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Kerstin Altka@karstenwitt.com+49 30 214 594 -235
Daniel Schumacherds@karstenwitt.com+49 30 214 594 -210
General Management
Role debut as Sieglinde: Sarah Wegener performed Wagner's Walküre under the baton of Kent Nagano in six major European concert halls in 2024. In the run-up, she talked about her path to the new role and other vocal milestones of recent years.
Sarah Wegener performs almost every kind of repertoire, from her own lieder recital ideas to large new orchestral works. Looking back at her career, she is amazed how consistently its stations have emerged.
Recital “Longing for Nature” – songs by A. Mahler, G. Mahler, A. Schoenberg, M. Reger, F. Bridge, and others
Sarah Wegener, soprano
Götz Payer, piano
Juan Bautista Plaza, Vigilia
Richard Strauss, Four last songs
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 1 in D major
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Domingo Hindoyan, conductor
Joseph Haydn, String Quartet E major Op 17, 1
Heinz Holliger, Increschantüm for soprano and String Quartet
Franz Schubert, String Quartet No. 15 in G major D 887
Gringolts Quartet
Ilya Gringolts, violin
Heinz Holliger, Increschantüm for Soprano and String Quartet (2014)
„Glück“ – Songs by J. Marx, E. W. Korngold, M. Reger, R. Quilter, R. Vaugh-Williams, R. Strauss et al.
Sarah Wegener sings fabulously; one understands every word, she masters the highly dramatic outbursts just as naturally as the intimate, almost spoken word. […] of unearthly, dreamlike beauty. Süddeutsche Zeitung, Egbert Tholl, 13 November 2022
Sarah Wegener approaches every role with captivating intensity. She has enthralled listeners with the warmth and richness of her voice in performances such as Strauss’ orchestral songs under Mariss Jansons and Vladimir Jurowski in Munich, London, and Hamburg, Strauss’ Four Last Songs under Daniel Harding, Mahler’s 8th Symphony under Kirill Petrenko, Vasily Petrenko, James Conlon, Eliahu Inbal, and Kent Nagano. Her “marvellously radiant voice, as powerful as it is rich in colour” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) distinguishes her as a lieder singer of the highest order, as illustrated on her highly praised CDs Into the Deepest Sea and Zueignung. A highlight of the past season was her successful role debut as Sieglinde; she appeared in concert performances of Wagner’s Walküre with the Dresden Festi-al Orchestra and Concerto Köln under the direction of Kent Nagano in Prague, Amsterdam, Cologne, Hamburg, Dresden and Lucerne.
Strauss, Mahler and Wagner will also take centre stage for Sarah Wegener in the 2024/25 season: she returns to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Four Last Songs, which she will perform under Domingo Hindoyan. A semi-staged performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 will take her to the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner, and she can be heard again as Sieglinde in Act 1 of Die Walküre with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Petr Popelka in Trieste as well as with the Orquesta de Valencia and Alexander Liebreich. She will also perform Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and sing Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony, again in Valencia. She will also give recitals at the Oxford International Song Festival and the Cologne Philharmonie.
Highly regarded as a performer of both classical and Romantic repertoire as well as contemporary compositions, Sarah Wegener recently sang Sibelius’ Luonnotar (Andris Nelsons, Gewandhausorchester), Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri (Jérémie Rhorer, Le Cercle de l’Harmonie), Penderecki’s St Luke Passion (Orchestre symphonique de Montéal, Kent Nagano), Bernstein’s Kaddish (MDR-Sinfonieorchester, Dennis Russel Davies), as well as Schönberg’s Six Orchestral Songs (Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Emilio Pomàrico). She performed her programme “War and Peace”, spun around works by Handel and Purcell, with the ensemble il capriccio at the Schwetzingen SWR Festival, among others. She has given the premiere of numerous works by Georg Friedrich Haas, including the opera Bluthaus. In 2021 she gave her debut as Freia in Wagner’s Rheingold in Cologne and Amsterdam with Concerto Köln and Kent Nagano.
She has also given concerts and recitals at the Salzburg Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Festival de Lanaudière, the Chigiana International Festival, the Handel Festival in Halle, the Suntory Hall, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Konzerthaus and Philharmonie Berlin, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Royal Festival Hall London. Opera engagements have taken her to the Royal Opera House, London, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Wiener Festwochen, and the Tongyeong Festival in South Korea.
Sarah Wegener’s discography includes recordings of Boesmans’ Trakl Lieder, Korngold’s Die stumme Serenade, Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle, as well as works by György Kurtág, Elliott Carter, and by and with Heinz Holliger. At the OPUS Klassik 2019 she was nominated as Singer of the Year for Jörg Widmann’s work, Labyrinth III, the solo part of which the composer wrote for her. Her second Lied CD with Götz Payer, with focus on Richard Strauss, was again on the list of nominations at the OPUS Klassik 2022. A recording of songs arranged by B. A. Zimmermann with the WDR Symphony Orchestra has recently been released at WERGO and awarded the Choc de Classica, Diapason d’OR as well as the German Record Critics’ Prize. Her recording of Hans Werner Henze’s oratorio The Raft of the Medusa with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra under Cornelius Meister was released in September 2023.
Following her double bass studies, the British-German soprano studied singing with Prof. Jaeger-Böhm in Stuttgart and took part in masterclasses with Dame Gwyneth Jones and Renée Morloc. Sarah Wegener will be teaching singing at the Zurich University of the Arts from autumn semester 2024.
Season 2024/25
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management.
...into the deepest sea!
with Götz Payer, pianoSongs by Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, Edward Grieg, Jean Sibelius and other composers.
The sea has been a common theme in literature for centuries. Sometimes it stands for all things sinister and dramatic, at others for unrelenting loneliness and danger. At the same time it is a symbol of nature, its peace and serenity and of the uncertain and the concealed. In poetry, the sea is often a place of yearning and sometimes the place of death. Like love it is elementary and deep, like passion it is tumultuous. Each Lied on the programme has been chosen so that, detached from its original context, it can be understood as part of an ongoing story set at sea.
Wegener explores the depths of the soul and lets her marvellously radiant voice, as powerful as it is rich in colour, and calm, perfectly balanced vibrato glide over the water conjured up by pianist Götz Payer, which at times delicately sparkles, at others swells powerfully like waves. FAZ 2017 – zur CD „Into the deepest sea“, CAvi 8553374
War & Peace
with Ensemble il capriccio (direction: Friedemann Wezel)
The cantata Il pianto di Maria, a cantata formerly attributed to Handel is the guiding thread of this programme. Lamento arias by baroque masters are combined with contemporary works, contrasting and merging into each other. In this way the topos ‘war and peace’ and man’s analysis of harm and mortality find musical expression.
Zueignung
Following their first recording Into the deepest sea, Sarah Wegener and Götz Payer went in the studio again for their second Lied CD in cooperation with SWR and CAvi. Praised as a specialist for Strauss, especially for her concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski as well as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mariss Jansons in 2019, it was only logical to focus on a Strauss programme this time. The CD was released in November 2021.
A selection of Strauss songs can be amended and combined with songs by e.g. Schubert, Schumann, Korngold, Reger, A. Mahler, Marx, Zemlinsky, R. Quilter and others.
We will be happy to send individually tailored proposals upon request.
SW LA Begegnung Strauss and others
Song recital of the 19th century inspired by Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient
Based on a concept idea by theatre and musicologist Anno Mungen, Sarah Wegener presents a fascinating journey into the world of the 19th century, inspired by the outstanding singer Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient (1804-1860). The recital was created as a follow-up to the DFG project ‘Wagner singing in the 21st century - historically informed’ (2021-2024), in which Sarah Wegener successfully interpreted roles in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre under the direction of Kent Nagano.
The evening can include various combinations of works by Schumann, Wagner, Mendelssohn and Schubert, which are characteristic of Schröder-Devrient's repertoire. In addition to the music, the focus will also be on her performance art and the status of the star singers in 19th century musical culture. The aim is to integrate historical information into a modern presentation and give the audience an insight into Schröder-Devrient's world
“Soprano Sarah Wegener has a strong, attractive stage presence, which she used effectively to produce an emotionally layered and convincing portrait of Sieglinde, which she expertly complemented with a fabulous singing performance that captured her fast-changing passions. Equally adept at expressing unrestrained feelings as well as nuance and subtlety, her Sieglinde was a masterclass in characterization. (…) Everything, of course, was founded on her vocal qualities and technique, which allowed her to mould and move the voice with alacrity”
OperaWire, Alan Neilson, 31/8/2024
“This time, the ensemble of singers is more traditional than in Rheingold, with lush, in some cases expansive Wagnerian voices – some of them could soon be encountered again in Bayreuth, above all Sarah Wegener with a deeply moving portrayal of Sieglinde”
NZZ, Christian Wildhagen, 23/8/2024
“Sarah Wegener as Sieglinde in particular triumphed with her articulation and semi-staged acting.”
Sächsische Zeitung, Bernd Klempnow, 13 May 2024
“Outstanding Sarah Wegener as Sieglinde”
Dresdner Morgenpost, 11 May 2024
“In this respect, the biggest surprise came from the aforementioned Sarah Wegener, a performer with a remarkable career, who was performing here her first Sieglinde and whom I already count among the best performers I have heard in this role. What a way of expressing and feeling the text, what a sensational blend of naturalness and charisma; she was truly fantastic, with an instrument that projected with vibrant sound. Luminous, graceful, full-bodied.... She had it all. Brava.”
Platea Magazine, Alejandro Martínez, 13/5/2024
“Both Schmitt and Wegener […] had a youthful brightness of tone and vocal flexibility, a lightness of touch in the dialogue allied to an element of steel where needed. Wegener was impressive for the sheer amount of telling detail in her performance, both musically and physically.”
planethugill.com, Robert Hugill, 11 May 2024
“Sarah Wegener lends Sieglinde a timbre of enchanting sweetness”
mundoclasico.com, Juan Carlos Tellechea, 10 May 2024
“Sarah Wegener and Maximilian Schmitt made an ideal couple as the Wälsung siblings Sieglinde and Siegmund. Full of colour and with many lyrical and dramatic moments, their forbidden love became an absolute highlight of the performance.“
Klassik-begeistert.de, Patrik Klein, 2 May 2024
“[…] Sieglinde’s fearful reverie in the 2nd act, sung with devotion by Sarah Wegener“
WDR 3, 25 March 2024
“The soloists were superb. […] Soprano Wegener sang brightly as Magna Peccatrix.”
Cincinnati Business Courier, Janelle Gelfand, 26 May 2023
“Sarah Wegener intones the delicate soprano solos flawlessly and with a smooth sound.”
Tagesspiegel, Tye Maurice Thomas, 16 January 2023
“Sarah Wegener sings fabulously; one understands every word, she masters the highly dramatic outbursts just as naturally as the intimate, almost spoken word. […] of unearthly dreamlike beauty.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Egbert Tholl, 13 November 2022
“Sarah Wegener’s lavish soprano with a broad spectrum and a wonderful timbre combines expressive intensity and flowing, often cantabile flexibility.”
ResMusica, Michèle Tosi, September 2020
“Wegener [proved that she is a very a fine] Straussian, with a warm tone, and a telling yet understated way with words, which enabled her to suggest both the cool sensuality of Freundliche Vision, and the vulnerability of Allerseelen. […] She did wonderful things with Morgen!, where her voice hovered in dreamy contemplation over the unfolding violin melody.”
The Guardian, Tim Ashley, November 2019, on Strauss Songs with Jurowski and LPO at Royal Festival Hall, London
“With a clear vocal core, Wegener's voice carried the sound up to the heights with ease while remaining present in moments of pianissimo.”
Bachtrack, David Renke, October 2019
“Sarah Wegener interpreted the six Strauss songs so beautifully and effortlessly that even following the encore the audience would hardly let her leave the stage. With a warm timbre and round tone, she achieves a soaring yet nimble expressiveness.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Paul Schäufele, October 2019
“Sarah Wegener sang the role [of the Peri in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri] with tremendous empathy and commitment, compassion and anguish; she was entrancingly musical.”
Donaukurier, Jesko Schulze-Reimpell, July 2019
“In songs by Sibelius, Grieg or Frank Bridge, Wegener explores the depths of the soul and lets her marvellously radiant voice, as powerful as it is rich in colour, and calm, perfectly balanced vibrato glide over the water conjured up by pianist Götz Payer, which at times delicately sparkles, at others swells powerfully like waves.”
FAZ, Josef Oehrlein, December 2017, on the CD Into the deepest sea, released on CAvi
“[…] no one can resist this soprano, who enchants with her timbre, sensitive musicality, and sinuous legato.”
NDR Kultur, Markus Stäbler, December 2017, on the CD Into the deepest sea, released on CAvi
R. Schumann: Das Paradies und die Peri – “Wo finde ich sie?” (Peri)
Le Cercle de l’Harmonie | Jérémie Rhorer
Wagner, Die Walküre (Sieglinde) | Lucerne Festival 2024
Dresdner Festspielorchester | Concerto Köln | Kent Nagano
R. Strauss: Das Rosenband, Ständchen, Freundliche Vision, Wiegenlied, Allerseelen and Morgen (from 27′10)
Mariss Jansons | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
E. W. Korngold: “Was du mir bist”
with Götz Payer, piano
R. Strauss: Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27 No. 3
R. Strauss: Ständchen, Op. 17 No. 2
R. Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder – “Beim Schlafengehen”
F. Liszt/Bernd Alois Zimmermann: “Oh! Quand je dors”, S. 282
WDR Sinfonieorchester | Heinz Holliger
Elliott Carter: La Musique
F. Liszt/Bernd Alois Zimmermann: Die drei Zigeuner, S. 320
Krzysztof Penderecki: St Luke Passion – “Ierusalem, Ierusalem”
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal | Kent Nagano
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major (excerpts)
with Camilla Tilling | Lauren Snouffer | Kate Lindsey | Briana Hunter | Barry Banks | José Antonio López | Christian Immler | May Festival Chorus | Cleveland Orchestra Chorus | May Festival Youth Chorus | Cincinnati Boychoir | Cincinnati Youth Choir | Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | James Conlon
Sarah Wegener, Dietrich Henschel, Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Wiener Sängerknaben, Arnold Schoenberg Chor, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Cornelius Meister
Capriccio, 2023, C5482
Collegium Novum Zürich, Heinz Holliger (conductor)
Neos, 2023, 12213-14
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Wergo,2000-2018, 11044364
Awards: Choc de Classica, March 2023, Diapason d'Or, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (German Record Critics’ Award)
Sarah Wegener, Götz Payer
Cavi, 2021, LC 15080
Swiss Chamber Soloists
Genuin, Jan 2021, GEN 21731
Hamburger Symphoniker
Hamburger Symphoniker, 2021, 10593631
Sarah Wegener, Kraków Philharmonic Chorus, Warsaw Boys Choir, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Kent Nagano (conductor)
BIS-2287 SACD, June 2020
Heinz Holliger, Sarah Wegener, Marie-Lise Schüpbach, Ernesto Morlinari, Philippe Jaccottet
EMC, 2019, EMC 2665
Sarah Wegener, Christophe Desjardins, Jörg Widmann, WDR Sinfonieorchester
Wergo, 2018, WER 73692
Cavi, 2017, LC 15080
Sarah Wegener, Marie Henriette Reinhold, Colin Balzer, Sebastian Noack, Kammerchor Stuttgart, Hofkapelle Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius (conductor)
Carus, 2017, Carus 83.281
Sarah Wegener, Sophie Harmsen, Colin Balzer, Felix Rathgeber, Kammerchor Stuttgart, Hofkapelle Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius (conductor)
Carus, 2016, Carus 83.284
Sarah Wegener, Johanna Winkel, Sophie Harmsen, Andreas Weller, Kammerchor Stuttgart, Hofkapelle Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius (conductor)
Carus, 2013, Carus 83.293
Kirchheimer Vokal-Consort, Tõnu Kaljuste
Carus, 2012, Carus 83.406
Romantische Oper in zwei Akten, Kammerchor Stuttgart, Hofkapelle Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius (conductor)
Carus, 2012, Carus 83.296
Orchesterwerke und Arien, Sarah Wegener, Hofkapelle Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius (conductor)
Carus, 2011, Carus 83.228