Swedish tenor Michael Weinius, laureate of the 2008 International Wagner Competition in Seattle, has rapidly established himself as one of Europe's most sought after and praised tenors. His musical training began at the well-known Adolf Fredrik's School of Music in Stockholm and was completed in 1995 with his examination from the University College of Opera in Stockholm.
Michael made his professional stage debut in 1993 as a baritone, singing Guglielmo in Così fan Tutte and he quickly became regular guest at all the major opera houses in Sweden singing roles like Renato in Un ballo in Maschera, Posa in Don Carlo and Marcello in La Bohème.
In 2004 Michael Weinius made a very succesful transition from baritone to tenor, singing Laça in Jenufa at NorrlandsOperan in Sweden. During his first season as a tenor, he sang roles like Don José (Carmen) in concert with the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Marc Soustrot, Loge (Das Rheingold) with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Kent Nagano and Sergej in Lady Macbeth from Mtsensk at Värmlandsoperan in Karlstad.
These initial successes as a tenor paved the way to a string of role debuts in Scandinavian opera houses, such as: Riccardo (Un ballo in Maschera) and Herodes (Salome) at Malmö Opera, Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana )and Siegmund (Die Walküre) at The Royal Swedish Opera, Parsifal in Mannheim and at Värmlandsoperan in Karlstad, Dick Johnson (Fanciulla del West ), Don José in Carmen at Teater Hedeland in Denmark and Cavaradossi (Tosca) in Uppsala. In December 2008 Michael sang - especially written for him - the part of King David in the world première of Bathsheba by Sven David Sandström, an opera commissioned by The Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm.
Further recent and future engagements include Peter Grimes at NorrlandsOperan, Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Don José, Lohengrin and Parsifal at The Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, Hans Schwalb in Hindemith's Mathis der Mahler under Christoph Eschenbach at Opera Bastille in Paris, Parsifal for Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and Helsinki Opera and Siegmund for De Nationale Reisoper and Nationaltheater Mannheim.
In addition to his operatic career, Michael Weinius regularly sings lieder recitals as well as orchestral concerts. He has performed in Denmark, Norway, Austria, Spain, Great Britain, France, Belgium and the USA with conductors as Marc Soustrot, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Friedemann Layer, Manfred Honeck, Gregor Bühl, Gustavo Dudamel and Kent Nagano.
Michael Weinius has been a recipient of many awards and prizes. In addition to his success in the 2008 Seattle Wagner-competition, he was the winner of the prestigious Gösta Winbergh Award in 2004 and in 2006 he received the Birgit Nilsson Prize. The most recent award is the Opera prize, awarded by Sweden's no 1 morning daily newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet.