Anna Prohaska

ANNA PROHASKA – Biography "This is a brilliantly conceived and exquisitely sung collection of songs about war and its emotional consequences… Anna Prohaska’s glittering soprano hits the mark in four Hanns Eisler songs. She finds an unearthly purity in Schubert’s “Ellens Gesang I,” and is as sharp in Whitman as she is cool in “Wandring in this place,” Michael Cavendish’s old lute song. The ingenuity and care of this album are exceptional, and the results are absolutely convincing.” The Guardian [CD Review Behind the Lines], July 6, 2014 “. . . her body language is as self-assured as her use of her virtuosic soprano voice.” Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin), December 11, 2010 Anna Prohaska, who comes from a distinguished Viennese musical family (her great-grandfather was the composer Carl Prohaska, her grandfather the conductor and educator Felix Prohaska), studied at the "Hanns Eisler" Academy of Music in Berlin. She made her debut in 2002 at the Komische Oper in Harry Kupfer's production of Britten's The Turn of the Screw and then appeared in Willy Decker's production of Albert Herring. After stepping in at short notice for the role of Frasquita in Carmen under Daniel Barenboim at the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden, she was engaged there as an ensemble member. In December 2010, she sang Anne Trulove in a new production of The Rake’s Progress at the State Opera under the direction of Ingo Metzmacher. She first appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 2008 in Rusalka under Franz Welser-Möst, the following year in Luigi Nono's Al gran sole carico d’amore, and in 2010 she sang her first Zerlina there. In 2011, she appeared as Despina in Mozart's Così fan tutte. Anna Prohaska has given concerts with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and has worked closely with the Berlin Philharmonic since 2007, including the world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm's "Mnemosyne" under the direction of Matthias Pintscher as part of a celebration for Claudio Abbado in 2009. In 2010, she was the soloist in Berg's Lulu-Suite with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Abbado in Venezuela and Lucerne. In addition to contemporary music and the standard repertoire, Anna Prohaska also dedicates herself to early music and has worked with the Innsbruck ensemble Modern Times_1800, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Concentus Musicus Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and Concerto Köln. She has given recitals at the Berlin State Opera, the Hamburg Laeiszhalle, London's Wigmore Hall, the Salzburg Mozarteum, at the Schubertiade, in the Vienna Musikverein, and together with Maurizio Pollini in Paris and Lucerne. In 2008, she was nominated for the Daphne Prize and in 2010 for the Schneider-Schott Music Prize. Anna Prohaska is currently one of the "Junge Wilde" artists at the Konzerthaus in Dortmund. Her recent appearances include Brahms' Requiem with Dohnányi and the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Jens Joneleit's new opera "Metanoia" and Elliott Carter's new song cycle "What are years" with Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin; Wolfgang Rihm's new work "Samothrake" for high soprano and orchestra under Ulf Schirmer with the Gewandhausorchester; Jörg Widmann's "Babel" under Nagano at the Bavarian State Opera; as well as a European tour with baroque arias together with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen. At the Vienna Theater, she sang Marzelline in "Fidelio" with Harnoncourt and Anne Trulove. At the Berlin State Opera, she sang Mozart's Zerlina, Susanna, and Pamina, Isolde in a new production of Martin's "Le Vin herbé" and Sophie in "Rosenkavalier" with Sir Simon Rattle. Further planned engagements in 2014 include Poulenc's "Dialogues des Carmélites" under Simon Rattle at Covent Garden, as well as Mozart's "Blonde" in Baden-Baden under Yannick Nézet-Seguin and in Paris under Philippe Jordan. Anna Prohaska is also undertaking a recital tour with pianist Eric Schneider and her program of war songs, with performances in London, Vienna, Berlin, Dortmund, Paris, and at the festivals in Salzburg, Edinburgh, and Bad Kissingen. In January 2011, Anna Prohaska signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. A comprehensive song album titled "Sirène" was released in German-speaking markets that year. It received an Echo Klassik Award in 2012. "The Enchanted Forest," Anna Prohaska's baroque project with Arcangelo under Jonathan Cohen, was released on the Archiv Produktion label in March 2013. In the same month, the release of Berg's "Lulu-Suite" with the Vienna Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez was also brought out. Her latest recording is planned for June 2014, to mark the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. "Behind the Lines" is an album that Prohaska recorded with pianist Eric Schneider, an album of songs on the theme of war. 6/2014