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The German mezzo-soprano / contralto, Manja Ilgen, received her first singing lessons at Heinrich-Schütz-Konservatorium in Dresden and later took private lessons with Eva Kirchner, who continues to accompany her as a singing teacher. At the Hochschule für Musik "Franz Liszt" in Weimar she studied with Ulrike Fuhrmann singing, received her diploma in July 2007. Master-classes and courses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Peter Schreier, Jobst Langhans, Angela Locher, Sylvia Baur, Mark Tucker and Thomas Reuter, among others, gave her also important artistic impulses for her development as a singer.
Since 2001, Manja Ilgen has worked as a freelance singer, giving regular concerts in Europe and abroad (Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland) in the fields of Lieder and church music. From 2003 to 2011, she was alto in the Weimarer Bachkantatenensemble. Since the 2010-2011 season, she is opera choir member and soloist at the Theater Plauen-Zwickau. in the 2013-2014 season she sang the role of Mercedes in Georges Bizet's Carmen on stage. She currenly lives in Zwickau, Saxony, Germany.
Manja Ilgen's repertoire in the area of church music includes: J.S. Bach: Cantatas BWV 33, BWV 70, BWV 79, BWV 80, BWV 112, BWV 161, BWV 172; Alto Cantatas BWV 35, BWV 54 & BWV 169; Weihnachts-Oratorium (BWV 248/1-6), Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) & Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) by J.S. Bach; Johannes-Passion by Alessandro Scarlatti; Stabat Mater by Antonin Dvorak; Stabat Mater by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi; Requiem & Krönungsmesse by W.A. Mozart; Paulus & Elias by Felix Mendelssohn. |
