EMILY MAGEE soprano

Biography

“Radiant”, “compelling”, and “powerful” are some of the adjectives used to describe American soprano Emily Magee. She has performed on stages throughout the world. In her still young career she has already appeared in Vienna, Bayreuth, London, Munich, Berlin, Chicago, Milan, Zurich, Hamburg, Madrid, and Tokyo under the direction of such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano, Daniele Gatti, Christian Thielemann, and Franz Welser-Most, among others.

Emily Magee trained in the United States, with the renowned dramatic soprano Margaret Harshaw, and then at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. It was here that she made her professional debut as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte. She continued her close association with the house in performances as Marguerite, Liu, and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes. Following almost immediately was her European debut at the Paris Opera, and other notable European venues, including the Orange Festival.

Perhaps the most important development of her early career was her debut at the Staatsoper Berlin, which also marked her German debut, her first entry in Wagner, and her first collaboration with Daniel Barenboim, with the role of Elsa in Harry Kupfer’s production of Lohengrin. Soon after she was invited to take over the role of Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg at the prestigious Bayreuth Festival, directed by Wolfgang Wagner himself. She was at the festival a happy six years in the role, which was conducted by Maestro Barenboim and, later, Christian Thielemann.

Since those first early years of her career, she has added many new roles to her repertoire, has sung in many of the great houses of Europe, and continues to explore new roles and directions. In addition to continuing her portrayals of Elsa (Hamburg, Munich) and Eva (Hamburg, Munich, Florence, Vienna, Brussels) some of her more recent successes have been roles such as Elisabeth in Tannhauser, which she has performed in Munich, Rome and Oviedo; Marietta in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt, which has been seen in Zurich and Vienna; Jenufa, which has brought her to London, Berlin and Hamburg; Desdemona (Berlin), Ellen Orford (Zurich), as well as continuing her Mozart roles which she has performed in Berlin, Munich, Tokyo, and Santiago.

The 2005-2006 season was extremely busy and fulfilling. Kicking off the season were a series of performances of the Beethoven Missa Solemnis with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Franz Welser-Most, with performances in Cleveland and a European tour. The opera season began with performances of Elisabeth in Tannhauser in Oviedo, Spain, and her role debut as the Marschallin in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier in Essen. She then embarked on a highly successful new production of Peter Grimes at the Zurich Opera House, directed by David Pountney, and conducted by Franz Welser-Most. More performances in Essen followed, and also an appearance in Caracas,Venezuela to sing the 9th Symphony of Beethoven, conducted by Claudio Abbado.  Continuing the season were performances of Marietta in Die Tote Stadt at the Vienna State Opera, under the direction of Donald Runnicles, and the role of Gutrune in the new Keith Warner production of the Ring at Covent Garden, conducted by Antonio Pappano. The summer season found the soprano in Barcelona, for her debut at the Teatro del Liceu as Elsa.

In the 2006-2007 season, Emily has added several new roles to her repertoire, including Elettra in Idomeneo, which was heard for the first time at the New National Theater in Tokyo. Directly following was a hugely successful debut in the role of Ariadne, in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by the esteemed Christoph von Dohnanyi in a beautiful new production by Claus Guth. Directly following this Strauss debut was another, that of the Kaiserin in Die Frau ohne Schatten, in a new production at the Hamburg State Opera by Keith Warner and conducted by Simone Young. Continuing her very busy season will be performances of the title role in Jenufa at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, and another new role, Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini, which will be performed at her familiar opera "home", the Zurich Opera House.

COMING SEASONS INCLUDE a number of new roles and a continuation in this vocal direction: in the next years, Emily Magee will add the roles of Strauss’ Daphne and Arabella, Wagner's Sieglinde, Puccini's beloved Tosca, and others. She will be returning to houses such as Covent Garden (the Ring), Zurich (Die Walkure, Die Fledermaus), Oviedo (Ariadne), Hamburg (Elisabeth), as well as debuting in new houses and with new conductors. She will, for example, reprise her role of Marietta in Die Tote Stadt at the San Francisco Opera House, She will also keep busy on the concert stage, with performances of Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, among others.

Ms. Magee is featured on recordings of Lohengrin (Elsa) from the Staatsoper Berlin/Teldec, and Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (Eva) from the Bayreuth Festival/Teldec. She can also be seen on video in productions of Otello (Desdemona) and Le Nozze di Figaro (Countess) from the Staatsoper Berlin.

Emily Magee makes her home in Boulder, Colorado.