Martin Koch

The tenor studied singing at the Cologne University of Music with Prof. Josef Protschka and Prof. P.-C. Runge. He has been a member of the Cologne Opera ensemble since the beginning of season 2009.10; prior to that, he was a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. Guest engagements have taken him to the Bregenz Festival, the Teatro Real Madrid, the Semperoper Dresden, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Bonn Opera, the Nationaltheater Mannheim, Bremen, and the Staatstheater Wiesbaden. In the summer of 2012, he made his successful debut at the Bregenz Festival as Snaut in the world premiere of D. Glanert's “Solaris.” He reprised this role at the Cologne Opera in 2014/15. With the Cologne Opera, he made a guest appearance as Mime in “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (Robert Carsen) at the Expo in Shanghai.

Another particular success in 2014 was his invitation to the Komische Oper Berlin, where he made his role debut as Desportes (“Die Soldaten”). He also performed this role at the 2016 International May Festival in Wiesbaden. Prior to that, he made his house debut at the Semperoper Dresden as Robert Hot in “Hot” by Friedrich Goldmann, and made a guest appearance at the Staatstheater Mainz as David (“Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”). At his home theater in Cologne, as well as at the Bonn Opera and the Rheinoper in Düsseldorf, he has also appeared as David, 1st Grail Knight, Jaquino, Pedrillo, Monostatos, 1st Jew, Dr. Cajus, Pong, Dance Master, Lippo Fiorentino (“Street Scene”), among others.

He also enjoyed great success at the Cologne Opera in 2018 and 2020 with his sold-out solo evenings “Adam Schaf hat Angst” and “Mit Kreisler im Nachtzug von Wien nach Milano”.

In spring 2018, the versatile tenor returned to the Cologne Opera and the Teatro Real Madrid as Desportes (“Die Soldaten”). In Cologne, he also made his debut in the following seasons as Siegfried in “Der Ring für Kinder.” Martin Koch made his debut as Matteo (“Arabella”) at the Bonn Opera at the opening of season 2021.22, where he also appeared as Fatty (“The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny”). He also made guest appearances at Theater Münster as 1st Stranger (“Der Vetter aus Dingsda”) and at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as Harlequin (“Der Kaiser von Atlantis”). At his home theater in Cologne, he will appear in season 2022.23 as Pedrillo (“Die Entführung aus dem Serail”), in his role debut in the title role of Zemlinsky's “Der Zwerg” and as Monostatos (“Die Zauberflöte”). He made guest appearances at the Dortmund Opera House in the Operetta Gala and at the Staatstheater Braunschweig in the new production of Francaix's “Der hinkende Teufel” as the Devil.

In season 2023.24, he appeared at the Cologne Opera as Billy O'Connor in the world premiere of Frank Pesci's “The Strangers” and as Spoletta in “Tosca.” At the Bonn Opera, he appeared in the long-awaited new production of “Moses und Aron” with Martin Koch as Aron. He made guest appearances at the Cologne Philharmonic, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Philharmonie de Paris in his signature role as Desportes (“Die Soldaten”). At the 2024 Bayreuth Festival, he sang Heinrich der Schreiber in ‘Tannhäuser’ and Erik in the children's opera “Der fliegende Holländer.” In 2025, he returned to the Bayreuth Festival as Kunz Vogelgesang in the premiere production of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” and First Brabant Nobleman in “Lohengrin,” as well as Walther in the children's opera “Tannhäuser.”

Other guest engagements include Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier at the Aalto Theater Essen and Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf. His roles in Cologne also include Aegisth in Elektra and Captain Penesch in Eine Frau von Format.

In season 2025.26, he will return to Cologne to perform as the Second Priest/Monostatos in "Die Zauberflöte", Mime in "Das Rheingold", and Pong in "Turandot". He will also sing in the children's operas "Freikugeln" and "Max and Moritz".