EMILY MAGEE  soprano

biography

Since her professional debut, stepping in on short notice for an ailing colleague while in the training program at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Emily Magee has become recognized as one of the important new voices of her generation.

“Radiant”, “compelling”, and “powerful” are some of the adjectives used to describe her voice and stage presence, which has developed through her early Mozart roles, into Wagner, Strauss, Verdi, and beyond.  She has performed on stages throughout the world.  In her still young career she has already appeared in Vienna, Bayreuth, London, Munich, Paris, Berlin, Chicago, Milan, Zurich, Hamburg, Madrid, Barcelona, 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 into 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 Nüremberg 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, Florence, Bologna) 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, Hamburg and Milan; Desdemona (Berlin), Ellen Orford (Zurich), as well as continuing her Mozart roles which she has performed in Berlin, Munich, Tokyo, and Santiago.

Recent seasons have been extremely busy and fulfilling.  In recent seasons, she has made her debut in a number of new roles, including that of the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, under the baton of Stefan Soltesz in Essen.  In the the 2006-2007 season, Emily 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 were performances of the title role in Jenufa at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, and another new role, Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini, which was performed at her familiar opera "home", the Zurich Opera House, with Nello Santi conducting.

The 2007-08 season also include a number of new roles, including Strauss' Daphne in concert and Arabella, both at the Hamburg State Opera, with Simone Young conducting. She returned to the Royal Opera House to participate in their Ring Cycle, and returned to Zurich for a new production of Die Fledermaus as Rosalinda.  In the summer of 2008, she made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in a stimulating new production of Rusalka, in the role of the Foreign Princess.

COMING SEASONS INCLUDE a number of new roles and a continuation in this vocal direction:  Emily is currently in San Francisco preparing to make her house debut as Marietta in Die Tote Stadt, and in the next months, will make her debut in the role of Tosca in both Dresden and Zurich.  Always interested in new and different projects as well as the old favorites, she will participate in Zurich Opera's production of Martinu's The Greek Passion.  She will taking on new roles from Verdi, Wagner, and Strauss in the coming seasons, and will also be reprising her roles of Ariadne, Kaiserin, Elsa, and others around the world.

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, and as Elsa in Lohengrin, recorded at the Teatro del Liceu, Barcelona.  From the Zurich Opera House are new DVD productions of Peter Grimes, and Ariadne auf Naxos, both of which have won accolades from leading classical publications.

Emily Magee makes her home in Boulder, Colorado.