Mojca Erdmann

Hamburg-born soprano Mojca Erdmann is one of the most significant and versatile stars of the international music scene, celebrated by critics and audiences alike. Of her return to the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2012, the New York Times wrote: "Mojca Erdmann lent Susanna an enchanting voice and modest earnestness," and BBC Music Magazine praised her as an "enormously gifted interpreter." Mojca Erdmann is known for her wide-ranging repertoire, spanning from Baroque to contemporary music. Her 13/14 season begins in Aarhus with two gala concerts, which will also be televised. This is followed by debuts at the International Chamber Music Festival in Jerusalem and the Zermatt Festival. Subsequently, the soprano returns to the Beethovenfest in Bonn and also to Bremen for performances of Fidelio with the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. On the opera stages this season, Mojca Erdmann primarily embodies the role of Sophie in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, at the Vienna State Opera (debut), the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. At the Mozartfest in Reutlingen, she sings his Zaide. This season, Mojca Erdmann can regularly be experienced in concerts and recitals: at the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Musikverein Graz, the Oper and the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Helsinki Music Centre, the new Konzerthaus in Aalborg, the Musikverein Vienna, and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. Audiences in Japan will have two opportunities to hear her: in performances of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in Tokyo and in a series of recitals in various cities with harpist Xavier de Maistre. The soprano made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York in autumn 2011 as Zerlina in a new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni under Fabio Luisi and in the role of the Woodbird in Wagner's Siegfried. In September 2012, Deutsche Grammophon released a DVD of Siegfried. In the following season, she returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Susanna in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and made her highly acclaimed debut in 2012 in the title role of Alban Berg's opera Lulu in a new production directed by Andrea Breth and conducted by Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper Berlin. After her debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2006 in the title role of Mozart's Zaide under Ivor Bolton, she was a guest there again in 2007 and then in 2009: as Zelmira in Haydn's Armida (in a Christof Loy production, conducted by Ivor Bolton). In 2013, Erdmann presented a series of world premieres with the Scharoun Ensemble as part of the festival. She made her debut at De Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam in early 2008 as Blondchen in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail under Constantinos Carydis. Sir Simon Rattle invited her in 2008 for a new production of Wagner's Siegfried as the Woodbird in Aix and in 2009 in the same role to the Easter Festival in Salzburg. In the same year, she made her role debut as Sophie in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier at the Stuttgart State Opera under Manfred Honeck, in a production by Stefan Herheim, and debuted at the Theater an der Wien as Ännchen in Weber's Freischütz under Bertrand de Billy. Mojca Erdmann made her debut as Zerlina in a gala performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni in Baden-Baden, where she returned in 2012 as Despina in a new production of Così fan tutte. Zerlina was also the role of her debut at the Teatro Real Madrid in 2013. She also sang Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Cologne Opera and Marzelline in Fidelio at the Nice Opera. In Germany, Austria, Denmark, Spain, France, Switzerland, Japan, and South Korea, Mojca Erdmann can often be experienced in concerts and recitals. She is a frequent guest at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Philharmonies in Cologne and Berlin, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, where she was Artist in Residence in 2012–13, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, and the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg. The soprano has an extensive concert repertoire and often works with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Ivor Bolton, Manfred Honeck, Kent Nagano, Fabio Luisi, and Daniel Harding. She has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the European Chamber Orchestra, and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In autumn 2007, she debuted at the Lucerne Festival with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Jonathan Nott with Ligeti's Requiem. Nikolaus Harnoncourt invited her for Schumann's Paradies und die Peri to the Vienna Musikverein, for the Faust scenes with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orkest, and for Haydn's Orlando Paladino with the Berlin Philharmonic. In 2009, she performed as Sorge/Soprano 1 in Schumann's Szenen aus Goethes Faust with the Stockholm Radio Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding, as well as with the DSO Berlin conducted by Ingo Metzmacher and with the Orchestra at La Scala di Milan conducted by Pinchas Steinberg, which also marked her debut at La Scala. In 2011, Erdmann toured Asia with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Mahler's 4th Symphony, as well as some selected concerts in Dortmund and Leipzig. Mojca Erdmann is an exceptionally versatile singer and highly sought after for her interpretations of contemporary music theater works: She made her debut at the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden in the world premiere of the production Takemitsu – My Way of Life under the direction of Kent Nagano. In 2009, Erdmann sang the title role in Wolfgang Rihm's monodrama Proserpina, written specifically for her. The following year, Rihm entrusted her with the first soprano in his new opera Dionysos, which premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2010 under the direction of Ingo Metzmacher and had its German premiere at the Staatsoper Berlin in 2012. In 2012, she performed the world premiere of Rodion Shchedrin's Cleopatra and the Snake at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival with conductor Valery Gergiev. Mojca Erdmann's voice can be heard on numerous studio recordings, such as the multi-award-winning recording of Mahler's 4th Symphony with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Jonathan Nott, released by Tudor, and Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, released by EMI. In 2011, EMI released a recording of Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch with Mojca Erdmann, Christian Gerhaher, and Gerold Huber. In summer 2009, Mojca Erdmann signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon (DG); the first joint recording with arias by Mozart and Mozart's contemporaries was released in 2011 under the title Mozart's Garden. On the recently released DG recordings of Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte – both conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin – she can be heard in the roles of Zerlina and Despina. Hamburg-born soprano Mojca Erdmann began violin lessons at the age of six and sang in the children's choir of the Hamburg State Opera. After graduating from high school, she studied singing with Hans Sotin at the Cologne University of Music alongside her violin studies. In 2002, she won not only first prize but also the special prize for contemporary music at the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang. In 2005, she was awarded the NDR Music Prize by the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Luitpold Prize by Kissinger Sommer. 09/2013