Sara Hershkowitz | |
|---|---|
 Sara Hershkowitz in 2021 | |
| Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Operatic coloratura soprano |
| Website | sarahershkowitz.com |
Sara Hershkowitz is an American coloratura soprano, who made an international career based in Germany. She is known for roles in Mozart and Strauss operas, such as Konstanze, the Queen of the Night, Sophie and Zerbinetta, but also for contemporary music such as Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre .
Hershkowitz was born in Los Angeles to a family that had lived in Israel before moving to California in the 1960s. [1] She graduated as a B.A. from the Manhattan School of Music. [2] At age 23, she went to Germany, [1] where she studied in Berlin. [3] She was a member of the Theater Bremen from 2007 to 2012. [4] [5] Her first role there was the dual role of Venus and Chief of the Gepopo in Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre , staged by Tatjana Gürbaca. [3] In Mozart operas, she has appeared in the title role of Zaide , [6] as Arminda in La finta giardiniera , as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail , as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni , as Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor and as the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte . [5]
She performed the Queen of the Night at the Hamburg State Opera, the Nationaltheater Weimar and the Theater Kiel. [7] In Strauss operas, she appeared as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier in Bremen in 2010, staged by Tobias Kratzer, [8] and she has performed the role of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and its opera company. [9] She appeared in the title role of Zanaida , a rediscovered opera by Johann Christian Bach. The production with Opera Fuoco was first performed at the Goethe-Theater of Bad Lauchstädt as part of the Bachfest Leipzig in 2011, [10] and again in a concert performance at the Konzerthaus Wien in 2012. [7] She performed the role of Adele in the operetta Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss at the Opéra national de Lorraine. [7] In Offenbach's Hoffmanns Erzählungen , she has performed all beloved women of Hoffmann (Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta, Stella) at the Opernhaus Wuppertal. [11] [12]
In contemporary opera, she appeared as the Governess in Britten's The Turn of the Screw in Bremen. [7] She performed Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre again for her debut at the Israeli Opera. [13] In 2017, she performed Ligeti's excerpts from the work, Mysteries of the Macabre, with the Noord Nederlands Orkest at the Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands for a crowd of 15,000. Requested to make it provocative, she parodied Donald Trump in three costumes – as a clown, in a baby outfit with a bottle, and in a Miss America swimsuit. [1] [3] She commented in an interview: "Sometimes, particularly with a piece as radical as Le Grand Macabre, there is the space to stand up for what we believe in and to connect it to our times. ... And there is a long, glorious tradition of Jews using satire and theater to do so." [1] She performed Mysteries of the Macabre again in Groningen later that same year. [3]
In 2014, she participated in the first recording of Donizetti's scenic cantata Aristeia conducted by Franz Hauk . The same year, she recorded Simon Mayr's Il sogno di Partenope (Melodrama alegorico). [7]
Hershkowitz made her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in John Cage's Europeras in the 2018/19 season in a production by Yuval Sharon which was praised by The New Yorker as one of the top opera picks of 2018. [14] Hershkowitz created the role of Claire Clairmont in Michael Wertmüller 's avant-garde, serialist-fusion opera Diodati. Unendlich which premiered in 2019 at Theater Basel [15] in a critically acclaimed production by stage director Lydia Steier in 2019.
In concert, she appeared with the NDR Chor and the NDR Sinfonieorchester, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock, in a Passion concert which featured Fauré's Requiem, in both Hamburg and Lübeck in 2014. [4] In July 2018, she sang with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, conducted by Vincent de Kort, Lieder by Richard Strauss including "Morgen!", "Zueignung", and several from Sechs Lieder, Op. 68, [16] in Herford and at the opening of the festival Voices at Gut Holzhausen in July 2018. [17] [18]
Edita Gruberová was a Slovak coloratura soprano. She made her stage debut in Bratislava in 1968 as Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, and successfully auditioned at the Vienna State Opera the following year, which became her base. She received international recognition for roles such as Mozart's Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss.
Ariadne auf Naxos, Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's principal themes: the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.
Deborah Cook was an American operatic soprano who had a prolific international opera career during the 1970s and 1980s. Her career was primarily focused in Germany where she lived from 1972 through 1985. However, she did travel extensively throughout Europe and in the United States, performing in operas, concerts, recitals, and recording for radio productions. A gifted coloratura soprano, Cook sang a wide repertoire that encompassed English, German, French, and Italian opera from a variety of musical periods. She notably sang in a number of world premieres including Hans Werner Henze's We Come to the River at the Royal Opera, London in 1976.
Inge Borkh was a German operatic dramatic soprano. She was first based in Switzerland, where she received international attention when she appeared in the first performance in German of Menotti's The Consul, in Basel, in 1951. In 1952, Borkh became a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. She appeared at leading opera houses in Europe and the Americas, and at festivals such as Bayreuth and Salzburg. Trained first as an actress, she was admired for both singing and stage presence, especially in the Richard Strauss roles Salome and Elektra. She also performed in contemporary opera, such as the premiere of Josef Tal's Ashmedai at the Hamburg State Opera in 1971. Her recordings include complete operas and recitals. Borkh was awarded the Hans-Reinhart-Ring, the highest honour for theatre professionals in Switzerland.
Diana Damrau is a German soprano who achieved international fame for her performances, primarily in opera, but also in concert and lieder. She has been successful in coloratura soprano roles since her early career, and gradually proceeded into heavier roles of the 19th-century Italian bel canto repertoire. Her signature roles include the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Violetta in La traviata.
Susanna Andersson is a Swedish operatic soprano and the winner of the 2003 Guildhall School of Music and Drama's Gold Medal Competition.
Wilma Lipp was an Austrian operatic soprano and academic voice teacher. A long-time member of the Vienna State Opera, she was particularly associated with the role of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, a role she performed internationally more than 400 times. She was awarded the title Kammersängerin at age 28, and was an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera, among other honours.
Camilla Nylund is a Finnish operatic soprano. She appears internationally in lyric-dramatic roles such as Beethoven's Leonore, Verdi's Elisabetta, and Wagner's Elisabeth and Sieglinde. She is especially known for portraying leading female characters in operas by Richard Strauss,. She has appeared at international festivals and the openings of the Dresdner Frauenkirche and the Elbphilharmonie.
Margot Guilleaume was a German operatic soprano, a member of the Hamburg State Opera. She was an academic teacher at the Musikhochschule Hamburg from 1950 to 1978, and was known beyond Germany as a singer in oratorio and concert.
Dara Kristin Hobbs is an American operatic soprano, who has appeared internationally, mostly in European opera houses. Her repertoire has focused on dramatic soprano roles, such as Wagner's Isolde and Strauss' Ariadne. She appeared as Wagner's Brünnhilde in Der Ring in Minden.
Audrey Luna is an American soprano who won a Grammy Award in 2014 for Best Opera Recording of Thomas Adès's The Tempest and is the record holder for singing the highest written note at the Metropolitan Opera. Luna regularly performs on stages in America and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House, Houston Grand Opera, La Fenice in Venice, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Den Norske Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Opéra de Montréal.
Anny Felbermayer was an Austrian soprano in opera and concert. The lyric soprano was a long-term member of the Vienna State Opera. She appeared in many operas by Richard Strauss, including the premiere of his Die Liebe der Danae at the Salzburg Festival in 1952.
Renate Behle is an Austrian operatic mezzo-soprano and soprano who made an international career, based in Germany. She was professor of voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg from 2000 to 2010.
Sophie Koch is a French operatic mezzo-soprano who made an international career, performing Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera House, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss at the Semperoper in Dresden, and Charlotte in Massenet's Werther at the Paris Opera, among others. Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss became her signature role. She has also performed in concert and recital, and made recordings.
Ingrid Haubold is a German operatic soprano. After beginning her career in Munich and continuing with German companies, she moved on to major international opera houses, appearing as Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Teatro Real in Madrid in 1986, as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, and in the title role of Beethoven's Fidelio at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
Hanna Ludwig was a German contralto and mezzo-soprano and an academic voice teacher. She participated in several roles at the first Bayreuth Festival after World War II and performed leading roles at major European opera houses, such as the title role of Der Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera. She toured the world as a lieder singer. After retiring from the stage she turned to teaching in Ankara and, from 1971, at the Mozarteum.
Elsa Dreisig is a French-Danish operatic soprano. Based at the Berlin State Opera, she made a European career in both opera and concert. Her opera roles include, besides the standard lyric soprano repertoire such as Mozart's Fiordiligi and Bizet's Micaëla, Baroque opera such as Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie, and the world premiere of Beat Furrer's Violetter Schnee.
Katharina Konradi is a Kyrgyzstani operatic soprano based in Germany, at the Hamburg State Opera from 2018. She has performed at major opera houses, especially as Mozart's Susanna and Zdenka in Arabella, and at the Bayreuth Festival. She is also known as a lieder singer with a broad repertoire including contemporary music, performed at Wigmore Hall in London among others.
Sarah Aristidou, or Sarah Mzali-Aristidou is a French operatic soprano who has performed internationally. She is interested in contemporary music and has appeared in world premieres. Composers such as Aribert Reimann and Jörg Widmann have written music for her.
Anna Nekhames is a Russian operatic soprano who made an international career. She has been based at the Oper Frankfurt since 2022 where she performed the coloratura soprano roles of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and both Venus and Chief of the Gepopo in Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
