Claudia Mahnke

Last updated
Claudia Mahnke
Born1967 (age 5354)
Meerane, Saxony, East Germany
Education Hochschule für Musik Dresden
OccupationOperatic mezzo-soprano
Organization
Awards

Claudia Mahnke is a German operatic mezzo-soprano, a member of the Oper Frankfurt, with guest appearances at leading opera houses and the Bayreuth Festival.

Contents

Career

Mahnke was born in Meerane in Saxony, Germany. While she attended school she was already taking voice lessons. After the Abitur, she studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden. She made her stage debut in 1991, still during her studies. She was a member of the ensemble of the Theater Chemnitz from 1992 to 1995. [1]

In 1994, Mahnke gained the prize of the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin in the category opera/operetta/concert. She joined the Staatsoper Stuttgart in 1996. She performed the title role in Karl Amadeus Hartmann's Simplicius Simplicissimus , in a production shown also at the Munich Opera Festival of 2005. The performance earned her several nominations for Singer of the Year of the journal Opernwelt . She was awarded the title Kammersängerin in August 2006. [2]

From the 2006/07 season, she has been a member of the Oper Frankfurt. She appeared as a guest at leading opera houses such as the Komische Oper Berlin, the San Francisco Opera and Opéra National de Lyon. She toured with the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin to Seoul. [1]

Mahnke made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2013 as Fricka, Waltraute and Second Norne in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . After repeating these parts the two following years, she appeared as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde in 2016. [2]

In 2017, she appeared in Frankfurt as Dido in Les Troyens , convincingly interpreting in the final scene of 25 minutes the heroine's progression from hurt vulnerability to furious despair ("alle Stufen der schmerzlichen Verletztheit und der wütenden Verzweiflung"). [3]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

Ruth Berghaus

Ruth Berghaus was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director.

Deborah Polaski is an American opera and concert singer (soprano). She has specialized in dramatic soprano roles and also sings mezzo-soprano roles occasionally.

Hanna Schwarz is a German mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. In 1976 she performed the roles of Fricka and Erda in the centenary Jahrhundertring production at the Bayreuth Festival, directed by Patrice Chéreau.

Tanja Ariane Baumgartner is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. A member of the Oper Frankfurt since 2009, she has enjoyed an international career, appearing in major European and American opera houses and the Salzburg Festival.

Eva Randová Czech operatic mezzo-soprano (born 1936)

Eva Randová is a Czech operatic mezzo-soprano who made an international career based in Germany. She appeared at major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, and at festivals such as the Bayreuth Festival. She is known for performing Czech operas by Leoš Janáček and Antonín Dvořák.

Claudia Barainsky is a German operatic soprano. She has performed internationally, and won awards for her roles in contemporary operas such as Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten and Aribert Reimann's Medea.

Johannes Martin Kränzle is a German baritone in opera and concert who has made an international career. For years a member of the Oper Frankfurt, he was chosen as Singer of the Year in 2011 after creating the leading role in Wolfgang Rihm's Dionysos at the Salzburg Festival. He made his debut at the Royal Opera House as Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte, and at the Bayreuth Festival as Beckmesser in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2017.

Christof Loy is a German stage director especially for opera, whose work received several awards. A freelance director, he has staged operas from Baroque to premieres of new works at major European opera houses and festivals. He is known for directing works by Mozart.

Andrea Lorenzo Scartazzini is a Swiss composer whose operas have been performed at leading European opera houses.

Britta Stallmeister is a German operatic soprano. A member of the Oper Frankfurt from 1998 to 2015, she has appeared in major European opera houses and international festivals. She has performed in premieres, and in recitals and recordings.

Ruth Hesse is a German operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1995, and appeared internationally, including the Bayreuth Festival and the Salzburg Festival. She appeared regularly at the Vienna State Opera from 1965 to 1988, and was appointed an Austrian Kammersängerin in 1982. In Berlin, she took part in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord.

Hans Günter Nöcker was a German operatic bass-baritone who was based at the Bavarian State Opera for decades, performing in several world premieres including Aribert Reimann's Lear, and also had an international career.

Alfred Kirchner is a German actor, theatre director and theatre manager who is based in Berlin. He worked at theatres such as Theater Bremen, Schauspielhaus Bochum, the Burgtheater in Vienna and the Staatliche Schauspielbühnen Berlin, before turning to freelance work. He has staged productions in Europe and North America, including several world premieres of both drama and opera. He directed the premiere of Martin Walser's Ein Kinderspiel in Stuttgart in 1971, the U.S. premiere of Henze's We Come to the River at the Santa Fe Opera in 1984, and the premiere of Hans Zender's Stephen Climax at the Oper Frankfurt in 1986. In 1994, he staged Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival.

Eva-Maria Bundschuh

Eva-Maria Bundschuh is a German operatic soprano who began her career as a contralto. She received international when she collaborated with Harry Kupfer at the Komische Oper Berlin.

Björn Bürger German baritone

Björn Bürger is a German operatic baritone.

Rut Berglund

Rut Berglund, also Ruth Berglund was a Swedish operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto, who was engaged in Germany from 1924 to 1944. She was personally appointed Kammersängerin by Adolf Hitler.

Ruthild Engert-Ely was a German operatic mezzo-soprano and alto.

Mihoko Fujimura is a Japanese operatic mezzo-soprano who made an international career based in Europe. She was recognized internationally after her 2002 debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Fricka in Wagner's Ring cycle. In concert, she performed in Verdi's Requiem and Mahler's Resurrection Symphony. In 2020, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera.

Kwangchul Youn is a South Korean operatic bass and academic voice teacher. He made an international career based in Germany, from 1994 to 2004 at the Berlin State Opera. He has performed leading roles at international opera houses and festivals, such as Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, Mephisto in Faust at the Vienna State Opera, and King Marke in Tristan und Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera.

Michaela Kaune is a German operatic soprano.

References

  1. 1 2 Kröner, Eva (28 July 2013). "Die Bezwingerin der Kehlkopfschraube". Nordbayerischer Kurier  [ de ] (in German). Retrieved 17 December 2016.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  2. 1 2 "Claudia Mahnke". Bayreuth Festival (in German). Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  3. Peter, Wolf-Dieter (21 February 2017). "Scheiternde Frauen in Umbruchszeiten – Frankfurts Oper mit "Les Troyens" von Hector Berlioz" (in German). NMZ. Retrieved 13 March 2017.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)