Emily Magee

Biography

American soprano Emily Magee has earned recognition as one of the most important new voices of our day. Ms. Magee completed her musical training at the Indiana University where she studied with famed soprano Margaret Harshaw. A winner of several vocal awards she sprang to attention when while a member of the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, she replaced an ailing colleague in several performances of Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte in the Chicago Lyric Opera's 1994 season. She subsequently made her European debut in the same role at the Opera National de Paris in 1996 and gained further international attention in the same year when she made her highly acclaimed German debut as Elsa in the new production of Lohengrin at the Berlin State Opera under Daniel Barenboim. She was then invited to debut at the Bayreuth Festival in the summer of 1997 as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in a production directed by Wolfgang Wagner and conducted by Maestro Barenboim. Since these performances, Magee has made her first appearances at important theatres including the Teatro alla Scala di Milano, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Teatro Comunale in Florence, Covent Garden theatre in London, the Châtelet in Paris, Zurich Opera House etc. and has already worked with such prestigious conductors like Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly, Riccardo Muti, Bruno Bartoletti, Antonio Pappano, Daniele Gatti, Jeffrey Tate and Zubin Mehta. Among recent projects were the role of Marietta in Korngold's Die tote Stadt in Zurich in 2003, Elsa Lohengrin at the Hamburg State Opera, and Eva in a new production of Meistersinger in Florence with Zubin Mehta conducting. In 2004, she could be heard as Elisabeth, Eva and Donna Elvira in Munich, followed by a new production of Verdi’s Stiffelio at the Zurich Opera House. In autumn, she went to London (Covent Garden) for the new production of the Ring, starting in 2004 with Rheingold (Freia) and continuing with Gutrune Götterdämmerung in 2006 and the complete cycles in 2007. Performances of Le Nozze di Figaro brought her to Tokyo in the role of Contessa in 2005, followed by a revival of Meistersinger in Hamburg and a tour with the Cleveland Orchestra with Missa solemnis. Most recently, she could be heard in Tannhäuser in Oviedo and as Ellen Peter Grimes in Zurich. She gave her debut as Marschallin Rosenkavalier in Essen with Maestro Soltesz. Current and future plans include a production of Korngold's Die tote Stadt at the Vienna State Opera, Gutrune Götterdämmerung at the Royal Opera House London, Elsa Lohengrin in Barcelona, Elettra Idomeneo in Tokyo, and a new production Kaiserin Frau ohne Schatten in Hamburg.
Photo Johannes Ifkovits