The Munich-born tenor Werner Güra completed his studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He continued his vocal training with Prof Kurt Widmer in Basel, Prof Margreet Honig in Amsterdam and Prof Wessela Zlateva in Vienna.
After operatic guest appearances in Frankfurt and Basel, he became a member of the ensemble at the Semperoper in Dresden in 1995, where he sang major roles, particularly in Mozart and Rossini. He sang at the Berlin State Opera under the direction of Daniel Barenboim and appeared as a guest in new productions of Die Zauberflöte at the Opéra national de Paris and La Monnaie in Brussels. He sang Ferrando (Così fan tutte) at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and interpreted the role of Don Ottavio at the 2006 Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and the Baden-Baden Festival under the direction of René Jacobs. In 2014, he enjoyed great success in the new Zurich production (Willy Decker) of Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in patria.
As a concert and oratorio singer, Werner Güra performs on Europe’s most prominent concert stages in and has worked with orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Wiener Symphoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, the German (BR, SWR, HR, NDR) and Dutch radio orchestras as well as BBC Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National de France, under conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Michel Corboz, Sir Colin Davis, Adam Fischer, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Bernard Haitink, Leopold Hager, Daniel Harding, Thomas Hengelbrock, Pablo Heras-Casado, René Jacobs, Marek Janowski, Philippe Jordan, Ton Koopman, Fabio Luisi, Kurt Masur, Ingo Metzmacher, Riccardo Muti, John Nelson, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Roger Norrington, Trevor Pinnock, George Prêtre, Peter Schreier, Thomas Zehetmair. Werner Güra also had the great good fortune to work regularly with Nikolaus Harnoncourt (touring in Japan with the Messiah and Mozart Requiem; Christmas Oratorio at the Musikverein in Vienna; The Seasons and The Creation at the Styriarte Graz; Schubert's Mass in E flat major; Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Faust and Beethoven's Missa solemnis with the Concertgebouworkest).
Werner Güra is especially recognised internationally as a Lied interpreter with regular appearances at London's Wigmore Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Vienna Musikverein, the Cologne Philharmonie, Gulbenkian Lisbon, Lucerne Festival, Lincoln Center New York, at the Schubertiades in Schwarzenberg and Barcelona.
Around 50 recordings document the artist's versatility. In September 2000, Harmonia Mundi released his first solo CD with Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin (accompanist Jan Schultsz), which was followed by Schumann: Dichterliebe, Liederkreis op. 39 and Hugo Wolf: Mörike Lieder. With pianist Christoph Berner he released the albums Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden with songs by Clara and Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, Schubert's Schwanengesang, Mozart Lieder, Schubert's Winterreise and selected Schubert songs with the album title Willkommen und Abschied. Together with fellow singers, he recorded Brahms Liebesliederwalzer and Schumann's Spanische Liebeslieder as well as a selection of Schubert songs. All these CDs have been very well received by both the public and critics and garnered numerous prizes. Latest releases include Scottish Airs, Haydn Lieder with trio accompaniment and Ludwig van Beethoven's Lieder & Bagatelles. In spring 2021, Hugo Wolf's "Italian Songbook" was released together with Anke Vondung and Christoph Berner.
Werner Güra has been a professor at the Zurich University of the Arts since 2009.
