Philipp Jekal begins the 2026/27 season with three major guest engagements: at Hannover State Opera, he appears as Count Tomsky/Zlatogor in a new production of Tchaikovsky’s THE QUEEN OF SPADES; at the Semperoper Dresden, he sings Count von Eberbach in Lortzing’s DER WILDSCHÜTZ; and at Oper Leipzig, he appears as Guglielmo in Mozart’s COSÌ FAN TUTTE.

From 2017 to 2026, the baritone was a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he developed an exceptionally wide-ranging repertoire. His roles there included Papageno in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, Dr Falke in DIE FLEDERMAUS, Schaunard in LA BOHÈME, Fernando in FIDELIO, Melot in TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, the One-Eyed Man in DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, Barone di Trombonok in IL VIAGGIO A REIMS, the Music Director in INTERMEZZO and Figaro in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA. During his final season with the company, he also appeared as Klingsor in PARSIFAL, Pierre Fléville in ANDREA CHÉNIER, the Count/Herald in DER SCHATZGRÄBER and Ostasio in FRANCESCA DA RIMINI.

One of his particular successes at Deutsche Oper Berlin was his role debut as Sixtus Beckmesser in the new production of Wagner’s DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG, directed by Jossi Wieler, Sergio Morabito and Anna Viebrock. He also prepared the role of Alberich for Stefan Herheim’s new RING production at the house.

Further guest engagements have taken Philipp Jekal to Ópera de Tenerife, where he made his debut as Don Estoban in Zemlinsky’s DER ZWERG, and to the Münchner Kammeroper, where he appeared as Mr Slender in Salieri’s FALSTAFF and in Dominik Wilgenbus’ operatic pastiche KASPAR HAUSER.

Jekal also maintains a broad concert and oratorio repertoire. In addition to the major oratorios and numerous cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, his core repertoire includes Brahms’ EIN DEUTSCHES REQUIEM, Handel’s MESSIAH, Haydn’s DIE SCHÖPFUNG and Mendelssohn’s ELIAS.

Born in Dessau, Philipp Jekal received his first vocal training from Marianne Kaiser at the music school in his home town. He went on to study with KS Prof. Roland Schubert at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig, graduating with distinction from the master’s programme in solo voice in 2019. As a scholarship student, he studied with César Ulloa at the Conservatory of Music in San Francisco and attended the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, where he made his debut as the Speaker in Mozart’s DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.

He is a prizewinner of the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang, received the Walter and Charlotte Hamel Foundation’s Förderpreis and was a scholarship holder of the Richard Wagner Association Leipzig in Bayreuth. Further artistic guidance came through masterclasses with KS Brigitte Fassbaender, Prof. Thomas Quasthoff and Wolfram Rieger. As a recitalist, he has worked with Prof. Phillip Moll and Prof. Alexander Schmalcz and was a scholarship holder of the Lied Academy at the Heidelberg Spring International Music Festival under Thomas Hampson.