Alison Margaret Browner (born 22 September 1957) is an Irish

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singer.

Life

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland, Browner graduated in Music at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

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 The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

(''DAAD'') she went to the Hamburg Academy of Music and completed her studies with a recital and concert diploma with Hans Hotter Her married name is Alison Gries and she is based in Limburg an der Lahn, Germany.

Career

Her singing career began at the Opera Studio of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Staatstheater Darmstadt working with Hans Hotter. Browner sang in

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

' '' Ariadne auf Naxos'' and the title role in '' Der Rosenkavalier'' and the great

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

and

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

parts in 1987 as an ensemble member of the

National Theatre Mannheim The Mannheim National Theatre (german: Nationaltheater Mannheim) is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18 ...

. Her international breakthrough came at London's

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

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 The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwbu ...

in Antwerp and Ghent followed. At the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

she performed under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. 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 Eric Gustaf Ericson (26 October 1918 – 16 February 2013) was a Swedish choral conductor and influential choral teacher. Life and career He graduated from the Royal College of Music (''Kungl. Musikhögskolan'') in Stockholm in 1943 and we ...

and his chamber choir, the

Concerto Köln Concerto Köln is an ensemble specialising in music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The group formed in 1985, one of many groups associated with the surging interest in period instruments in that decade. Its members consisted mainly o ...

and many others. Browner has sung many concerts with the

Limburger Domsingknaben Limburger Domsingknaben (; "Limburg Cathedral singing boys") is the name of the boys' choir at the Limburg Cathedral in Limburg, Hesse, Germany. The choir was founded in 1967 by the then bishop of Limburg, Wilhelm Kempf. Its conductors were Hans ...

where her husband Wilhelm Gries is vocal coach, assistant choir director and conductor. 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)

* Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantata

Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata ' (Heart and mouth and deed and life), 147 in 1723 during his first year as ''Thomaskantor'', the director of church music in Leipzig. His cantata is part of his first cantata cycle there and w ...

; Joseph Haydn: ''

Missa in Angustiis The ' (Mass for troubled times), commonly known as the ''Nelson Mass'' ( Hob. XXII/11), is a Mass setting by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. It is one of the six masses written near the end of his life that are seen as a culmination of Hay ...

'', Hob. 11 (Nelson Mass). Performed by:

Ulrike Sonntag Ulrike Sonntag (born 1959) 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 ...

(soprano), Alison Browner (alto) Adalbert Kraus (tenor),

Ernst Gerold Schramm Ernst Gerold Schramm (8 July 1938 – 8 June 2004) 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 ...

(bass), ,

Alois Kottmann Alois Kottmann (20 June 1929 – 4 December 2021) 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 Musikhoch ...

(violin), Figuralchor Hessischer Rundfunk,

Alois Ickstadt Alois Ickstadt (born 22 September 1930) 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 b ...

(conductor). Melisma 726. * Johann Sebastian Bach: ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...

'', BWV 245. Performers: Ulrike Sonntag (soprano), Alison Browner (alto), Adalbert Kraus (tenor), Ernst Gerold Schramm (bass), Collegium Instrumentale Alois Kottmann, Alois Kottmann (violin), the Figuralchor Hessian broadcasting, Alois Ickstadt (conductor). Melisma 7058. * Johann Sebastian Bach:

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...

, BWV 232. Performers: Ulrike Sonntag (soprano), Alison Browner (alto) Adalbert Kraus (tenor), Ernst Gerold Schramm (bass), Collegium Instrumentale Alois Kottmann, Alois Kottmann (violin), Figuralchor Hessischer Rundfunk, conducted by Alois Ickstadt. Melisma .

References

External links

*
Photo and biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browner, Alison 1957 births 20th-century Irish women opera singers 21st-century Irish women opera singers Living people Operatic mezzo-sopranos Singers from Dublin (city)