Marie Heeschen

Unflaggingly vibrant. The Guardian

Marie Heeschen mesmerises audiences with a lush and flowing voice that is highly adaptable. Since 2016 she has been an ensemble member at the Theater Bonn, where she brings a playful and natural stage presence to roles such as Atalanta (Xerxes), Poppea (Agrippina), Valencienne (The Merry Widow), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Marzelline (Fidelio), Clorinde (La Cenerentola) or Oscar (Un ballo di maschera). Additional parts include the vocally agile role of Tussy in Jonathan Dove’s critically acclaimed opera, Marx in London. In the 2023/24 season, she will give Ninetta (The Love for Three Oranges) at the Theater Bonn, besides singing Adele (Die Fledermaus) at Stadttheater Klagenfurt.  

In addition to regular appearances in operas, the versatile singer is also active across other genres of classical music. With Paper Kite, her chamber music ensemble consisting of two violins and basso continuo, she revives the lesser-known cantata repertoire of the German and Italian baroque. The ensemble, sought-after for its chamber music spirit and finely balanced sound, was awarded the Biagio Marini Prize in 2013 and has since released two CDs on Coviello Classics: the album felice un tempo comprises a world premiere recording by Giovanni Le Grenzi as well as sonatas and cantatas by Giovanni Bononcini and Domenico Scarlatti, and Abend-Andacht features works from the period of the Thirty Years' War.

This inquisitive and open-minded singer is also a committed interpreter of contemporary music. In 2013 she founded the ensemble BRuCH with Sally Beck (flute), Ella Rohwer (cello), and Claudia Chan (piano), which focuses on interpreting impressionist works in combination with 20th- and 21st-century music. They have collaborated with composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Gordon Kampe, and Johannes Schöllhorn. Distinct in its unusual lineup, the quartet won second prize at the Karlsruher Competition for the Performance of Contemporary Music in 2014. They regularly develop new works with young composers including Ricardo Eizirik, Matthias Krüger, Julien Jamet, Thea Soti and Huihui Cheng. Since 2020, the ensemble has presented its own concert series in Cologne. Last season, the group was in residence at the Royaumont Abbey in summer, before premiering a new work by Lukas Ligeti together with the band Burkina Electric, led by the composer, at the Festival NOW! in Essen, Germany.

As a soloist, Marie Heeschen has performed at the Handel Festival Halle, Oude Muziek Fest Utrecht, Acht Brücken Festival in Cologne, MAFestival in Bruges, and Konserthuset Kristiansand. Recent highlights include her debut at Musikverein Wien together with Bach Consort Wien, concerts with RIAS Kammerchor, performing Bach’s Johannespassion under Christoph Prégardien, and the world premiere of Samuel Penderbayne’s Unsex Me Here after Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg together with Ensemble Resonanz. In the 2023/24 season, Marie Heeschen will perform in the Philharmonie Berlin, singing in Mozart’s Requiem, as well as in the Kölner Philharmonie, interpreting Arthur Honeggers Le Roi David, amongst other places.

Marie Heeschen trained with Christoph Prégardien and Lioba Braun in Cologne. She studied contemporary and chamber music in Essen with David Smeyers and Barbara Maurer, among others. Master classes and lessons with Klesie Kelly-Moog, Ruth Ziesak, Martin Kränzle, and Jil Feldman completed her education. 

2023/24 season

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Marie Heeschen, Soprano
Antonio de Sarlo, violin
Rafael Roth, violin
Guillermo Turina, cello
Felix Schönherr, harpsichord

This is an ensemble of great promise. Early Music Review 2019

Paper Kite is the soprano Marie Heeschen, the cellist Guillermo Turina, the harpsichordist Felix Schönherr and the violinists Antonio de Sarlo and Rafael Roth. All specialized in historical performance practice, they want to revive the lesser-known cantatas repertoire of the German and Italian Baroque. The group is particularly characterized by lively and rousing interpretations.