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"The Sieglinde of our time…a shooting
star of international Wagner and Strauss renown. Pieczonka glitters
with a lyrically expressive, well nuanced soprano, appearing effortless
even in top range, always with clearest articulation." (Die Zeit)
"Adrianne Pieczonka's singing was impeccably
pure and iridescent vocally, the kind of silvery tone one imagines
in the abstract for Strauss" (Financial Times)
"Her lyric-dramatic soprano really is
a natural wonder, with its glistening top range and even tone. Pieczonka
is a smart young singer who finds new thrills in every one of her
choices." (Globe and Mail)
Dramatic and stunning, Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka is hailed
for her beauty of "tone that can bloom into radiance or shrink to
a whisper" (Daily Telegraph). She performs on leading opera
and concert stages throughout Europe, North America and Asia under
the direction of such conductors as James Levine, Riccardo Muti,
Zubin Mehta, Sir Neville Marriner, Claudio Abbado, the late Richard
Bradshaw, Lorin Maazel, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Anthony Pappano and
the late Sir Georg Solti.
In 2007, Adrianne was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in
recognition of a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication
to the community and service to the nation. Earlier in the same
year, she was named a Kammersängerin by the Austrian government.
Originally bestowed by the royal courts, the title "Kammersänger(in)",
or chamber singer, is awarded to distinguished singers who have
made a significant contribution to the arts in Austria.
Performances:
Adrianne's 2009-2010 season begins with performances of Tosca
with Staatsoper Hamburg before she takes to the Houston Grand Opera
stage for the first time in one of her most critically acclaimed
roles, Elsa in a new production of Lohengrin. November sees
Adrianne at home in Toronto for the launch of her new all-Puccini
recording with a special recital at the Four Seasons Center. The
seasons sees Adrianne in Vienna for the title roles of Arabella
and Ariadne auf Naxos, and in Berlin for reprisals of Tosca
and Arabella. In the New Year, she makes her debut as Amelia
in the Metropolitan Opera production of Simon Boccanegra,
to be simulcast in HD to theatres around the world as part of the
Met's Live in HD series and heard on radio on Saturday Afternoon
at the Opera. Adrianne also makes her debut in the title role of
Die Kaiserin in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten at
Florence's Maggio Musicale and will return to Vienna to participate
in the Vienna State Opera Gala honouring the retirement of long-time
Intendant Ioan Holender.
Future seasons will feature her debut at the Paris Opera and returns
to the Canadian Opera Company and the Bayreuth Festival.
Recent Highlights:
The 2008-2009 season featured performances in Dresden of Der
Rosenkavalier and Don Carlos, before returning to Bilbao
as the Prima Donna in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos
and to New York for a the Verdi Requiem at Carnegie Hall.
Her much-anticipated debut as Leonora in Fidelio with the
Canadian Opera Company earned rave reviews: "an expressive, flexible,
velvet-trimmed voice backed up by ample reserves of steely resolve.
Every phrase is gorgeously shaped, every emotion conveyed with a
minimum of fuss and maximum effect." (Toronto Star). She returned
to the Metropolitan Opera in New York for one of her favourite roles
- Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre, to Munich for Otello
and Vienna for Arabella, completing her season in San Francisco
for performances of Tosca.
Adrianne's celebrated portrayal of Sieglinde in Die Walküre
in some of the world's most famed houses - the Bayreuth Festspiele,
Metropolitan Opera, the Canadian Opera Company - made it one of
her signature roles and earned her title as "the Sieglinde of
our time" (Die Zeit). Other recent highlights include her long-awaited
debut as Tosca at the Los Angeles Opera to unanimous acclaim - "Adrianne
Pieczonka was imperious and imposing, mercurial and gorgeous, impetuous
and smitten. A Diva-in-Full. She has a creamy mid-range, a crystalline
top, solid anchoring, she projects effortlessly, she's got power
to burn." (OC Register). Past seasons have included Arabella
and Ariadne auf Naxos at the Vienna Staatsoper, a tour with
the Bavarian State Opera to Japan in Tannhäuser, appearances
as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Los Angeles
Opera, Lisa in Pique Dame and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier
in Munich. She has received high praise for performances in Der
Rosenkavalier at the Salzburg Festival, performances as Elisabetta
in Don Carlo at the Dresden State Opera, the COC, the Teatro
Comunale in Florence, Lisa in Pique Dame at the Metropolitan
Opera, and Elisabeth in Tännhauser at Milan's famed La Scala.
Concerts and Recitals:
A consummate concert and recital artist, Adrianne has performed
on stages in Europe and North America. Her debut recital at Roy
Thomson Hall, garnered such praise as "Adrianne Pieczonka's pearly
soprano is as lustrous a sound as anyone could imagine…" (Globe
& Mail). She has given song recitals in Great Britain, Austria,
France and Canada and has appeared with the Orchestre symphonique
de Montréal, where she performed Messiaen's Poèmes pour Mi, conducted
by Kent Nagano, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester,
among many other orchestras.
Recordings
Following the critical and popular success of her Wagner-Strauss
recording for Orfeo, Adrianne's latest offering is an all-Puccini
disc of much-loved arias from Tosca, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly,
Manon Lescaut among other favourites: "Her interpretations
and the beauty of tone captivate the listener...Each interpretation
is fresh and new and every phrase is well thought-out, her voice
is likewise always fresh and there are always small details which
make these arias true highlights." (Klassik) She also stars
as Elsa in a new recording of Lohengrin on the Hännsler label,
which also features Johan Botha as Lohengrin and conducted by Semyon
Bychkov. "Adrianne Pieczonka's Elsa is also scrupulously delivered...it
surely merits a place among the most beautifully sung." (Opera)
Also, a recent release is her recording of Paul Griffiths's tribute
to Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire The General with the
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Kent Nagano on the JUNO-Award
winning CD Beethoven: Ideals of The French Revolution (Analekta).
Her solo first recording of arias by Wagner and Strauss received
high praise for showcasing her "dramatic finesse and musical
intensity" (Bühne) and "her bright, gleaming sound with its
vibrant top…ideal in the jügendlich-dramatisch fach. Her singing
combines beauty, power and nuance." (La Scena Musicale). Her
other critically applauded recordings include Falstaff with
Bryn Terfel and Claudio Abbado Don Giovanni (Naxos), The
Complete Orchestra Songs of Richard Strauss (Nightingale), and
Die Fledermaus (Nightingale).
Ms. Pieczonka began her career at the Canadian Opera Company in
Lady MacBeth of Mzensk in 1988, returning to that company in 1994
to sing the role of Mimi in La Bohème. In 1989 she
joined the Vienna Volksoper and established her home and career
in Europe. In 1991 she became a member of the Vienna Staatsoper
where she continues to enjoy great success. In 1995, Adrianne Pieczonka's
U.K. debut at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera as Donna Elvira in
Don Giovanni brought an immediate invitation to return to sing the
title role of Arabella in 1996. In 1997 she made her debut at the
Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, and in 1998,
made her debut as Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes in Hamburg and as
Desdemona at the Vienna Staatsoper.
lAdrianne Pieczonka makes her home in Toronto, Canada.
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Booking Information
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Public Relations
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Dr. Germinal Hilbert
Theateragentur
Maximilianstrasse 22
D-80539 Munich, Germany
Tel: (49 89) 290 747 10
Fax: (49 89) 290 747 90
Email: agentur@hilbert.de
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Moira Johnson Consulting
180 Metcalfe Street, Suite 404
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K2P 1P5
Tel: (613) 565 0666
Email: moira@moirajohnson.com
Email: megan@moirajohnson.com
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Last Updated: October 20, 2009
© 2000 Moira Johnson Consulting, All Rights Reserved
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