Simone Kermes (born 17 May 1965, in Leipzig) is a German

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills. The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...

, especially known for her virtuoso voice, suited to the

opera seria ''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...

genre of the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and early Classical period.

Career

Kermes has performed at many important theatres and concert halls internationally, including the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

in New York, the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

in Paris, the Staatsoper Stuttgart, the Bonn Opera, the

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden is Germany’s largest opera and concert house, with a 2,500 seat capacity. The building was originally built in 1904 as Baden-Baden central railway station. This building replaced the original railway station wh ...

. She has appeared at festivals such as Schwetzingen Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Festa de musica Lisbona, Ruhrtriennale arts festival, Triennale di Colonia, Dresden MDR, Prague Autumn, Bachfest Leipzig, Bachfest Bonn, and Resonanzen Vienna. She has also performed with notable orchestras, including

Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, Symphonic Orchestra of Prague, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Classical Orchestra of Madrid,

Staatskapelle Dresden The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

, Orchestra of the Comunale of Bologna, Orchestra regionale Toscana, Complesso Barocco, and Orchestra of the Fiandre. On the opera stage she has portrayed numerous Handel heroines, including Adelaide in ''

Lotario ''Lotario'' ("Lothair", HWV 26) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Antonio Salvi's ''Adelaide''.The opera was first given at the King's Theatre in London on 2 December 1729. ...

'', Asteria in '' Tamerlano'', Merab in '' Saul'', and the title roles in '' Alcina'', '' Deidamia'', and '' Rodelinda''. She appeared in Mozart operas, as Konstanze in '' Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', Fiordiligi in ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'' and Donna Anna in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

''. Her roles have included Laodice in Scarlatti's ''

Mitridate Eupatore ''Il Mitridate Eupatore'' ('' Mithridates Eupator'') is an opera seria in five acts by the Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti with a libretto by Girolamo Frigimelica Roberti. It was first performed, with the composer conducting, at the Teatro S ...

'', Rosalinde in '' Die Fledermaus'' by Johann Strauss, and the title role in Peri's ''

Euridice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the name ...

''. In 2000 she performed the role of Cinzia in the first modern revival of Giovanni Legrenzi's '' La divisione del mondo'' at the Schwetzingen Festival. In 2014 she sang the role of La Folie in Rameau's '' Platée'' at the Theater an der Wien and at the Lincoln Center in New York."Les Arts Florissants serves up an exuberant ''Platée''
Judith Malafronte, ''New York Classical Review'', 3 April 2014

Awards

* 1993: 1st prize of the Felix-Mendelsohn-Bartholdy-Wettbewerb Berlin * 1996: 3rd prize at the

Internationaler Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Wettbewerb The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (german: Internationaler Bach Wettbewerb Leipzig, links=no) is a music competition in Leipzig, Germany, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1 ...

Leipzig * 2003: Prize of the Deutsche Schallplattenkritik * 2011: Echo Klassik – Singer of the Year

References

External links

* * * Manuel Brug
"Die verrückte Königin der Barockmusik"
'' Die Welt'', 6 October 2012
"Archiv: Die unkonventionelle Sopranistin Simone Kermes"
villamusica.de * Stefan Schickhaus

''

Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (FR) is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition (see link below) as well as an e-pa ...

'', 17 August 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kermes, Simone German operatic sopranos University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni Living people 1965 births Musicians from Leipzig