Assaf Levitin

Bass-Baritone Assaf Levitin made his debut at the Habima National Theater in Israel after having studied voice at the Conservatory in Tel-Aviv. With the help of a grant he could continue his studies in Germany at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Saarbrücken with Prof. Yaron Windmüller. Since 2002 he works with Ks. Karoly Szilagyi.

Assaf Levitin won numerous grants and competitions, such as the Vera Rozsa-Nordell- and Walter-Gieseking-Competition. He was a finalist at the Paula-Solomon-Lindberg-Competition.

He became a member of the International Opera Studio of Zurich Opera. There he sang, among others, parts such as  Araldo (Otello) and Derwisch and Sultan (Die Pilger von Mekka).

Since Assaf Levitin has absolute hearing and a big voice range, he is much in demand as an interpreter of contemporary music. His repertoire includes, among others, Aribert Reimann’s  Entsorgt, Schönberg’s Ode an Napoleon Bonaparte the title role in John Casken’s opera Golem. With the latter he participated at the Days of World Music in Luxemburg. Furthermore he guested, a.o., at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern as 1st Bass (Jakob Lenz).

From 2002/03 to 2004/05 he was a memeber of the ensemble of Theater Dortmund, where he sang, among others, parts such as Colline (La Bohème), Nachwächter (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Feri Bácsi (Die Csárdásfürstin) and Masetto (Don Giovanni).

In the season 2003/04 Assaf Levitin sang there, a.o., the King in L’Ormindo by Francesco Cavalli, Notar (Der Rosenkavalier) and Gremin (Eugene Onegin, in German); in the season 2004/05 parts such as Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) and Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte).

With the beginning of the season 2005/06 Assaf Levitin works as a freelance singer. In the fall of 2005 he sang at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin Seven Attempted Escapes from Silence, seven short operas based on a libretto by the American writer Jonathan Safran-Foer. In June 2006 he sang various roles in Sciarrino’s Macbeth at Wuppertaler Bühnen. In summer 2006 Kuno (Der Freischütz) at the Festival Merzig followed. In May 2007 he is going to sing a role in the world premiere of Bernhard Lang’s Der Alte vom Berge at the Schwetzingen Festival. This production was revived in October 2007 at Theater Basel. In June 2007 Assaf Levitin sang a concert with Edgar Varèse’s Ecuatorial at the Philharmonie Cologne.

In April 2010 he jumped in within 24 hours at the Nationaltheater Mannheim in Bernhard Langs Montezuma. In June 2010 Assaf Levitin took part in the world premiere of Buch Asche by the composer Klaus Lang and the artist Claudia Doderer at the Theater Bonn. In the summer of 2010 he sang the Heine cycle that had been written for him, Nachtigallenchor op. 60 by Stefan Heucke.

Born in Israel, Assaf Levitin dedicates part of his work to Hebrew and Jewish music. In 2004 the Label of Schott Mainz published a CD with Jewish A-capella songs. The same year he undertook a tour in Germany with traditional Israeli lieder in new musical arrangements. In the spring of 2007 his CD with the world premiere of lieder of the composer Noa Blass was published. In 2009 a recording of Schubert’s Masses was published by the label Naxos.

On the concert stage, his repertoire includes, among others, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion und Weihnachtsoratorium, Handel’s Messiah and Judas Maccabäus, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater as well as the Mozart Requiem and Vesprae solennes. From June 2010 onwards, he cooperates with clarinetist Shirley Brill and pianist Jonathan Aner in a series of recitals themed Don Quichotte and Dulcinea. Orchestras he worked with include Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, SWR Stuttgart, WDR Köln, Berliner Symphoniker, Brandenburger Symphonikern, Israeli Chamber Orchestra, and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

Assaf Levitins Homepage