Anett Fritsch, Roberta Mameli, Jeremy Ovenden, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin & Bernhard Forck
Biography Anett Fritsch, Roberta Mameli, Jeremy Ovenden, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin & Bernhard Forck
Anett Fritsch
is one of the most established lyric sopranos of her generation and is a guest at the leading opera houses in Europe. In the current 2024/25 season, she will make her house and role debut as Idamante in Bastian Kraft’s new production of Mozart’s Idomeneo at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, she will make her role debut as Gutrune in Pierre Audi’s new production of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung at La Monnaie in Brussels, where she already appeared last season as Freia in Romeo Castellucci’s new production of Das Rheingold. She will also return to the Volksoper Vienna this season as Hannah Glawari (The Merry Widow) and Frau Fluth (The Merry Wives of Windsor). She will also appear with Giovanni Antonini and the ensemble Il Giardino Armonico in Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno at the Wratislavia Cantans Festival and as Contessa in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Casino Basel, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, before making her festival debut in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Tyrolean Festival in Erl.
Anett Fritsch had a great success giving her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival with the part of Almirena in Händel’s Rinaldo and with the part of Merione in Gluck’s Telemaco at the Theater an der Wien. She also made a triumphant debut as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at the Teatro Real Madrid, a production which was also very successful at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels and in 2014 appeared at the Wiener Festwochen. The tour through Europe as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester received a great international response. In 2014 Anett Fritsch made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, in 2015 she returned to Salzburg as Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich she sang Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro.
In recent seasons, Anett Fritsch has appeared at the Teatro Real in Madrid as Ilia (Idomeneo), Donna Elvira, Contessa, Pamina and Marzelline (Fidelio), as Contessa at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, in Santiago de Chile as Pamina and at the Opéra de Lausanne as Almirena (Rinaldo). She appeared as Donna Elvira at La Scala in Milan and at the Bastille in Paris, and made her debut as Zdenka in Strauss’ Arabella at the Zurich Opera House. Anett Fritsch returned to the Theater an der Wien as Contessa, as Tytania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), as Alice Ford in the Salieri opera Falstaff and as Anima in the new production of Emilio de’ Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo in the production by Robert Carsen and under the musical direction of Giovanni Antonini. She also appeared as Anima under Maestro Antonini at the Wratislavia Cantans Festival in Wroclaw, as well as with Haydn’s The Seasons at the Lucerne Festival, the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Bremen Music Festival, in Wroclaw, Bucharest and Antwerp. Anett Fritsch previously appeared at the Staatsoper unter den Linden Berlin in Purcell’s King Arthur under René Jakobs and returned in the following seasons as Freia (Das Rheingold) and Ortlinde (Die Walküre) in the new Ring production by Dmitri Tcherniakov under the musical direction of Christian Thielemann. Anett Fritsch enjoyed great success at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante, as well as Fiordiligi and as Donna Elvira. Further guest appearances have taken her to Bilbao as Emma in Fierrabras, Arminda in La finta giardniniera and Marzelline, as well as to Toulouse as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. She made her debut at the Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine as Contessa.
Highlights on the concert stege in recent years have included Philippe Boesmans’ Trakl Lieder with the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sylvain Cambreling at the Bozar in Brussels, with Andrea Marcon and the La Cetra Barockorchester in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Basel, with Bach’s St. John Passion in Rotterdam, as well as numerous concerts with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, most recently in Hasse’s Piramo e Tisbe.
Anett Fritsch studied at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Music Academy in Leipzig with KS Prof. Jürgen Kurth. In 2001 she was awarded the first prize at the Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig. She was a laureate at the international competition of the Chamber Opera at Schloss Rheinsberg in 2006 and 2007, where she sang the parts of Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. In the season 2007/08 the Oper Leipzig engaged Anett Fritsch for various parts. From 2009 to 2015 Anett Fritsch was part of the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where she sang among others Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites) Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) and Marie (La fille du régiment).
Roberta Mameli
Born in Rome, Roberta Mameli graduated in singing and in violin at the Nicolini Conservatory in Piacenza, followed by master classes with Bernadette Manca di Nissa, Ugo Benelli, Konrad Richter, Claudio Desderi and Enzo Dara.
She is regularly invited to perform at the most important opera houses and venues: Wiener Konzerthaus, Theater an der Wien, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Auditorium National de Lyon, Tokyo Opera City, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Regio in Turin, Grand Théâtre in Geneva, Bayerische Staatsoper in München, Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Pierre-Boulez Saal in Berlin, Shanghai Grand Theatre.
She collaborates with conductors such as Jordi Savall, Daniele Callegari, Diego Fasolis, Fabio Biondi, Federico Maria Sardelli, Ottavio Dantone, Ton Koopmann, Leonardo García Alarcón, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Marco Armiliato, Francesco Corti, Enrico Onofri, the late Claudio Abbado, Alan Curtis, Christopher Hogwood, Václav Luks and Jeffrey Tate.
Much in demand in Baroque repertoire for her crystalline voice and brilliant, powerful timbre, Roberta Mameli also collaborates with various ensembles on period instruments such as Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Complesso Barocco, Capella Cracoviensis, Accademia Bizantina, Le Concert des Nations, Modo Antiquo, Europa Galante, I Barocchisti, Cappella Mediterranea, Il Pomo d’Oro, Collegium 1704.
She had great success singing the title role in Monteverdi’s « L’incoronazione di Poppea » with Diego Fasolis and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in 2018 at the Berlin Staatsoper and at Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona in 2023
She has appeared in numerous Baroque operas including Purcell’s « Dido and Aeneas » (Belinda), Vivaldi’s « Catone in Utica » (Cesare), Leonardo Vinci’s « Didone abbandonata » (title role) and Rameau’s « Les Indes Galantes » (Amour/Zaïre) in a Leonardo García Alarcón/Lydia Steier production at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
She was seen on stage in Handel’s « Ariodante » (Ginevra) and « Agrippina » (Poppea), both at the Drottningholm Festival.
She embodied the role of Aci in « Aci, Galatea e Polifemo » for the Bucharest George Enescu Festival and London Wigmore Hall.
As for the Mozart repertoire, she was an amazing Vitellia in « La Clemenza di Tito » in Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau’s staging at Théâtre de Rennes, Angers and Nantes.
She was Aminta ( Il Re Pastore ) at Teatro La Fenice in Venice and Arminda in La Scala’s production of La Finta giardiniera led by Diego Fasolis for the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
She’s a regular guest of the Music Festival Potsdam Sanssouci where she performed several rare operas.
Her discography includes 32 recordings in just a few years with important Labels, among which we mention the most recent ones; Rinaldo 1731 by G.F.Händel (Glossa); The portentous effects of Mother Nature by G.Scarlatti (Sony); Adam and Eve by J.Mysliveček (Passacaille); The Coronation of Poppea and The Return of Ulysses to his homeland by Monteverdi (Glossa); Artemisia by Cavalli (Glossa); The Diamond by Zelenka (Nibiru); La Scola de’ gelosi by Salieri (Sony DHM) and the following works by Vivaldi: Teuzzone, Orlando furioso 1714 (Naïve), Il Farnace and The Coronation of Darius (Dynamic).
In addition, he has released several solo albums including “Round M: Monteverdi meets Jazz” (Glossa) and “Anime Amanti” (Alpha), the latter awarded with the prestigious Diapason d’Or and Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2017.
Recent and upcoming projects include the role of Teti in « Le nozze di Nettuno e Teti » conducted by Václav Luks at the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, the role of Vitellia in « La clemenza di Tito » conducted by Ryo Terakado in Tokyo, a Solo Recital at the Pierre Boulezsaal in Berlin, the tour in Europe, Canada and USA for the release of the new Solo Album « The Ghosts of Hamlet », the role of the Virgin Mary in « Gesù al calvario » by J.D.Zelenka conducted by Václav Luks in Prague, Dresden and Danzig; the role of Selene in « Didone abbandonata » by B.Galuppi conducted by J.U.Illán ; the role of Rodelinda in « Rodelinda » by G.F.Händel in Tokyo conducted by Ryo Terakado.
Jeremy Ovenden
British tenor Jeremy Ovenden is considered one of the most sought-after Mozart tenors of his generation and a welcome international guest on the opera and concert stage.
Projects in the past season include Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra under Philippe Herreweghe and its Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the Bamberg Philharmonic, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Zaide with the Munich Radio Orchestra under Rinaldo Alessandrini, Mozart’s Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Bernard Labadie, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in Bergen and Stavanger, and the title role in Mozart’s Idomeneo at the Teatro Real in Madrid. In Haydn’s Harmoniemesse No. 14 in B-flat major (Hob: XXII), Jeremy Ovenden was featured as soloist at the 2019 Herbstgold Festival in Eisenstadt, conducted by Fabio Biondi. Furthermore, in the 2019/2020 season Jeremy Ovenden performed Handel’s Theodora Concertante at the Vienna Konzerthaus together with Jonathan Cohen and his ensemble Arcangelo, made a guest appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall under the baton of Bernard Labadie as soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C major op. 86. Other concert stops in the 2019/2020 season included a European tour of Haydn’s The Seasons under Paul McCreesh and his Gabrieli Consort, Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Orquesta Nacional de España under David Afkham in Madrid, and the Evangelist part in Bach’s St. John Passion with the Danish Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester.
Other highlights include Britten’s Serenade and its War Requiem with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms under Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Haydn’s The Seasons with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester under Andrew Manze, the Gabrieli Consort under Paul McCreesh (also documented as a recording) and with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Sir Simon Rattle. Jeremy Ovenden’s concert repertoire also includes works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah and The First Walpurgis Night, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, and Hector Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ. Jeremy Ovenden also appeared as soloist under the direction of René Jacobs in George Frideric Handel’s oratorios Saul, Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and La Resurrezione.
Jeremy Ovenden has performed works by Johann Sebastian Bach, including as soloist in his Christmas Oratorio with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, as Evangelist in the St. Matthew Passion with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, as Evangelist in the St. John Passion with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, and as tenor (arias) in the St. Matthew Passion with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Ivor Bolton.
Jeremy Ovenden’s most recent operatic appearances include the title role in Mozart’s Lucio Silla in Brussels, Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) at the Edinburgh Festival and Titus in La clemenza di Tito in Toulouse and Madrid. Other roles in his repertoire include Nerone in Claudio Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea and the title role in the latter’s l’Orfeo, George Frideric Handel’s Bajazet (Tamerlano), Grimoaldo (Rodelinda) and Jupiter (Semele), and Belfiore in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. As Idomeneo in Mozart’s opera of the same name, Jeremy Ovenden makes guest appearances at leading international houses such as the Theater an der Wien, the Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York.
Jeremy Ovenden’s extensive discography includes works from Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Mark and St. John Passions as well as selections from his cantata oeuvre, George Frideric Handel’s oratorios Saul and L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, and Joseph Haydn’s The Creation and The Seasons. A considerable number of recordings are dedicated to the early operatic works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Il sogno di Scipione, La Betulia liberata, La finta semplice, L’oca del Cairo and Lo sposo deluso). Also entirely dedicated to Mozart is Jeremy Ovenden’s solo album recorded with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Jonathan Cohen, which was released on the Signum Classics label under the title An italian journey.
