds a special place in his heart.