Anja Daniela Wagner (born 11 March 1969, in

Halle/Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

) is a German operatic

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 ...

and photographer.

Life and work

After a training in picture retouching, Wagner, the daughter of the artist couple and , studied singing at the

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

with Jitka Kovarikova. With Cornelia Melian from Munich, she also received training in "historical singing" in

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

. After graduating, she completed postgraduate studies at the

Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber The Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber (Carl Maria von Weber College of Music; also/formerly known as Dresden Conservatory or Dresden Royal Conservatory) is a university of music in Dresden, Germany. History The Hochschule opened ...

in Dresden. Her teacher there was Hartmut Zabel. This was followed by

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es with Jessica Cash,

Hermann Christian Polster Hermann Christian Polster (born 8 April 1937) is a German opera singer ( bass). Life Born in Leipzig, the son of the concert singer and singing teacher Fritz Polster, he received his first education from his father. He was a member of the Dresdn ...

and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

singer

Brigitte Fassbaender Brigitte Fassbaender (; born 3 July 1939), is a German mezzo-soprano opera singer and a stage director. From 1999 to 2012 she was intendant (managing director) of the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, Austria. She holds the title Kammersänge ...

. Wagner gave her debut on the opera stage during her studies as Hansel in E. Humperdinck's '' Hänsel und Gretel'' at the

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

theatre. In 2003 she was engaged at the and is active there until today (2017). In 2004 she took part in the world premiere of the opera ''The Legend of Paul and Paula'' (after the same name film) by as Paula / Laura. As in the film, the opera is based on the novel by

Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf (; 26 October 1934 – 9 August 2007) was a German author and dramatist. Life Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film. He found work at DEFA. He became famous in both East a ...

. She sang a.o. Carmen in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', Dorabella in ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'', Olga in ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by Ale ...

'', Flora Bervoix in ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', Anita in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'', Nehebka in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'' and the Countess in ''

Der Wildschütz ''Der Wildschütz oder Die Stimme der Natur'' (''The Poacher, or The Voice of Nature'') is a German ''Komische Oper'', or comic opera, in three acts by Albert Lortzing from a libretto by the composer adapted from the comedy ''Der Rehbock, oder Di ...

'' by Albert Lortzing at the Nordhausen and

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

theatres Her activity in the singing of

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s is manifold. In the CD production of the liturgical movements by

Hugo Distler August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942)Slonimsky & Kuhn, ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v. 2, p. 889 was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer. Life and career Born in Nuremberg, Distler at ...

she was awarded the German Record Prize "Echo Klassik" as soloist for the alto voice in 2001. In 2017 she received the 11th Nordhäuser Theater Prize, an award for special artistic achievements. It is a foundation of the Kreissparkasse Nordhausen.

References

External links

Anja Daniela Wagner
on DNB
Anja Daniela Wagner
Homepage
Anja Daniela Wagner
on Operabase

on the site of the Theater Nordhausen {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Anja Daniela German operatic mezzo-sopranos 1969 births Living people Halle Saale