Ruth Ziesak (born 9 February 1963) is a German

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 ...

in opera and concert.

Career

Ruth Ziesak studied voice at the

Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (german: Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main, italic=no, link=no, HfMDK) is a state Hochschule for music, theatre and dance in Frankfurt and is the only one of its k ...

with

Elsa Cavelti Elsa Cavelti (4 May 1907 – 10 August 2001) was a Swiss operatic contralto and mezzo-soprano, temporarily also a dramatic soprano, who worked at German and Swiss opera houses and as an international guest. She was an academic voice teacher in Fran ...

and Christoph Prégardien. She has been a member of the Municipal Theatre

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

since 1988 and the

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, th ...

in 1990. She appeared in roles of Mozart's operas, such as ''Pamina'' in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'' (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 ...

1991 and recorded with

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

), ''Servilia'' in ''

La clemenza di Tito ' (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an '' opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. It was started after most of ' (''The Magic Flute''), the last of ...

'' (recorded with

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music ...

) or the Countess in ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' in

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundr ...

and with the Zurich Opera. In concert she appeared and recorded with the and took part in the project of

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...

to record the complete vocal works of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

with the

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroqu ...

. In 2011 she performed the ''Liebesliederwalzer'' of

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

and ''Spanische Liebeslieder'' op. 138 of

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

with

Anke Vondung Anke Vondung (born in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate in 1972), is a German mezzo-soprano. She was a member of the Semperoper Dresden from 2003 to 2006. Career She won third prize in the 1998 ARD International Music Competition in Munich. She has s ...

Werner Güra Werner Güra (born 1964) is a German classical tenor in opera, concert and Lied, also an academic teacher in Zurich. Career Güra was born in Munich. He studied at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. He continued his studies with Kurt Wi ...

and

Konrad Jarnot Konrad Jarnot (born 1972) is an English baritone who works in opera and oratorio and is a notable performer of Lieder. He is a professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule. Early life Born at Brighton,Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

Schloss Johannisberg Schloss Johannisberg is a castle and winery in the village of Johannisberg (Geisenheim), Johannisberg to the west of Wiesbaden, Hesse, in the Rheingau (wine region), Rheingau wine-growing region of Germany. It has been making wine for over 900 ...

. As a

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 singer she gave recitals at the festivals

Kissinger Sommer The Kissinger Sommer is a classical music festival held every year in the summer in the city of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Southern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986. At the beginning the focus of the festival was on the improvem ...

and

Heidelberger Frühling The International Music Festival Heidelberger Frühling is an annual classical music festival held in Heidelberg in March and April since 1997, with over 100 events and 47,000 visitors (2018). In addition to the festival's productions and concert ...

in collaboration with the pianists

Gerold Huber Gerold Huber (born 1969) is a German classical pianist, best known as the regular duo partner of baritone Christian Gerhaher and accompanist of other singers. Career Born in Straubing, Huber studied on a scholarship at the , piano with Friede ...

and

András Schiff Sir András Schiff (; born 21 December 1953) is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor, who has received numerous major awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Musi ...

. She is on the faculty of the

Hochschule für Musik Saar The Hochschule für Musik Saar is a conservatory of music in Saarbrücken, Germany and dates back to 1947. From 1994 until 2002, it was named ''Hochschule des Saarlandes für Musik und Theater'' (University of Music and Drama Saarbrücken). Since ...

Recordings

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

: ''Canzonetten'',

, piano, Capriccio HAYDN, F.J.: Lieder (Ziesak, Huber)
review by Phil Muse, Audio Video Club of Atlanta, October 2009

References

External links

*

on Bach Cantatas Website
Ruth Ziesak
on the website of the Hochschule für Musik Saar (in German)
Entries for recordings by Ruth Ziesak
on

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziesak, Ruth Living people 1963 births Musicians from Hesse People from Main-Taunus-Kreis German operatic sopranos Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Saar Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts alumni 20th-century German women opera singers 21st-century German women opera singers