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The German soprano, Olivia Stahn, studied under Marie-Louise Ages and Julie Kaufmann in Lübeck (singing and opera at Musikhochschule Lübeck) and Berlin (singing and music theater at Universität der Künste Berlin), and undertook postgraduate Lied studies with Irwin Gage (Hochschule für Musik Saar in Saarbrücken).
In 2005, Olivia Stahn made her debut at Konzerthaus Berlin in the title role in Hartmann’s Simplicius Simplicissimus. She then played the role of Zerlina in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni at Kampnagel Theatre, Hamburg, with Ensemble Resonanz, directed by Titus Engel. She appeared in Seydelmann’s La Morte di Abele at the Dresden Music Festival with the Dresdner Philharmonie, and also in operas by Martinů und Krenek at Konzerthaus Berlin. At the Stuttgart State Theatre and ZKM Karlsruhe, she devised a Pierrot Lunaire evening with the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, directed by Michael Hofstetter, with set design by Rosalie. She has been a guest performer at the Hannover State Opera, in various roles including that of Simplicius, directed by Frank Hilbrich.
As a performer in Christoph Schlingensief’s 2011 Theatertreffen production Via Intolleranza II, Olivia Stahn has appeared at the Brussels Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Vienna Festival, Munich Opera Festival and Kampnagel Theatre, Hamburg. She sang the role of Berta in Karoline Gruber’s production of Barbiere di Sevilla in St Moritz. She collaborated with director Beate Baron to devise a theatrical installation of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at Radialsystem V in Berlin. She played the title role of Camille in the debut performance of Stefan Keller’s opera, and also performed in the world premieres of Wanderland by Genoël Rühle and Ferne Nähe by Daniel Smutny, directed by Sommer Ulrickson. At the Staatsoper Berlin, she sang the female lead in Lucia Ronchetti’s Lezione di Tenebra and there she also performed in the role of the prisoner/Ulrike Meinhof in Matthias Herman’s Die Luft hier: scharfgeschliffen, directed by Hans-Werner Kroesinger. Most recently, she undertook the title role in La Douce by Emmanuel Nunes, directed by Titus Engel.
As a concert singer, Olivia Stahn has appeared at the Lucerne Festival, performing in Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia, Carter’s orchestral song cycle and Pierrot Lunaire, all under the musical direction of Pierre Boulez. At Tonhalle Zürich, she performed the orchestral songs Op. 8 of Arnold Schoenberg with the Collegium Novum Zürich, as well as Delage’s Poèmes Hindous, under the direction of Jonathan Stockhammer. Her regular collaborations with Ensemble Avantgarde led to concerts of the music of Eissler and Crumb at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and a Lied Recital at Bachfest Leipzig. With the Dresden ensemble Courage, she recorded chamber music works by composer Benjamin Schweitzer for the label Wergo. Moreover, she has worked with the Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Ensemble Adapter, Meitar Ensemble and the Trio Image.
Olivia Stahn is particularly passionate about the music of the Baroque and Early Baroque periods. For the Magdeburg Telemann Festival, she sang a lead female role in Georg Philipp Telemann’s reconstructed opera Germanicus, which was released by CPO. She has performed music by J.S. Bach, George Frideric Handel and their contemporaries in the cathedrals of Braunschweig, Ratzeburg and Lübeck, and she has also appeared at the Dresden Frauenkirche, and St Katharinen and St Michaelis in Hamburg.
Olivia Stahn is a founding member of the Early Bird Ensemble, which performs Italian and German music from the early 17th century. |
