German Baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle Withdraws from Performances

Due to his leukemia diagnosis, Kränzle has announced he will be taking a break from his career to recover

Hailing from Augsburg, Germany, Johannes Martin Kränzle is well-known for his intense music-theater interpretations of complex opera characters. His extensive opera repertoire comprises 120 scores including composers such as Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Strauss, Lehar, Henze, and Rihm. 

Due to a recent diagnosis of acute leukemia (AML), Kränzle has announced he will be stepping down from his concerts in the coming months to recover from the illness. 

In 2015, he was diagnosed with a bone marrow disease (MDS) but regained his health and returned to the stage the following year to great acclaim. 

“I will be taking a break from all performances for the next few months in the great confidence that I will soon return to full health,” he posted on Facebook. “I have acute leukemia (AML). After a bone marrow disease (MDS) diagnosed and overcome in 2015, I have to undergo a stem cell transplant a second time. I would like to thank the doctors who are treating me [and] advising me … my loving family and especially my wonderful wife Lena. 

“I invite everyone under the age of fifty-five to register as a donor. You can’t donate to me personally, but you might be able to save another life.”

“Today, all you really have to do is donate blood,” he added in Backstage Classical. “The stem cells are introduced into the bloodstream using medication beforehand. So everything is much less painful than it was years ago.”

Kränzle first studied violin and music theater direction, before pursuing voice studies with Martin Gründler. He later held permanent contracts of engagement with the opera houses of Dortmund, Hannover and Frankfurt.

He is a regular guest artist at major opera houses including The Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, London’s Royal Opera House, National Opera of Paris, Madrid’s Teatro Real, among others, and has made appearances at the Salzburg, Bregenz, Glyndebourne, and Luzerne Festivals.

Our best wishes to Mr. Kränzle for a speedy recovery!