Marie Heeschen

Unflaggingly vibrant.
The Guardian, December 2018

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 has brought a playful and natural stage presence to roles such as Musetta (La Bohéme), Susanna (Marriage of Figaro) and Ella in the world premiere of James Reynolds’ Geisterritter. This season the Hamburg-born soprano has sung Papagena in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Atalanta in Handel’s Xerxes as well as the vocally agile role of Tussy in Jonathan Dove’s critically acclaimed latest opera Marx in London.

As well as regularly appearing in opera, the versatile singer is also active across other genres of classical music. With her chamber music ensemble paper kite, which consists of two violins and basso continuo, she is reviving the lesser-known cantata repertoire of the German and Italian Baroque. After receiving the Biagio-Marini Prize in 2013 the ensemble released their first CD felice un tempo in 2017, which featured a world premiere recording of a work by Giovanni Legrenzi as well as sonatas and cantatas by Giovanni Bononcini and Domenico Scarlatti.

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. Distinctive for its unusual line-up, the quartet won second prize of the Karlsruher Competition for the Performance of Contemporary Music and is current Ensemble-in-Residence at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. It regularly develops new works with young composers such as Ricardo Eizirik, Giovanni Biswas, Matthias Krüger and Julien Jamet.

As a soloist, Marie Heeschen recently appeared at the Handel Festival Halle, the Oude Muziek Fest Utrecht, the Acht Brücken Festival in Cologne as well as the Philharmonie Cologne, and sang under Henrik Schaefer in the production of Café Müller / Das Frühlingsopfer at the Tanztheater Wuppertal. During the current season she can be heard as Gerda (The Snow Queen) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) at the Theater Bonn as well as Donna Anna in a concert performance of Don Giovanni in Augsburg. In May she will premiere a chamber opera by Jonah Haven with ensemble BRuCH in Cologne.

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. 

Season 2018/19

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https://marieheeschen.com

As Marx’s daughter Tussy, soprano Marie Heeschen brought spot-on intonation to dozens of very high notes and masterfully navigated arpeggios that skipped all arund, while still radiating impish rebelliousness.
Bachtrack.com, 22 January 2019 – on the role „Tussy“ in J. Dove’s opera „Marx in London“ at Theater Bonn

Marie Heeschen’s tussy twittered in the stratosphere with coloratura showpieces.
Sunday times, 31 December 2018 – on the role „Tussy“ in J. Dove’s opera „Marx in London“ at Theater Bonn

Dove lavishes some of his most ambitious vocal writing on the Marxes’ daughter ans is rewarded with an unflaggingly vibrant performance by the engaging Marie Heeschen.
The Guardian, 11 December 2018 – on the role „Tussy“ in J. Dove’s opera „Marx in London“ at Theater Bonn

Brilliantly singing coloratura and very high notes, Marie Heeschen has a fling as rather eccentric daughter Tussy who edges into the acting business.
FAZ, Josef Oehrlein, 17 December 2018 – on the role „Tussy“ in J. Dove’s opera „Marx in London“ at Theater Bonn

Marie Heeschen’s voice is extremely sensous (… ) The three cantatas are unusually beautiful one should not miss out listening to.
Scherzo, September 2017 – on the CD „felice und tempo“ with Ensemble Paper Kite, Coviello 7250711