biography
American soprano Emily Magee has become recognized as one of the most important new voices of her generation. Her lush, radiant soprano, combined with an artistic intelligence and a vibrant, attractive stage presence has made her in demand in the most important opera houses in the world. She performs on stages throughout the world under the direction of such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Riccardo Muti, Donald Runnicles, Antonio Pappano, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Simone Young, Daniele Gatti, among others. Her wide ranging repertoire includes works from Britten to Zandonai, concentrating primarily on the works of Richard Strauss, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, and Janácek. She has appeared in many of the major opera houses of the world, including London, Vienna, Milan, Paris, Berlin, Zürich, Munich, Barcelona, Chicago, San Francisco, as well as the renowned Festivals of Bayreuth and Salzburg.
Happening Now:
Emily's 2009-2010 season begins with performances of three of her most critically acclaimed roles: Ariadne, in a production at Opera Oviedo; Tosca, in a production with the Semperoper Dresden; and Elsa, in Lohengrin at the Bavarian State Opera. In November/December she will be preparing a new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten in the title role of the Kaiserin, also a role she has sung to great critical acclaim. Together with the Zürich Opera House, with which she has become closely associated, the production will be produced by David Pountney and conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. The continuing season will feature more Strauss heroines, that of Chrysothemis in Elektra (her debut in the role), also at the Opera House Zürich, conducted by Daniele Gatti; and then in her role debut as Salome, to be performed at the Hamburg State Opera, led by Simone Young. In the New Year, she will also return to Zürich for performances in the immensely successful Tosca production which she debuted last season. Further engagements this season will feature a new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten at the New National Theater, Tokyo, as the Kaiserin, and another role debut, that of Lisa in Pique Dame, at the Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, which will be broadcast to cinemas in high definition. Future seasons include her debut at de Nederlandse Opera as Elena in I Vespri Siciliani, and a return to the Chicago Lyric Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, the Salzburg Festival, and the Vienna State Opera, in roles from Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Strauss, and Janácek, among other exciting projects.
Recent Highlights:
The 2008-2009 season featured her debut at the Salzburg Festival in the role of the Fremde Fürstin ("voluptuous, irresistible, and nasty" (Financial Times) in Dvorák's Rusalka, followed by her house debut at the San Francisco Opera in the dual roles of Marietta/Marie in Korngold's Die Tote Stadt where, "La Magee made a meal out of a very taxing assignment" (Bay Area Reporter), conducted by Donald Runnicles. She returned to Zürich for an interesting new production of Martinů's The Greek Passion in the role of Katerina, where her ..."incandescent soprano soared like a ray of hope for redemption from the darkness and turmoil of the contemporary world" (Opera News), and performances of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, to which the critics responded "Überstrahlt werden sie alle vom glanzvollen, satten und geschmeidigen Sopran Emily Magees" (NZZ). She spent much of the season preparing her much anticipated role debut as the title role in Puccini's Tosca, which she debuted at both the Opernhaus Zürich and at the Semperoper Dresden.
In the 2007-2008 season Emily returned to the Royal Opera House for performances as a "sexy and attractive Ophelia-like Gutrune" (Music OMH) and a "radiantly appealing and vulnerable" (IHT) Freia in Wagner's Ring Cycle and made her debut of Strauss' Arabella "eine Traum Arabella" (Die Welt) at the Hamburg State Opera, where she also performed her debut in the role of Strauss' Daphne in concert, both with Simone Young at the podium.
Recordings:
Emily can be seen on DVD:
as Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos from the Zürich Opera House - Preis der Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik , Best DVD, 2008
as Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes from the Zürich Opera House - Gramophone Editor's Choice March 2008
as Elsa in Lohengrin from the Teatro del Liceu, Barcelona
as Desdemona in Otello from the Berliner Staatsoper,
as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro from the Berliner Staatsoper.
And on CD:
as Elsa in Lohengrin from the Staatsoper Berlin
as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg from the Bayreuth Festival.
History:
Ms. Magee began her professional career at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1995, where she made her professional debut in the role of Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, returning to that company to sing the roles of Marguerite (Faust), Liu (Turandot) and Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes). In 1996 she made her German debut at the Staatsoper unter den Linden, where she performed the role of Elsa in Lohengrin under the guidance of Daniel Barenboim, who also invited her to sing the role of Eva, which she debuted at the Bayreuth Festival the following summer. In Berlin she performed the roles of Desdemona, Elsa, Donna Anna, Eva, the Countess in Figaro, among others. She has in recent years maintained a meaningful relationship with the Opernhaus Zürich, where she has performed the roles of Marietta (Die Tote Stadt), Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Lina (Stiffelio), Katerina (The Greek Passion), Ariadne, Tosca, Elsa, Francesca da Rimini and now the upcoming Kaiserin and Chrysothemis. She has sung leading roles at the Vienna State Opera (Eva, Marietta), Bavarian State Opera (Elisabeth, Elsa, Gutrune, Donna Anna) Hamburg State Opera (Kaiserin, Arabella, Jenůfa, Eva, Elsa) The Royal Opera House, the Teatro del Liceu Barcelona (Elsa), and the Teatro alla Scala, Milan (Jenufa) among others. She has in recent seasons become a regular interpreter of the works of Richard Strauss, having debuted the roles of the Marschallin, the Kaiserin, Ariadne, Daphne, Salome, and Chrysothemis. Her musical education was taken at Westminster Choir College and Indiana University, where she studied with her mentor, the great dramatic soprano Margaret Harshaw. She was also a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera's Center for American Artists.
Emily makes her home in Boulder, Colorado.