Born in Weimar, he studied with Hans-Joachim Beyer in Leipzig, and with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Since his opera début at the Salzburg Festival in 1997 (Papageno), Matthias Goerne has appeared on opera stages worldwide, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Teatro Real, Madrid; Paris National Opera; Vienna State Opera; and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. He is a recipient of the Wigmore Hall, London, medal.