Petra Lang (born 29 November 1962) is a German opera singer. Beginning as a

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 ...

, from 2012 a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

, she is known for her interpretation of music by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

. She made an international career in both opera and concert. She has performed at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

from 2005, singing the title role of Isolde in 2016.

Career

Born in Frankfurt am Main, Lang first studied the violin. She then studied voice with Gertie Charlent at the in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

and at the

Peter Cornelius Conservatory The Peter Cornelius Conservatory (''Peter-Cornelius-Konservatorium der Stadt Mainz'', PCK) is the conservatory in Mainz, the capital of the German state Rhineland-Palatinate. It dates back to a first conservatory founded around 1882. It is named ...

in Mainz. She also attended the ''Opernstudio'' of the Bavarian State Opera, and took master classes with Hans Hotter, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Brigitte Fassbaender and

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conducte ...

. She was a member of the Theater Basel from 1990, and from 1992 to 1995 worked at the Theater Dortmund, where she learned many lyrical mezzo-soprano parts. She appeared as Tamiri in Mozart's '' Il re pastore'' at the Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, as Virtu in Monteverdi's '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'' at the Salzburg Festival, as Fenena in Verdi's '' Nabucco'' at the Bregenz Festival and as Flora in Verdi's ''

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 ...

'' at the Zurich Festival. She turned to the works of Wagner in the 1994/95 season, performing Fricka and Waltraute in the Dortmund Ring cycle. From 1995 to 1997 at the

Staatstheater Braunschweig The Staatstheater Braunschweig is a theatre company and opera house in Braunschweig, Germany, presenting and producing music theatre (opera, operetta, musical), Tanztheater, theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences and concerts. The ''Staatstheate ...

, she appeared as Brangäne in Wagner's '' Tristan und Isolde'', Judith in Bartok's ''

Herzog Blaubarts Burg ''Herzog Blaubarts Burg'' ("Duke Bluebeard's Castle") (1963) is a film of the opera ''Bluebeard's Castle'' by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, written in 1911 to a symbolist libretto by the poet and later film theorist Béla Balázs. The fi ...

'', Marie in Alban Berg's '' Wozzeck'' and Eboli in Verdi's '' Don Carlos''. She changed to singing soprano in 2012. She was awarded two

Grammy awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 2002 for singing Cassandre in ''

Les Troyens ''Les Troyens'' (; in English: ''The Trojans'') is a French grand opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself from Virgil's epic poem the ''Aeneid''; the score was composed between 1856 and 1858. ''Les Tro ...

'' by Berlioz in a 2000 live recording of the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

Bayreuth

Lang performed at the

first in 2005 the part of Brangäne in ''Tristan und Isolde''. In 2011 she appeared as Ortrud in '' Lohengrin'', staged by

Hans Neuenfels Hans Neuenfels (; 31 May 1941 – 6 February 2022) was a German writer, poet, film producer, librettist, theatre director, opera director and theatre manager. As a director, he first focused on drama, staged at prominent houses such as the Vie ...

. In 2016, she took over the role of Isolde in the production by Katharina Wagner conducted by Christian Thielemann. A reviewer noted her "floating dark cantilenas" ("mit schwebenden, dunklen Kantilenen"). Eleonore Büning wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that she, as the young Irish bride delivered to Marke, expresses her desperation forcefully (headline: "Wie wuchtig die junge Braut ihre Verzweiflung herausschleudert!").

Concert

Lang recorded alto parts in Advent cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach with John Eliot Gardiner in 1992. She sang the solo in Mahler's Third Symphony at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

on 12 December 2007 with the London Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, conducted by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky. A review noted her "haunting, intense, totally engrossing 'O Mensch, gib Acht!'", with "immaculate phrasing". She performed the work again in Freiburg with the SWR Orchestra in 2016.

Selected recordings

* Berlioz, ''

Ben Heppner Thomas Bernard Heppner (born January 14, 1956) is a Canadian tenor and broadcaster, now retired from singing, who specialized in opera and other classical works for voice. Early life and career Heppner, of Mennonite descent, was born in Mur ...

Peter Mattei Peter Mattei (born 3 June 1965) is a Swedish operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in Mozart's baritone roles. Biography Mattei studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and debuted in Mozart's '' La finta giardiniera' ...

, Tigran Martirossian, Stephen Milling, Kenneth Tarver,

Toby Spence Toby Spence (born 22 May 1969, London) is a British tenor active internationally on the concert platform, in the opera house and in recordings across a wide range of classical music. Early life and studies Spence was born into a musical family t ...

, Isabelle Cals, Petra Lang,

Michelle DeYoung Michelle DeYoung (born 1968 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States) is an American classical vocalist who has an active international career performing in operas and concerts. Early life and education While born in Michigan, DeYoung was ra ...

Sara Mingardo Sara Mingardo (born 2 March 1961) is an Italian classical contralto who has had an active international career in concerts and operas since the 1980s. Her complete recording of Anna in Hector Berlioz's ''Les Troyens'' won a Gramophone Award and bo ...

,'' , London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony chorus, conducted by

(Recorded live at the Barbican Hall, December). 4 CD: LSO Live, Cat: LSO0010 (2000)

Career

Bayreuth

Concert

Selected recordings

References

External links