Ruth Ziesak

A native of Hofheim am Taunus, the soprano Ruth Ziesak studied with Elsa Cavelti at the Frankfurt am Main Music Academy and began her career at the Theater Heidelberg and at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. First prizes at the German Music Competition and at the prestigious Dutch International Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch soon paved the way to an international career that has brought her to the Munich, Berlin, Vienna, and Dresden Staatsoper houses; La Scala in Milan; Paris National Opera; the Royal Opera House in London; and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. While at first such lyrical roles as Pamina (The Magic Flute), Ilia (Idomeneo), and Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) were her focus, she went on to expand her repertoire, performing the Countess in Figaro at the Glyndebourne Festival and Zurich Opera and Donna Anna at the Herrenchiemsee Festival. Ziesak places a significant emphasis on lieder and vocal music for the concert hall.  She has performed with many leading orchestras, collaborating with such conductors as Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Daniele Gatti, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano, and Georg Solti. In 2013 Ziesak’s credits included singing the Brahms Requiem under Christoph Eschenbach in Paris and the Mozart Requiem with the Vienna Philharmonic in Rome; in the spring of 2014 she will perform with the Czech Philharmonic and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Her regular partner for lieder projects is the pianist Gerold Huber, with whom she recently recorded music by Gustav and Alma Mahler as well as Alexander Zemlinsky. She has also presented lieder projects together with András Schiff at Wigmore Hall in London, at the Philharmonie in Essen, and at the Salzburg Festival. Ruth Ziesak teaches voice at the Academy of Music in Saar.

LUCERNE FESTIVAL debut on 18 August 1996 in Bach’s B minor Mass, performed by the Berlin Academy for Early Music under Marcus Creed.

February 2014