Daniel Behle

Daniel Behle (born 1974) is a German classical composer and operatic tenor. He has performed at international opera houses and festivals, and has recorded both operas and Lieder recitals.

Born in Hamburg, Behle studied music pedagogy, trombone and composition at the music school in his home town. He took voice lessons from age 22 with his mother, the dramatic soprano Renate Behle. After graduating in trombone playing, he studied voice for five years with tenor James Wagner. In 2003, Behle changed to the class of his mother. He completed both his composition studies with Peter Michael Hamel and the voice studies with distinction.

His first operatic engagement was at the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater. With the 2005/06 season, he turned to the Vienna Volksoper. From the 2007/08 season, he was for two years a member of the Frankfurt Opera, but has returned, for example to appear as Erik in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, his first Wagner role.

Behle performed Lieder recitals with pianists Sveinung Bjelland and Oliver Schnyder at major European festivals. He made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2017 as David in Barrie Kosky's new production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. A reviewer noted that he performed the role of the apprentice on the master level ("auf Meisterniveau").

Behle sang at major opera houses including the Berlin State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, La Monnaie in Brussels, the Zurich Opera, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Hamburg State Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Swedish Opera, and the Paris Opera. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House in London as Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte in the 2016/17 season. He performed Mozart arias with the chamber orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk and Schubert's Winterreise in the orchestra version by Hans Zender. He performed his version of Schubert's Winterreise for voice and piano trio at Wigmore Hall in 2015.