Sophie Karthäuser (born May 1974) is a Belgian operatic

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 has performed internationally, especially in roles by Mozart such as Ilia in '' Idomeneo'' and Pamina in '' The Magic Flute''. She is also a recitalist, performing and recording for example the complete songs by Mozart and

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er by

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Ro ...

Early life

Born in Malmedy, her musical training began in her village of , where she learned the

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

at the local academy and was a member of the church choir. At the age of 16, she decided to take singing lessons at the regional academy. In 1992, at the age of 18, she entered the Royal Conservatory of Liège, studying with Greta de Reyghere and Thierry Migliorini. Winner of the in 1997, she continued her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with

Noelle Barker Noelle Barker OBE (28 December 1928 – 15 May 2013) was an English soprano singer and singing teacher. She was considered one of the most outstanding singing teachers of her generation.

. She participated in some masterclasses and took private lessons, notably with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.

Debut

Karthäuser made her stage debut as Papagena in Mozart's '' Die Zauberflöte'' at the

Frankfurt Opera The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Shrek's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frede ...

. She was soon noticed by three important institutions in Belgium: the

Stavelot Stavelot (; german: Stablo ; wa, Ståvleu) is a town and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Francorchamps and Stavelot. It is best known as the home of Sp ...

festival, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège and La Monnaie. Stavelot invited her almost every year between 1997 and 2005, with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège she sang the first soprano part in Mozart's '' Great Mass in C minor'' alongside

Louis Langrée Louis Langrée (born 11 January 1961) is a French conductor. He is the son of organist and theorist Alain Langrée. One of his sisters is an amateur cellist. Biography Early years Langrée studied at the Strasbourg Conservatory, but had no f ...

, also in Britten's '' Les Illuminations'' with Armin Jordan and the cycle '' Les Nuits d'été'' by Berlioz with

Stéphane Denève Stéphane Denève (born 24 November 1971) is a French conductor. He is currently music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the New World Symphony. Biography Denève was born in Tourcoing, France, and graduated ...

. She joined the opera studio of La Monnaie where she appeared as Despina in Mozart's ''

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 ...

'', as Euridice and La Ninfa in Monterverdi's '' L'Orfeo'', Eritea in Cavalli's ''

Eliogabalo ''Eliogabalo'' (''Heliogabalus'') is an opera by the Italian composer Francesco Cavalli based on the life of the Roman emperor Heliogabalus. The author of the original libretto is unknown but it was probably reworked by Aurelio Aureli. The oper ...

'', Hanako in ''Hanjo'' by Toshio Hosokawa and Zerlina in Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

''.

Roles

In 2005, she first appeared as Pamina in ''Die Zauberflöte'' at La Monnaie, conducted by René Jacobs. In '' Le Monde'', the journalist Marie-Aude Roux noted that she was "the queen of the evening". She then performed in other Mozart operas, playing Susanna in '' Le nozze di Figaro'' in May 2007 at the Opéra de Lyon, conducted by William Christie, and Ilia in '' Idomeneo'' first at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg. The critic André Tubeuf wrote in '' Classica'' that "a great singer is hatching before our eyes". At the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

, she appeared as Tamiri in Mozart's '' Il re pastore'', and in Berlin, she was Serpetta in his '' La finta giardiniera''. In 2011, she performed the role of Agathe in Weber's '' Der Freischütz'' at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in Paris. She appeared at Lincoln Center in New York in 2016 as Ilia, conducted by Jacobs.

Recordings

* Opera arias by André Grétry, Les Agrémens & Guy Van Waas * Boccherini's

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

, Les Folies Françoises &

Patrick Cohën-Akenine Patrick Cohën-Akenine (born in 1966) is a French classical violinist and conductor. Biography At the age of four, he began playing the violin and received a first prize for excellence from the . He then entered the Conservatoire de Paris. He ...

* Handel's '' Il ritorno di Tobia'', Cappella Coloniensis,

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

* Haydn's '' Die Schöpfung'', Les Arts florissants & William Christie, Virgin Classics * Complete set of songs for soprano and piano by Mozart, * Handel's '' Faramondo'', I barochisti &

Diego Fasolis Diego Fasolis (born 19 April 1958) is a Swiss classical organist and conductor, the leader of the ensemble I Barocchisti. He has conducted operas in historically informed performance at major European opera houses and festivals, and has made award- ...

, Virgin Classics * Mozart arias, live at La Monnaie, Cypres records * Mozart's '' La Finta Giardiniera'', Freiburger Barockorchester & René Jacobs, Harmonia Mundi (2012) * "Les Anges Musiciens" chosen mélodies by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

, with Eugène Asti (piano), Harmonia Mundi (2014) * Handel's '' Orlando'', B'Rock Orchestra & René Jacobs, Archiv (2014) * Michel-Richard de Lalande's '' Leçons de ténèbres'', Ensemble Correspondances, conducted by Sébastien Daucé, Harmonia Mundi (2015) * Hugo Wolf's ''Kennst du das Land?'', with pianist Eugene Asti (2015) * Bach's ''Dialogkantaten'' with Michael Volle, RIAS Kammerchor,

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Academy for Early Music Berlin, short name: Akamus) is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982. Each year Akamus gives approximately 100 concerts, ranging from small chamber works to large-scale s ...

Raphael Alpermann Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

(2017) *Berlioz's ''Béatrice et Bénédict'',

Stéphanie d'Oustrac Stéphanie d'Oustrac (born 1974, in Rennes) is a French mezzo-soprano. Biography Stéphanie d'Oustrac was born in Rennes in 1974. She is the great great niece of Francis Poulenc and Jacques La Presle. She was part of the '' Maîtrise de Bretagne ...

(Béatrice), Paul Appleby (Bénédict), Sophie Karthäuser (Héro), Lionel Lothe (Somarone), Philippe Sly (Claudio), Frédéric Caton (Don Pedro), Katarina Bradìc (Ursule), London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus, staged by Laurent Pelly, conducted by

Antonello Manacorda Antonello Manacorda (born 1970) is an Italian violinist and conductor, especially of opera, who has worked internationally. He has been the chief conductor of the Kammerakademie Potsdam and of Het Gelders Orkest. Career Born in Turin, Manacorda ...

. 1 DVD Opus Arte 2017 *Telemann's ''

Miriways ''Miriways'' (Telemann-Werke-Verzeichnis, TWV 21:24) is an opera in three acts by Georg Philipp Telemann, Telemann given on 26 May 1728 at the Oper am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg. The libretto is by . The opera is set in Persia.''The Turk on the Opera S ...

'',Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin & Bernard Labadie (2020)

Early life

Debut

Roles

Recordings

References

External links