Magdalena Kožená (also Lady Rattle; ; born 26 May 1973) is a Czech

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middl ...

Early life

Kožená was born in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Both her parents had come originally from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, to the west. She was born one of the two daughters of a mathematician father and a biologist mother. Her father died when she was eleven. As a child she sang in Kantiléna, the Children's and Youth Choir headed up by Ivan Sedláček and attached to the

Brno Philharmonic Orchestra The Brno Philharmonic (Czech: ''Filharmonie Brno'') is a Czech orchestra based in Brno, the Czech Republic. Its principal concert venue in Brno is the ''Besední dům''. The orchestra also performs regularly in the Janáček Opera House in Brno. ...

. It was, however, as a professional pianist that she planned to make her career until 1987 when she injured her hand in a sports accident at school: this led her to focus on training for a singing career. From 1987 to 1991 she studied voice at Brno Conservatory with Neva Megová and Jiří Peša, and from 1991 to 1995 she was a student of Eva Blahová at Bratislava Drama College where she graduated in 1995. In 1995, she was a prize winner at the International Mozart Competition. From 1996–97, she was a member of the Vienna Volksoper.

Career

Kožená's first recording was of Bach arias, recorded in the Czech Republic. Upon hearing the recording, Deutsche Grammophon (DG) signed her to a recording contract. Later recordings include

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's Roman Motets and Italian Cantatas and ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' with

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works, and is the current general director of Opéra national de Bordeaux. His mother, Mary Anne (Wade), i ...

for DG/Archiv, and her first solo recital disc ( Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů with Graham Johnson – Gramophone Solo Vocal Award, 2001) for Deutsche Grammophon. Further recordings include recitals of arias of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he ...

and Mysliveček (with the Prague Philharmonia and Michel Swierczewski), of French arias with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Minkowski, Gluck's ''

Paride ed Elena ' (; ''Paris and Helen'') is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck. It is the third of Gluck's so-called reform operas for Vienna, following '' Orfeo ed Euridice'' and '' Alceste'', and the least often performed of the three. Like its predecesso ...

'' under Paul McCreesh, a recital disc with Malcolm Martineau and an acclaimed disc of cantatas by members of the Bach family ("Lamento") with Musica Antiqua Köln and Reinhard Goebel. She received the 2004 ''Gramophone'' Awards Artist of the Year. For DG/Archiv, she recorded a disc with opera arias of Handel and one with opera arias by

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread ...

, both with the Venice Baroque Orchestra conducted by Andrea Marcon. She has also recently begun to record for Pentatone, where her first album featured Simon Rattle on piano, in an album of Dvořák, Janáček, Strauss and Chausson.

Concerts and recitals

Kožená appears regularly at the

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Spring and at the Concentus Moraviae Festivals. She has given recitals in London, the Schubertiade Vorarlberg, Brussels, Paris, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Munich, Prague, Tokyo, Yokohama and Sapporo,

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

, in San Francisco and in London, Lisbon, Vienna, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Prague. She also appeared in concerts with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists Bach Cantata Pilgrimage during the year 2000.

Opera performances

Her operatic engagements have included several notable debuts: at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

in Paris as Orfeo in Gluck's '' Orphée'', conducted by John Eliot Gardiner; at the Vienna Festival as Nerone in Monteverdi's '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'', conducted by Minkowski; at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...

as Sesto in Mozart's '' La clemenza di Tito''; at the

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Sing ...

as Mélisande in Debussy's '' Pelléas et Mélisande'', conducted by Minkowski; at the

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental ...

as Cherubino in Mozart's '' Le nozze di Figaro''; at the

Dutch National Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, ...

as Cleopatra in Handel's '' Giulio Cesare''; and at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

as Zerlina in Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; Köchel catalogue, K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The rake (stock character), Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Pon ...

'' under

Nicolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt or historically Johann Nikolaus Graf de la Fontaine und d'Harnoncourt-Unverzagt; () (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music ...

. She sang the centenary performance of ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in Paris under Minkowski and most recently Cleopatra in ''Giulio Cesare'' under Minkowski. Recent engagements include the roles of Idamante in Mozart's '' Idomeneo'' at the Glyndebourne and Salzburg Festivals, Cherubino for both the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

in New York, Dorabella in Mozart's '' Cosi fan tutte'' ( Salzburg Easter Festival and in Berlin) and her return to the Metropolitan Opera as Varvara (''Katja Kabanova'') and Dorabella. She sings Zerlina with the Metropolitan Opera in Japan, returns to the Salzburg Festival for Idamante and to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées for Melisande.

Personal life

Kožená has been married twice. Her first marriage was to the French baritone Vincent le Texier. The marriage ended in divorce after she began a relationship with Sir

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principa ...

. Kožená and Rattle married in 2008 in

. The couple have three children, Jonáš (born March 2005), Miloš (born 2008), and Anežka, born in 2014.

Awards

* 2001 Gramophone Solo Vocal Award * 2001 Czech Crystal Award, Golden Prague International Television Festival – Best recording of a concert or stage performance (opera, operetta, ballet, dance, musical), Magdalena Kožená and

Thierry Gregoire Thierry is a French male given name, derived from the Germanic "Theodoric". It is the cognate of German " Dietrich" and " Dieter", English Terry, Derek and Derrick, and of various forms in other European languages. It is also a surname. People ...

Czech Television Czech Television ( cs, Česká televize, italics=no ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting seven channels. Established after the Velvet Revolution in 1992, it is the successor to Czechos ...

, Brno Television Studio, Czech Republic * 2003

Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is t ...

by the French Government * 2004 Gramophone Awards Artist of the Year * 2013 Handel Prize

Recordings

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

: ''Arias'' (1997) Archiv Produktion ** ''Arias'' (1999) Archiv Produktion ** ''Whitsun Cantatas'' (2000) Deutsche Grammophon ** ''Bachianas: Music by the Bach Family'' (2012) Archiv Produktion / Deutsche Grammophon *

: ''Dixit Dominus in G minor'' (1999) Archiv Produktion ** ''Italian Cantatas'' (2000) Archiv Produktion ** ''Ah! Mio Cor: Handel Arias'' (2007) Archiv Produktion *

: ''Juditha triumphans'' (Highlights) (2000) Naïve Records ** ''Juditha triumphans'' (2001) Opus 111 ** ''Opera Highlights'' (2010) Naïve Records ** ''Magdalena Kožená Sings Vivaldi'' (2009) Archiv Produktion *

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

: ''Des Knaben Wunderhorn; Adagio from Symphony No. 10'' (2010) Deutsche Grammophon ** ''Das Lied von der Erde'' (2018) BR Klassik *

Jakub Jan Ryba Jakub Šimon Jan Ryba (surname also Poisson, Peace, Ryballandini, Rybaville; 26 October 1765 – 8 April 1815) was a Czech teacher and composer of classical music. His most famous work is '' Czech Christmas Mass "Hey, Master!"'' (''Česká mše v� ...

: ''Czech Christmas Mass; 3 Pastorellas'' (2007) Archiv Produktion ** ''Česká mše vánoční'' (2017) Universal *

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important ...

: ''Piano Quintet; Songs of a Winter Night; 13 Slovak Songs'' (1999) ASV *

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

& Clara Schumann: ''Love's Spring'' (2021) Challenge Classics * Jan Dismas Zelenka: ''I Penitenti al Sepolcro del Redentore'' (2004) Supraphon *

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

: ''Paride ed Elena'' (2005) Archiv Produktion * '' Monteverdi'' (2016) Archiv Produktion * Brahms: ''Lieder & Liebeslieder Waltzes'' (2016) Deutsche Grammophon *

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

: ''La Mer; Ariettes Oubliées'';

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

: ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' (2017) Linn / Linn Records *

: ''Nocturnes''; Maurice Duruflé: ''Requiem'' (2019) Linn Records *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

: ''Arias'' (2006) Archiv Produktion *

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He be ...

: ''Three Fragments from the opera Juliette'' (2009) Supraphon *

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

: ''Carmen'' (2012) EMI Classics / Warner Classics * ''

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

'' (2018) Brnofon *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

; Henri Duparc: ''Aimer et mourir - Danses et mélodies'' (2018) Linn Records * ''Love Songs'' (2000) Deutsche Grammophon * ''Le Belle Immagini'' (2002) Deutsche Grammophon * ''French Arias'' (2003) Deutsche Grammophon * ''In Recital'' (2004) Deutsche Grammophon * ''Lamento'' (2005) Archiv Produktion * ''Enchantment'' (2006) Deutsche Grammophon * ''Songs My Mother Taught Me'' (2008) Deutsche Grammophon * ''Lettere Amorose'' (2010) Deutsche Grammophon * ''Love and Longing'' (2012) Deutsche Grammophon * ''3 Classic Albums'' (2014) Deutsche Grammophon * ''Prayer: Voice & Organ'' (2014) Deutsche Grammophon * ''Il Giardino dei sospiri'' (2019) PentaTone Classics * ''Soirée – Magdalena Kožená & Friends'' (2019) PentaTone Classics * ''Nostalgia: Brahms, Mussorgsky, Bartók'' (2021) PentaTone Classics * ''Musica Viva, Vol. 38: Ondřej Adámek - Follow Me; Where Are You?'' (2022) BR Klassik

References

External links

Kožená's homepage

by Charles T. Downey (Ionarts, 17 September 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kozena, Magdalena 1973 births Living people 20th-century Czech women opera singers 21st-century Czech women opera singers Operatic mezzo-sopranos Musicians from Brno Deutsche Grammophon artists Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Handel Prize winners Wives of knights