Biography

"Adrianne Pieczonka made a magnificent debut as the noble queen. She was ravishing in the final scene." (Kronen Zeitung)

"The wonderful Strauss interpreter displays how she can also shine in Wagner's music. Her floating, gleaming, endlessly spun tones are mixed with thrilling metallic attacks. She is a fascinating Senta." (Der Neue Merkur Wien)

"In the second and final act her sumptuous soprano filled out Richard Strauss's long lines and glorious crescendos with complete security and control. (Globe and Mail)

Hailed for her "impeccably pure and iridescent voice" (Financial Times) Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka has appeared on leading opera and concert stages in 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 addition to performances at New York's Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna Staatsoper, Paris, Berlin, Munich Frankfurt, Los Angeles, and La Scala, Adrianne has appeared at some of Europe's finest summer festivals including Salzburg, Bayreuth, Glyndebourne and Lucerne.

2012-2013 SEASON

Following her return to the Bayreuth Festival as Senta in a new production of Der Fliegende Höllander conducted by Christian Thieleman, Adrianne's 2012-2013 season features a reprisal of the role of Senta in Torino, Ariadne auf Naxos in Hamburg and Munich, Tosca and Otello in Berlin. She makes her role debut as Madame Lidoine in Dialogue des Carmelites at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto and performs Verdi's Requiem in Hamburg. A major highlight of Adrianne's 2013 summer is her performance as Chrysothemis in a new production of Elektra at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, directed by Patrice Chéreau and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Future seasons will see her at London's Royal Opera House Covent Garden, in Toronto, Vienna and New York.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

Critically acclaimed for her interpretation of Wagner's strong and tragic women, Adrianne's celebrated portrayal of Sieglinde in Die Walküre has taken her to some of the world's most famed houses - the Bayreuth Festspiele, Metropolitan Opera, the Canadian Opera Company - and made it one of her signature roles earning her the title as "the Sieglinde of our time" (Die Zeit). She has also triumphed in the roles of Elsa in Lohengrin and Senta in Der Fliegende Holländer, making her Paris opera debut in the latter role.

Strauss has also featured on Adrianne's recent calendar including performances of Der Kaiserin in the Maggio Musicale production of Frau Ohne Schatten in Florence, the title roles of Arabella in Vienna and Ariadne auf Naxos in Vienna, Toronto, Bilbao, and Munich, and as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier in Salzburg, Vienna, and Munich.

Other recent highlights include • her critically acclaimed debut as Amelia in the Metropolitan Opera production of Simon Boccanegra, simulcast on radio and Live in HD • her debut as Tosca at the Los Angeles Opera "Adrianne Pieczonka was imperious and imposing, mercurial and gorgeous, impetuous and smitten. A Diva-in-Full."(OC Register), • her debut as Leonora in Fidelio with the Canadian Opera Company that also elicited rave reviews: "an expressive, flexible, velvet-trimmed voice backed up by ample reserves of steely resolve." (Toronto Star) • Elisabetta in Don Carlos at the Dresden Semperoper, the COC, the Teatro Comunale in Florence • Lisa in Pique Dame at the Metropolitan Opera • Elisabeth in Tännhauser at Milan's famed La Scala. She also participated in the Vienna Staatsoper's star-studded gala honouring the retirement of long-time Intendant Ioan Holender.

CONCERTS AND RECITALS

A consummate concert and recital artist, Adrianne has performed on stages in Europe and North America. Her recent recital at Toronto's Koerner Hall garnered no less praise: "The soprano combines a beautiful voice with a sincerity and simplicity that touches the heart - an artist without artifice." (La Scena Musicale) than her debut recital in Toronto at Roy Thomson Hall "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, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, among many other orchestras.

RECORDINGS

Adrianne's most recent CD is the JUNO-Award winning recording of some of Puccini most well-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 Hännsler Classic's highly acclaimed recording of Lohengrin, which also features Johan Botha as Lohengrin and conducted by Semyon Bychkov and was named both DISC OF THE YEAR and received the OPERA AWARD at the 2010 BBC Music Magazine Awards. "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 l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Kent Nagano on the JUNO-Award winning CD Beethoven: Ideals of The French Revolution (Analekta).

Her first solo 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 discs include Falstaff with Bryn Terfel and Claudio Abbado, Don Giovanni (Naxos), The Complete Orchestra Songs of Richard Strauss (Nightingale), and Die Fledermaus (Nightingale).

Adrianne can be seen on DVD as Amelia in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Simon Boccanegra, as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier (TDK) and as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (TDK).

BACKGROUND

Adrianne began her career at the Canadian Opera Company in Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk 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. After living in London for some time, Adrianne returned to live in Toronto in 2005, where she continues to make her home.

In June 2012, Adrianne received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, created to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne and to recognize an individual's significant contribution to Canada. In 2007, she 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.

Last Updated: October 3, 2012

© 2000 Moira Johnson Consulting, All Rights Reserved