After private vocal studies with Prof. Nellie du Toit baritone George Stevens, born in Cape Town,  started his stage career in 1992 with the bass part of Selim in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia at the Cape Town Opera Company.

His opera debut was a major success and was broadcast live on television throughout South Africa. Engagements at all major opera houses of the country followed. Here he layed the foundation for his expansive opera repertory, among others Papageno in the Magic Fluet, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Figaro in Il Barbiere de Siviglia and in Le Nozze di Figaro, Tonio in Pagliacci, Alfio in Cavallería Rusticana, Escarmillo in Carmen and many other roles in his field.

In 1993 George Stevens participated in a Masterclass in Vienna with Kammersänger Wikus Slabbert and afterwards studied with Prof. Josef Metternich. He was chosen for the final concert of the Münchener Singschule at the Bayrischen Theater Akademie. His European opera debut started at the Bayrischen Staatstheater with the Bayrischen Staatsorchester. For this he was awarded the best critics.

Years of busy guest and concert performances followed in Europe and South Africa during which George Stevens acquired the entire repertory of messes and oratories in his field, including the Verdi Requiem under conductor Sir David Wilcox together with the London Bach Chor.

George Stevens

In 1998 George Stevens became a member of the opera ensemble of the Bremen Theater and quickly gained huge sympathy and followers among the Bremen audience.

His art for interpretation and enormous vocal capabilities were evident in title roles including Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Escamillo in Carmen, Alfio in Cavallería Rusticana, Tonio in Pagliacci und Leporello in Don Giovanni. Followed by roles such as Mefistofeles in La Damnation de Faust, Fritz in Die tote Stadt, Demetrius in Britten’s Summernight’s Dream, Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia, Sancho Pansa in Massenet’s Don Quichotte, Gianni Schicchi, Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème, Figaro in Rossini’s II Barbiere di Siviglia, Tomski in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame..

Work’s by Wagner George Stevens opened for the first time through his interpretation of Wolfram von Eschenbach in Tannhäuser. In his expansive Verdi-repertory he mastered the parts of: Rigoletto, Il Conte di Luna in II Trovatore, Don Carlos di Vargas in La Forza del Destino, Iago in Otello, Amonasro in Aida and Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera.

He also excelled in roles of the modern opera repertory, such as the Emperor in Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Kelvin in Solaris and Joseph Süß in the world premier of Joseph Süß by Detlev Glanert.  New additions were the parts of: Lescaut in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, as well as Simon in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at the permier on March 28, 2009.

In 2006 he was awarded the Kurt-Hübner-Preis by the Bremer Theaterfreunde as „…convincing singer-actor with exceptional stage presence…“.

His busy guest performance schedule took him, among others, as cover of Renato Bruson, to the opera festival in Macerata, Italy, to the Staatstheater Braunschweig, the Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken, the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, the Staatstheater Kassel and to the Royal Theatre Copenhagen. He also proved his qualities in Hanover, Moscow, Vienna, Dusseldorf, Munich and Trondheim.