Magdalena Kožená

From a young age, Magdalena Kožená captivated critics with her musical prowess and compelling artistic abilities. The Czech mezzo-soprano, who had already made an international name for herself in her mid-twenties, signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in 1999. Since then, she has matured into one of the most significant singers of her generation, a charismatic artist who enthralls audiences at recitals, concerts, and opera performances. Magdalena Kožená was born in Brno, Czech Republic, in 1973. She sang in the youth choir of her hometown's Philharmonic Orchestra and studied voice and piano at the local conservatory. In 1991, she began vocal studies with Eva Bláhová at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. She achieved her breakthrough in 1995 as a prizewinner at the 6th International Mozart Competition in Salzburg, and the following year she became a member of the ensemble at the Vienna Volksoper. Deutsche Grammophon signed Kožená after recognizing the young singer's star qualities, immediately releasing her first album of Bach arias on Archiv Produktion. Her first recital recording with Graham Johnson, an album of songs by Dvořák, Janáček, and Martinů, was released in 2000 on Deutsche Grammophon's yellow label and received an "Award" in the vocal recital category. Kožená was named "Artist of the Year" by "The Gramophone" magazine in 2004 and has since received many other accolades, including the Echo Prize, the "Record Academy Prize" in Tokyo, and the "Diapason d'or." Her recent releases on Deutsche Grammophon include "Prayer" for voice and organ with Christian Schmitt (2014) and "Love and Longing" with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle (2012). Her latest album, "Magdalena Kožená – Monteverdi," which will be released internationally in February 2016, features the esteemed period instrument ensemble La Cetra, led by Andrea Marcon. She will present her Monteverdi program live to audiences in London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Prague, Madrid, Barcelona, and other European metropolises in February and March 2016. Magdalena Kožená has worked with many of the world's leading conductors: Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, James Levine, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Roger Norrington, and Sir Simon Rattle, to name a few. Her renowned recital partners include pianists Daniel Barenboim, Yefim Bronfman, Malcolm Martineau, András Schiff, and Mitsuko Uchida, with whom she has performed in famous concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, as well as at festivals in Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, and Salzburg. The singer gained a thorough understanding of historically informed performance practice through collaborations with outstanding period instrument ensembles such as the English Baroque Soloists, Gabrieli Consort and Players, Il Giardino Armonico, Les Musiciens du Louvre, La Cetra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and Venice Baroque Orchestra. As a concert singer, she is also a welcome guest of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Czech Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Concertgebouworkest. The 2015/16 season began for Magdalena Kožená with a concert tour with the Vienna Philharmonic, performing Elgar's "The Dream of Gerontius" at the Lucerne Festival, Birmingham Symphony Hall, and the penultimate night of the BBC Proms. As artist-in-residence this season, she will also be heard in four of Europe's famous concert halls: Wigmore Hall, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, and the Rudolfinum in Prague. The program includes recitals with Mitsuko Uchida, a chamber music project with Sir Simon Rattle and members of the Berlin Philharmonic, concerts with La Cetra, and a major big band event featuring songs by Cole Porter. Additionally, she will appear as the title character in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande with the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra, and in Martinů's Juliette at the Berlin State Opera. Magdalena Kožená solidified her reputation as a first-class opera singer in the early years of the new millennium. Her stage appearances in Mozart roles were characterized by charisma, glamour, and vocal competence: in 2002, she made her Salzburg Festival debut as Zerlina in "Don Giovanni"; the following year, she was heard in a series of performances under Simon Rattle as Idamante in "Idomeneo" at the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Glyndebourne Festival, and in Berlin and Lucerne. She made her New York Metropolitan Opera debut in 2003 as Cherubino in "Le nozze di Figaro" and has been a regular guest there ever since. She sang Zerlina during the Met's Japan tour in 2006 and portrayed the title role in Jonathan Miller's production of Pelléas et "Mélisande" in 2010/11. Her opera roles also include Angelina in Rossini's "La Cenerentola" (Royal Opera House 2007), Octavian in Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier" (Berlin State Opera 2009 and Easter Festival in Baden-Baden 2015), Lazuli in Chabrier's L'Étoile (Berlin State Opera 2010), and the title role in Bizet's "Carmen" (Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals 2012) and Charpentier's "Médée" (Theater Basel 2015). The broad spectrum of Kožená's repertoire is reflected in her recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. Her albums include: a recital of songs by Britten, Ravel, Respighi, Schulhoff, and Shostakovich; "Songs My Mother Taught Me," an anthology of Czech songs accompanied by Malcolm Martineau; two recordings of arias by Handel and Vivaldi with the Venice Baroque Orchestra and Andrea Marcon; a collection of French opera arias with Marc Minkowski and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra; and Mahler's "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" with Christian Gerhaher. For her contributions to French music, Magdalena Kožená was awarded the honorary title "Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the French government in 2003. 12/2015