KS Axel Köhler

Axel Köhler was born in 1960 in Schwarzenberg in the Ore Mountains. He studied Violin Pedagogy and Vocals at the Dresden College of Music "Carl Maria von Weber". His musical career initially led him to the ensemble of the Halle Opera, and throughout his artistic career he performed as a guest at venues such as the Semperoper Dresden, the Bavarian State Opera, the Hamburg State Opera, the Royal Opera House London, the Vienna State Opera, and the Salzburg Festival. In 1994, he was honored with the Handel Prize and in 1998 was appointed Kammersänger. From 2009 to 2016, Axel Köhler was the artistic director and later the director of the Oper Halle. Since 2000, Köhler has also worked as a director, staging productions in Munich, Bayreuth, Innsbruck, Dresden, Palermo, and Graz. Starting from the 2016/17 season, he was a member of the ensemble at the Staatsoperette Dresden. From September 2019 to November 2023, he served as the president of the Dresden College of Music. As of December 1, 2023, he assumed the position of president at the State University of Music and the Performing Arts Stuttgart.