Born in Fohnsdorf in Austria in 1972, Wilfried Staber first studied electrical engineering and linguistics at Graz. Afterwards he spent two years at Austrian Radio as a freelance news reader. From 1998 to 2004, he studied voice at the academies in Graz and Munich (under Josef Loibl). He received a scholarship from the German Stage Association (Bühnenverein) and the Walter Kaminsky Foundation. He was a finalist at the 4th international Competition for Wagner Voices in Bayreuth and a prizewinner in the 2004 Francisco Viñas Singing Contest in Barcelona in the category of best performer of German music. Guest engagements then took him to the Herrenchiemsee Festival, the Carl Orff Festival at Andechs, the Thurn and Taxis Festival in Regensburg, to City Hall in Cape Town as well as to the Prinzregententheater Munich and the opera houses of Graz, Kaiserslautern, Bremen and Mannheim. Since 2009, Staber has been a permanent member of the ensemble at Heidelberg municipal theatre as a bass in serious roles. He was also there between 2004 and 2007. From 2007 to 2009 he was a member of the ensemble at Cologne Opera, where he continues to be a regular guest performer. His chief roles include the Landgrave (Tannhäuser), Sarastro (Magic Flute), Rocco (Fidelio), Baculus (Wildschütz), Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Bartolo (Figaro), the Water Goblin (Rusalka), Gremin (Onegin) and Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni).