Born in Chile, Christian Senn has been living in Italy since his youth. After taking a Master’s degree in Biology, he was admitted to the Academy for young singers at the Teatro alla Scala studying with Leyla Gencer, Luigi Alva and Vincenzo Manno.
Christian is one of the most sought-after baritones for Bel Canto repertoire in Italy and abroad, performing numerous opera roles by Rossini, such as the title role in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Scala, La Fenice, Teatro Massimo di Palermo; Dandini (La Cenerentola) at the Israeli Opera Tel Aviv, Florence Opera and Grange Festival; Taddeo (L’Italiana in Algeri) at the Teatro Regio Torino and Versailles Royal Opera; Filiberto (Il Signor Bruschino), Germano (La Scala di seta) and Don Parmenione (L’Occasione fa il ladro) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.
In the Donizetti repertoire he has been heard as Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) in Florence, Bergamo, Bari and Santiago de Chile; Belcore (L’Elisir d’amore) in Bologna; Biscroma Strappaviscere (Viva la Mamma) and Malatesta (Don Pasquale) both at La Scala. Christian debuted at the Opéra National de Paris with the role of Malatesta in a production conducted by Michele Mariotti and staged by Damiano Michieletto.
Mozart singer of the first order, Christian sang the title role in Don Giovanni in Florence and Santiago de Chile, and Leporello in Catania. He appeared as Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) in Milan, Naples and Potsdam; Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) in Montpellier, Turin, Verona and Florence; Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) in Milan, Verona, Bergamo, Santiago de Chile and Alfonso in the same opera at the Grange Festival.
Among his Vivaldi roles are Astolfo (Orlando furioso) and Alcandro (L’Olimpiade) under Jean-Christophe Spinosi at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Clistene (L’Olimpiade) under Alessandro De Marchi for the Innsbruck Festival and the title role in Bajazet in Japan with Europa Galante led by Fabio Biondi.
Encounters with Handel embrace the title role in Porpora’s Polifemo at the Theater an der Wien and, under Ottavio Dantone, Zoroastro (Orlando) in a new Pier Luigi Pizzi staging, as well as Messiah, both at the Ravenna Festival. At La Scala he took the stage as Leone (Tamerlano) alongside Placido Domingo and as Achilla (Giulio Cesare) in a Giovanni Antonini/Robert Carsen production.
Under the baton of René Jacobs, he appeared as Pallante (Agrippina) at the Berlin Staatsoper and as Polifemo (Aci, Galatea e Polifemo) at the Theater an der Wien, Liceu Barcelona and the Handel Festival in Halle.
His concert appearances include Bach’s St Matthew Passion under Alessandro De Marchi at the Theater Basel and under Ivor Bolton at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. Under Sakari Oramo, he sang Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Wiener Symphoniker at the Vienna Konzerthaus and Brahms’ Requiem with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre.
For Naïve, Christian Senn has recorded a DVD with Rossini’s Pietra del paragone filmed at the Paris Théâtre du Châtelet, as well as two Vivaldi CDs, Tito Manlio and Dorilla in Tempe. His solo album “Bach – The Solo Cantatas for Bass” he recorded with La Barocca and Ruben Jais for the Glossa label, achieved great critical acclaim.
In the 2026/2027 season, Christian will appear in Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro (Il Conte) conducted by Jordi Bernàcer and staged by Emilio Sagi at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova and will perform Bizet’s Carmen (Escamillo) at the Teatro Massimo di Catania.
He will return to Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with Giulio Prandi at Wigmore Hall in London and will reunite with René Jacobs and Kammerorchester Basel for a series of Haydn’s late Masses which they will perform in concert and record.
