Fer­di­nand Kel­ler

He’s one of the few Berliners in the Ensemble of the Komische Oper Berlin! Christoph Späth was born in Schmargendorf, as one of – believe it or not – seven children. Essentially, all of his siblings have followed in their father’s footsteps: four became doctors, like their father, one a nurse, and the sixth works for a pharmaceutical company. Only number seven, Christoph, took a different path, even though he too was very interested in medicine – and still is: »I scoff down operation documentaries like potato chips«, he admits freely. »But I had to watch time and again as my siblings had to cram to get through their final medical exams. That scared me off!« With a mischievous grin he adds: »of course, back then I had no idea how much work goes into being a singer!«

He studied in Berlin and the USA, first in Ohio, then at Yale University in Connecticut. »Lots of teachers in Germany are always complaining about how regimented education is in the USA. Which is true. But show me a music student who voluntarily sits down to study Berkowitz’s theory of intervals or Paul Hindemith’s school of rhythmic theory, or gets really stuck into harmonic theory or musical history. I have to say, without my studies in America, I would never have been able to learn this profession. That’s where I learnt the tools to become a professional opera singer!«

In his free time, he loves sawing and hammering and tinkering: »I like repairing all kinds of things in my little workshop in the basement at home: chairs, furniture, bikes ...« And when time allows, he heads to the mountains with his wife, preferably wandering from hut to hut. »When we climb up somewhere, we’re happy, we feel at home straight away.«

And what have been some of the most important summits of his career as an opera singer? – »No question«, he fires back, quick as a flash: »The Abduction from the Seraglio with Calixto Bieito … That was the most intense production work that I have participated in. In many respects, a stroke of luck. The team of singers and Calixto – everything just fit together so well that at some point we felt as if we were flying.«

NAME
Ferdinand Keller

HOMELAND
Berlin

STUDY
Academy for Music »Hanns Eisler« Berlin, Konservatorium »Luigi Cherubini« Florenz
Academy of Music Nürnberg