|
The American soprano, Robin Johannsen, studied singing at the University of Cincinnati. Among her many awards are the Friedrich Schorr Memorial Performance Prize in Voice, the Liederkranz Foundation Prize and the Alberto Vilar Scholarship of the American Berlin Opera Foundation. Among her engagements during the 2001-2002 season were a gala concert in Alice Tully Hall in the Lincoln Center in New York, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Madame Herz in W.A. Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor, Pamina in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Gilda in Rigoletto.
Robin Johannsen came to Europe in 2002 as a scholarship-holder of the American Berlin Opera Foundation and joined the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, where her roles during her first, exceptionally successful, season with the company included Barbarina in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Jano in Jenufa, the Sandman and Dew Fairy in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel and the Young Shepherd in Tannhäuser. She became a permanent member of the Deutsche Oper at the start of the 2003-2004 season, her new roles including Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Norina in Don Pasquale, Aljeja in Aus einem Totenhaus, Oscar in Un ballo in maschera, and Soeur Constance in Francis Poulenc's Les dialogues des Carmélites over the next three seasons, as well as the soprano soloist in Orff's Carmina Burana. In summer 2003 she made her Bayreuth Festival debut as the Young Shepherd in Tannhäuser; she continued to appear as the Shepherd and the Forest Bird in Siegfried for the following five seasons. In 2008, she sang there the Voice of the Woodbird. Between 2005 and 2007 she was engaged by Oper Leipzig in a repertoire that included Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel and Blonde in a new production of W.A. Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, as well as Marzelline and Valencienne. Guest engagements have taken her to the Mannheim National Theatre, the Musica Mallorca Festival and to Barcelona.
Robin Johannsen is rapidly earning a reputation as one of the most sought-after young artists of her generation. On both the operatic and concert stages, she is emerging as a consummate artist, known for impeccable performances of Classical and Baroque music, acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. Working independently since 2008, she has appeared with many prominent opera companies, festivals and symphony orchestras in Europe. She has been a frequent guest with the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alte Musik, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, Academia Montis Regalis, and Belgium’s B'Rock. She has collaborated with conductors such as: René Jacobs, Alessandro de Marchi, Andrea Marcon, Antonello Manacorda, Attilio Cremonesi, Christopher Moulds, Helmuth Rilling, Ottavio Dantone, Howard Griffiths, Celso Antunes, Lukasz Borowicz, Christian Thielemann, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Marin Alsop, and Robert Page. Engagements have included performances with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berliner Staatsoper, Komische Oper Berlin, Oper Leipzig, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Frankfurt, Vlaamse Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, OSESP São Paolo, Bayreuth Festival, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, RIAS-Kammerchor, Dresdner Philharmonie, Freiburger Barockorchester, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Academia Montis Regalis, Café Zimmermann, Concerto Köln, NDR Hannover, Helsinki Philharmonic, Danish National Chamber Orchestra, Singapore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Rheingau Musik Festival, Gasteig Munich, Essen Philharmonie, Berliner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Bremen’s Glocke, Lucerne Festival, the Vatican, Conservatorio Torino, Auditorium del Lignotto – Torino, Grattacielo del San Paolo - Torino; Conservatorio di Milano; Tonhalle Zürich, and the Oregon Bach Festival.
Robin Johannsen has become a regular performer at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music where in 2011 she sang Johann Adolf Hasse’s Romolo ed Ersilia with Attilio Cremonesi and in 2010, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s La serva padrona and J.S. Bach’s Coffee Cantata (BWV 211) under Alessandro de Marchi. She has become a favorite of the renowned conductor Helmuth Rilling, singing many performances under his baton in Germany and the USA: a tour of G.F. Handel’s Messiah and J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) with the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart; G.F. Handel’s Messiah with the Dallas Symphony and J.S. Bach cantatas with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. She made her debut with the Oregon Bach Festival in 2009 in Haydn’s Creation under Maestro Helmuth Rilling and sang the world premiere of Sven-David Sandström’s Messiah. This was followed by a German tour of the work and a recording with Helmuth Rilling and the Bachakademie. She returned to the Oregon Bach Festival in 2011 singing Belinda in Dido and Aeneason tour with Monica Huggett and the Portland Baroque Orchestra, G.F. Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia under Matthew Halls, and J.S. Bach’s Magnificat under Jeffrey Kahane.
Other career highlights include Adele in a new production of Die Fledermaus at the Staatsoper Stuttgart under Manfred Honeck; appearances at the Komische Oper Berlin as Marzelline in L.v. Beethoven's Fidelio (1805) and Agilea in G.F. Handel’s Teseo; a staged production of Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten at the O.T. Theater Rotterdam under Christopher Moulds; John Adams’ El niño in Stuttgart and Basel under Dennis Russell Davies; and A. Vivaldi with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra under Ottavio Dantone. She sang G.F. Handel’s Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under Robert Page; Haydn’s Creation with the Dresdner Philharmonie under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos; the Messiah (W.A. Mozart version) with the Helsinki Philharmonic under Andreas Spering; Cavalli’s Giasone with the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp and Ghent; Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Freiburger Barockorchester at the Lucerne Festival, Festspielhaus St. Pölten and the Theater Freiburg; and made her debut with Musica Angelica of Los Angeles with John Malkovich and Martin Haselböck in an original production: Seduction and Despair (later: The Infernal Comedy).
Highlights of Robin Johannsen’s recent seasons include her acclaimed debut in the title role of Georg Philipp Telemann’s Emma und Eginhard under René Jacobs at the Berliner Staatsoper; Venere/Giuturna in Amor vien dal destino also at the Berliner Staatsoper; her debut with Musikfest Bremen as Konstanze under Jérémie Rhorer and Le Cercle de l’Harmonie; the title role in Almira at the Hamburgische Staatsoper; and debuts at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Gassmann’s L’Opera seria and at Teatro Regio Torino in Haydn’s Schöpfung under Antonello Manacorda. She sang Konstanze on international tour and recorded the role with René Jacobs for Harmonia Mundi. In 2015, she debuted the role of Adina in L’elisir d’amore with the Hamburgische Staatsoper and appeared at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music in Jommeli’s Don Trastullo under Alessandro de Marchi. Additionally, she sang Pamina on tour with the Lautten Compagney and Amital in a staged production of W.A. Mozart’s Betulia liberata with the Kammerakademie Potsdam. In May 2014, Sony Classical (dhm) released Robin’s first solo CD, In dolce amore, a world premiere recording of Baroque arias and cantatas by Antonio Caldara conducted by Alessandro de Marchi.
Among her most recent performances, she sang Pamina in Antwerp and Ghent for Vlaamse Opera’s new production of Die Zauberflöte; George Frideric Handel with Academia Montis Regalis under Alessandro de Marchi in Innsbruck and Bruges; a German tour of Carmina Burana with the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart under Celso Antunes; a New Year’s Eve gala in Essen with Cappella Coloniensis under Bruno Weil; Mademoiselle Silberklang in W.A. Mozart’s Impresario with Concerto Köln; Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria and Dixit dominus with NDR Hannover under Robert King; and the Waldvogel in Frankfurt Opera’s new production of Siegfried under Sebastian Weigle.
The 2016-2017 season began with Robin Johannsen singing Rameau arias on tour with Teodor Currentzis and his orchestra Musica Aeterna Bratislava. She then recorded three new albums: G.P. Telemann cantatas with Concerto Melante, the title role in Vinci’s Didone with the Lautten Compagney, and G.F. Handel’s Parnasso in festa with Andrea Marcon and La Cetra Barockorchester Basel. Her season continued with Purcell’s King Arthur at the Berliner Staatsoper followed by her debut as Fiordiligi in W.A. Mozart's Così fan tutte on tour in Germany, Spain, and Asia with René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester. The soprano then made her debut in France singing G.P. Telemann’s Brockes Passion, TWV 5:1 with Raphaël Pichon and his orchestra, Ensemble Pygmalion, at the Paris Philharmonie and in five other French cities. In addition, she sang concerts with leading Baroque orchestras such as Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, and the Freiburger Barockorchester. She was awarded an Edison Classical Music Award for her performance as Konstanze in the CD of Entführung aus dem Serail (René Jacobs, Harmonia Mundi).
In the 2017-2018 season, Robin Johannsen will make her debut at Theater an der Wien, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and Athens’ Megaron in a new production of L.v. Beethoven’s Leonore (Marzelline) with René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester. Further performances will take her to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Philharmonies of Paris and Cologne, and the Centre for Fine Arts ~ BOZAR in Brussels. She will sing J.S. Bach’s B Minor Mass (BWV 232) with the Windsbacher Knabenchor and the Freiburger Barockorchester on tour in Germany and Norway, and will make her debut in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie in Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations with Tabea Zimmermann and Ensemble Resonanz. Further highlights of the coming season include the G.P. Telemann opera Miriways at NDR Hamburg’s Telemann-Festival under Bernard Labadie, a new production of Entführung aus dem Serail (René Jacobs, conductor; Andrea Moses, director) at Salzburg’s Mozarteum with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and a revival of Purcell’s King Arthur at the Staatsoper Berlin. Additionally, she will perform with La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Ensemble Pygmalion, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, and B’Rock Belgium.
Upcoming engagements include Konstanze in a new production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Konzert Theater Bern; Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the Berlin Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt; G.F. Handel’s Aminta e Fillide with the Belgian Baroque Orchestra B’Rock in Antwerp and Ghent; G.F. Handel’s Saul with Helmuth Rilling and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart; L.v. Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with Celso Antunes and the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (OSESP); Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop and another Carmina Burana with Jonathan Nott and the Bamberger Symphoniker - Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie.
Robin Johannsen can be heard on several CD and DVD recordings including the Waldvogel in Wagner’s Siegfried from Bayreuth, conducted by Christian Thielemann (Opus Ar); Alessandro Scarlatti’s Davidis Pugna Et Victoria with Alessandro de Marchi (Hyperion); music of J.S. Bach, G.P. Telemann, and Hertel with Jeremy Joseph, Organ and Gonzalo X. Ruiz, oboe (New Classical Adventure); Sven David Sandström’s Messiah under Helmuth Rilling (Carus Verlag); Cavalli’s Il Giasone with Federico Maria Sardelli (Dynamic - CD and DVD); G.F. Handel – A. Caldara: Carmelite Vespers 1709 with Alessandro de Marchi (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi). |
