The Dutch baritone Raoul Steffani has developed into one of the leading singers of his generation. He has regularly won prizes in recent years: in 2018 he won the GrachtenfestivalPrijs and the Dutch Classical Talent Audience Award. He previously won the Elisabeth Evertsprijs, a biennial prize for a young, Dutch music talent of an exceptional level. He also received a scholarships from the VandenEnde Foundation.
He studied at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and with Xenia Meijer at the conservatories of Amsterdam and Tilburg, where he graduated summa cum laude. He is currently being coached by Margreet Honig. He also attended masterclasses with Thomas Hampson, Christa Ludwig, Elly Ameling, Nelly Miricioiu and Marjana Lipovšek. From 2016 to 2018 he was a member of the Dutch National Opera Academy, where he debuted as Guglielmo (Così fan tutte).
Raoul has a great preference for the song repertoire. In that capacity he regularly collaborates with German song specialist Gerold Huber, with whom he released his debut CD "Deep in a dream" in the fall of 2018 dedicated to Schumann, Grieg, Sibelius and Berg at Challenge Records International. He also gives recitals with Daan Boertien and Lucas and Arthur Jussen.
His opera roles include both Eisenstein and Falke (Die Fledermaus), Papageno (Die Zauberföte), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) and Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas). He is also a sought-after soloist in major oratorios, such as Matthäus Passion and Johannes Passion of J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart's Requiem, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Oratorio de Noël by Saint-Saëns, Messiah by Handel and Carmina Burana by Orff.
He has worked with conductors such as Vladimir Jurowsky, David Zinman, Sir Mark Elder, Sigiswald Kuijken, Ed Spanjaard, Jos van Veldhoven, Anthony Hermus and Enrico Delamboye. He was a guest at, among others, the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, philharmonie zuidnederland and the Orkest van het Oosten.