Maria Riccarda Wesseling
Maria Riccarda Wesseling (born 10 January 1969) is a Swiss-Dutch operatic mezzo-soprano.
Career
Born in Wattwil,[1] Wesseling studied with Hedwig Vonlanthen in Solothurn, with Elisabeth Glauser at the Musikhochschule Bern, and with Margreet Honig at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. She appeared as Rossinis La Cenerentola on a tour with the Orchestre National de Lille. She was a regular guest at the Stadttheater Bern, where she performed roles such as Kassandra in Aribert Reimann's Troades, Fenena in Verdi's Nabucco, Enrichetta in Bellini's I puritani, Olga in Tri Sestri by Péter Eötvös, Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo, Cesare in Handel's Giulio Cesare, and the title role in Bizet's Carmen. She sang leading roles by Handel also at festivals, the title role of Rinaldo at the Lucerne Festival, the title role of Amadigi di Gaula at the Handel Festival Halle and the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Sesto in Giulio Cesare at the Festival de Beaune, Medea in Teseo in Halle, and Dejanira in Hercules in Potsdam. Several of these performances were recorded. Wesseling received international attention in 2006, when she stepped at the Paris Opera for the title role of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, staged by Krzysztof Warlikowski and conducted by Marc Minkowski.[2] She was Iphigénie again in 2011 also at the Teatro Real in Madrid, now conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock. She appeared as Orpheus in Orfeo ed Euridice, staged by Pina Bausch and conducted by Hengelbrock, which was broadcast live by arte and recorded for DVD, and presented not only in Paris but also the Greek theatre in Epidauros, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Teatro Real.[2] Wesseling appeared in Madrid also as Ottavia in Monteverdi's L’incoronazione di Poppea, conducted by Sylvain Cambreling. At the Ruhrtriennale 2015, she was Fricka in Wagner's Das Rheingold.[3]
In contemporary opera, she performed the title role in the premiere of Henze's Phaedra at the Staatsoper Berlin, repeated at La Monnaie in Brussels and in the Barbican Centre, also Pélérin in Kaija Saariaho's L'Amour de loin at the Finnish National Opera, Irma in Le Balcon by Péter Eötvös in Bordeaux, and Malaspina in Salvatore Sciarrino's Luci mie traditrici in Lyon.[2] She appeared in Claude Vivier's Wo bist Du, Licht at the Ruhrtriennale,[3] and as the Queen in Heinz Holliger's Schneewittchen, staged by Achim Freyer in Basel.[4]
Wesseling has been the director of the Dutch National Opera Academy (DNOA) from 1 September 2015.[5]
Discography
- Paul Juon (1872-1940): Lieder (coviello classics Juli 2016)
- Wien 1900. Orchesterlieder by Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg and Gustav Mahler (claves records)
- 3 portraits of mezzo-soprano heroines. Georg Friedrich Händel (claves records)
- Du bel canto au grand opéra français. (Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse)
- Sous l’eau du songe. Lieder by Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger and Alma Mahler (claves records)
- Richard Wagner: Werke für Kammerorchester (Original und Adaptationen) (coviello)
- Charles-Simon Catel: Sémiramis. title role (glossa)
- André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry: Andromaque. Hermione (glossa)
- George Frideric Handel: Rodrigo. title role (ambroisie)
- Handel: Amadigi. titler role (ambroisie)
- Handel: Der Messias. alto part (Harmonia Mundi)
- Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orpheus und Eurydike. Orpheus (DVD bei BelAir)
- Jacques Offenbach: Les contes d’Hoffmann. Giulietta (DVD, BelAir)
- Offenbach: La vie parisienne. Métella (DVD, Virgin Classics)
- Handel: Teseo. Medea (DVD, Arthaus)
Awards
- Silbermedaille (2nd prize) Robert Schumann International Competition for Pianists and Singers 1996 Zwickau
- Eliette-von-Karajan-Preis 2002
- Anerkennungspreis der Stadt Chur 2007
- Anerkennungspreis des Kantons Graubünden 2014
References
- ↑ "Kunst-, Kultur-, Förderungs- & Anerkennungspreise 2004" (in German). Solothurn. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Maria Riccarda Wesseling / Mezzosopran" (in German). Staatstheater Stuttgart. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- 1 2 "Maria Riccarda Wesseling" (in German). Ruhrtriennale. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ↑ Reich, Julian (20 February 2014). "Wesseling und die Ambivalenz der bösen Königin" (in German). Südostschweiz. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
- ↑ "Maria Riccarda Wesseling appointed Head of Dutch National Opera Academy". Dutch National Opera Academy. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
External links
- Official website
- Biography on mariariccardawesseling.com
- Maria Riccarda Wesseling Operabase
- Maria Riccarda Wesseling, une mezzo chez Handel on ResMusica
- Maria Riccarda Wesseling - Carmen: "Seguedille" on YouTube