Alison Browner

Last updated

Alison Margaret Browner
Born22 September 1957
Dublin, Ireland
Occupation mezzo-soprano opera singer
SpouseWilhelm Gries
Website alisonbrowner.com

Alison Margaret Browner (born 22 September 1957) is an Irish mezzo-soprano opera singer. [1] [2]

Contents

Life

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Browner graduated in Music at Trinity College with a Bachelor of Arts while she also studied singing and violin at the College of Music (now the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama). Through a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) she went to the Hamburg Academy of Music and completed her studies with a recital and concert diploma with Hans Hotter [3] [4] [5]

Her married name is Alison Gries and she is based in Limburg an der Lahn, Germany. [1]

Career

Her singing career began at the Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Staatstheater Darmstadt working with Hans Hotter. [3] [4] [5]

Browner sang in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and the title role in Der Rosenkavalier and the great Mozart and Rossini parts in 1987 as an ensemble member of the National Theatre Mannheim. [3] [4] [5]

Her international breakthrough came at London's Royal Opera House in the title role of Rossini's La Cenerentola . Numerous appearances in major opera houses such as the Brussels opera house La Monnaie and the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp and Ghent followed. At the Salzburg Festival she performed under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. [3] [4] [5]

Besides opera Browner shows great interest in the recital and concert repertoire. In recent years she has sung the great oratorios and many recitals throughout Europe and abroad. Browner has celebrated success with a broad repertoire with renowned ensembles and conductors as Philippe Herreweghe, Eric Ericson and his chamber choir, the Concerto Köln and many others. [3] [4] [5]

Browner has sung many concerts with the Limburger Domsingknaben where her husband Wilhelm Gries is vocal coach, assistant choir director and conductor. [3] [4] [5]

Browner's repertoire includes numerous works from the Baroque period (including Bach and Handel), classical (including Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven), Romanticism (including Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert, Strauss) and modernity (including Schoenberg, Boulez).

Discography (selection)

Related Research Articles

<i>Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht</i>, BWV 105

Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht, BWV 105 is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the ninth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 25 July 1723. The musicologist Alfred Dürr has described the cantata as one of "the most sublime descriptions of the soul in baroque and Christian art".

<i>Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir</i>, BWV 73 Church cantata

Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir, BWV 73, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it for the third Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it in Leipzig on 23 January 1724. It was probably composed shortly before the first performance.

<i>Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille</i>, BWV 120 Sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille, BWV 120.1, is a sacred cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the occasion of Ratswechsel, the inauguration of a new town council in a church service, probably before 1730. Parts of the cantata appeared in a wedding cantata and a cantata commemorating the Augsburg Confession in 1730. Bach reworked the choral second movement for the Symbolum Nicenum of his Mass in B minor.

<i>Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen</i>, BWV 249a

Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen, BWV 249a, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. First performed in 1725, the work is also known as "Shepherd Cantata" or "Shepherds' Cantata". Bach reworked the music in his Easter Oratorio.

Alois Kottmann was a German violinist, music pedagogue, university professor and patron. He was based in Frankfurt, where he founded several ensembles, and taught at both the Hoch Conservatory and the Musikhochschule Frankfurt. He founded concert series in the area, and a prize for young violinists.

<i>Ihr Menschen, rühmet Gottes Liebe</i>, BWV 167

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ihr Menschen, rühmet Gottes Liebe, BWV 167 in Leipzig for the Feast of St. John the Baptist and first performed it on 24 June 1723. It is part of his first cantata cycle in Leipzig.

<i>Christen, ätzet diesen Tag</i>, BWV 63 Church cantata by J S Bach

Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the Christmas cantata for the First Day of Christmas, possibly in 1713 for the Liebfrauenkirche in Halle. He performed it again for his first Christmas as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, on 25 December 1723.

<i>Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut</i>, BWV 113

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut, BWV 113 in Leipzig for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 20 August 1724. The chorale cantata is based on the hymn "Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut" by Bartholomäus Ringwaldt (1588).

<i>Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert die Gruft</i>, BWV 205 Secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert die Gruft or Der zufriedengestellte Aeolus, BWV 205.1, BWV 205, is a secular cantata or dramma per musica by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was written for the name day of August Friedrich Müller, and was first performed on 3 August 1725. The libretto by Picander is based on Greek mythology.

<i>Ich bin ein guter Hirt</i>, BWV 85

Ich bin ein guter Hirt, BWV 85, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the second Sunday after Easter and first performed it on 15 April 1725.

<i>Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott</i>, BWV 139

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott, BWV 139, in Leipzig for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 12 November 1724. The chorale cantata is based on the hymn by Johann Christoph Rube (1692).

Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, BWV 156, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the third Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it in 1727 or 1729. The cantata is well known for its opening sinfonia for orchestra and oboe solo.

<i>Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen</i>, BWV 213 Cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen, BWV 213, is a secular cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed it in Leipzig on a text by Picander and first performed it on 5 September 1733. It is also known as Die Wahl des Herkules and Hercules am Scheidewege.

Ernst Gerold Schramm was a German baritone in opera and concert, and an academic voice teacher. He was a member of the Staatstheater Hannover and Oper Frankfurt ensembles and performed internationally. He taught at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt and the Universität der Künste Berlin.

Alois Ickstadt is a German pianist, choral conductor, university professor and composer. He was professor at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt. He promoted choral singing from children's choir to adult groups for the state broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk, namely the Figuralchor Frankfurt which he founded in 1966 and conducted until 2011.

Ulrike Sonntag is a German operatic soprano and academic voice teacher at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart. She was previously a member of the Staatstheater Stuttgart, Vienna State Opera, and other ensembles, and has performed in operas and concerts, and taught masterclasses, in several countries. Among her recordings are rarely performed oratorios by Fanny Hensel and Paul Hindemith.

Figuralchor Frankfurt is a mixed choir in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1966 as a youth choir for the broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk by Alois Ickstadt, who conducted it for 45 years. From 1977 to the 1990s, the choir was known as Figuralchor des Hessischen Rundfunks. It performs in concerts, radio productions and recordings, with a focus on a cappella music, but has also participated in joint symphonic productions such as Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand for the opening of the Alte Oper concert hall in 1981. The choir has been conducted by Paul Leonard Schäffer since 2016.

Hildegard Heichele is a German soprano in opera, concert and recital. A member of the Oper Frankfurt from 1974, she has appeared in major European opera houses, concert halls and international festivals. She is known for Mozart roles such as Susanna, Blonde and Despina. Heichele is featured on opera recordings, including a DVD of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss from the Royal Opera House in London, and singing concerts, such as the opening of the Alte Oper with Mahler's Eighth Symphony in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Gallus, Flörsheim</span> Catholic church in Flörsheim, Germany

St. Gallus is a Catholic church and parish in Flörsheim, Hesse, Germany, dedicated to Saint Gall. It was completed in 1766 in Rococo style. Featuring a historic organ from 1709, it is a concert venue of the Gallus-Konzerte series of mostly sacred music concerts.

Günter Ludwig was a German pianist.

References

  1. 1 2 "Catalogue of the German National Library". Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
  2. Douglas Sealy. "Alison Browner (mezzo-soprano)/ NSO/Colman Pearce". The Irish Times.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Biography". Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bach Cantatas Biography of Alison Browner".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Naxos Records".