Born in Bavaria, the bass WILHELM SCHWINGHAMMER began his musical training at the Regensburg Domspatzen specialist music school and later studied at the Berlin University of the Arts. Masterclasses with the likes of Kurt Moll and Marjana Lipovšek rounded off his training. From 2006-2017 he was a member of the ensemble at the Hamburg State Opera, freelancing since 2017.
In 2005 he gave his debut performance at the Salzburg Festival alongside Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon in the role of Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata. In 2011 he returned to Salzburg for the Easter Festival to sing Salome under the baton of Simon Rattle. He has given regular guest performances at the Bayreuth Festival since 2012, singing the role of King Heinrich as well as numerous performances of Fasolt.
Guest engagements have taken him to such places as Berlin, Dresden, Lyon, Milan, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Washington and Chicago as well as to the Hong Kong Arts Festival.
He is also in demand as a concert performer and regularly works with such renowned artists as Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Kiril Petrenko, Andris Nelsons, Sir Simon Rattle, Marek Janowski, Sebastian Weigle and Philippe Herreweghe.
Future engagements include the role of Baron von Ochs auf Lerchenau (Der Rosenkavalier) with Stockholm Opera as well as a concert performance with Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv and Il Re di Scozia (Ariodante) at the Vienna State Opera.