Barbara Hannigan (born 8 May 1971) is a Canadian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

and conductor, known for her performances of contemporary opera.

Education

Hannigan's initial musical education came from music teachers in her hometown of

Waverley, Nova Scotia Waverley is a suburban community of the Halifax Regional Municipality, in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a rich history in gold mining. It lies north of Dartmouth, and south of Fall River. History Waverley was first settled by Charles Pillsbury A ...

, in Halifax. After growing up in Waverley, Hannigan moved to Toronto at the age of 17. She studied music at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, where her teachers included Mary Morrison. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

degree in 1993 and a Master of Music degree in 1998. She continued her studies at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Steans Institute for Young Artists at the

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is an outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September. The first orchestra to perform at Ravinia Festival was the New York Philharmonic unde ...

, and the Centre d'arts Orford. She also studied for one year at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Nether ...

Career

Hannigan is known for her performances of contemporary music. Her advocacy of contemporary music began in her youth, and she sang her first world premiere at the age of 17. , she had premiered approximately 75 contemporary compositions. These include ''One'' by

Michel van der Aa Michel van der Aa (; born 10 March 1970) is a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music. Early years Michel van der Aa was born 10 March 1970 in Oss. He trained as a recording engineer at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and studie ...

(2002), the song cycle ' by

Friedrich Cerha Friedrich Cerha (born 17 February 1926) is an Austrian composer, conductor and music educator. Education and Career Cerha was born in Vienna, Austria, and educated at the Viennese Music Academy (violin with Váša Příhoda, composition with ...

(2007), and ' by Gerald Barry (2007), which the composer wrote specifically for her.

Hans Abrahamsen Hans Abrahamsen (born 23 December 1952) is a Danish composer born in Kongens Lyngby near Copenhagen. His '' Let me tell you'' (2013), a song cycle for soprano and orchestra, was ranked by music critics at ''The Guardian'' as the finest work of t ...

wrote the symphonic song cycle '' let me tell you'' for Hannigan. Hannigan is particularly noted for her performances of

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century ...

's ''Mysteries of the Macabre'' (a concert version of a scene from his opera ''

Le Grand Macabre ''Le Grand Macabre'' (1974–1977, revised version 1996) is the only opera by Hungarian composer György Ligeti. The opera has two acts, and its libretto—based on the 1934 play ''La balade du grand macabre'' by Michel de Ghelderode—was wr ...

''); in 2011 she began to conduct the work in addition to singing the vocal part. Her work in contemporary opera has included singing in the premieres of

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Althoug ...

's ''

Writing to Vermeer ''Writing to Vermeer'' is an opera in six scenes composed by Louis Andriessen with incidental electronic music by Michel van der Aa. The English-language libretto, inspired by the paintings of Johannes Vermeer, was written by Peter Greenaway. Sas ...

'', Gerald Barry's ''

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant ''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'' (german: Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant) is a 1972 West German romantic drama film written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, based on his own play. Featuring an all-female cast, the plot tak ...

'' and ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'', Jan van de Putte's ''Wet Snow'',

Kris Defoort Kris Defoort is a Belgian avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. He was born on 30 November 1959 in Bruges. He also teaches at the Brussels conservatory. His brother is Bart Defoort (saxophonist and composer). He entered in 1978 the Antwerp ...

's ''House of the Sleeping Beauties'', and George Benjamin's '' Written on Skin''. She has worked with choreographer

Sasha Waltz Sacha, Sasha, Sascha, or ''variant'' may refer to: People * Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha Musicians * Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe * Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sas ...

on productions of

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio ''Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima'' ...

's ''Matsukaze'' and

Pascal Dusapin Pascal Georges Dusapin (born 29 May 1955) is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy. A pupil of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni and an admirer of Varèse, Dusapin studied at the University of Pari ...

's ''Passion''. Hannigan received critical acclaim for her performance in

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...

's ''

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...

'', which included dancing

en pointe Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () wh ...

. In 2014, Hannigan sang the role of Marie in Bernd Alois Zimmermann's opera ''

Die Soldaten ' (''The Soldiers'') is a four-act opera in German by Bernd Alois Zimmermann, based on the 1776 play by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz. In a letter accompanying his newly printed play (23 July 1776, aged 24) that he sent to his best friend, the Ge ...

'' at the

Bavarian State Opera The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

, a production that was streamed live on the internet. For her performance as Marie, she won the 2015

Der Faust (award) ''Der Faust'', officially ''Deutscher Theaterpreis Der Faust'', is a German theatre prize, a national prize from 2006. It is awarded annually by the organizations Deutscher Bühnenverein, , Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste and the state ...

in Germany. Hannigan regularly performs in concert as both soprano and conductor. She has worked with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

Münchner Philharmoniker The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Ra ...

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, Toronto Symphony,

Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France is a French radio orchestra, affiliated with Radio France. The orchestra performs principally at the auditorium of the Maison de la Radio in Paris, along with several concerts at the Philharmonie de Pa ...

, Göteborgs Symphoniker, Prague Philharmonic,

Mahler Chamber Orchestra The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a professional touring chamber orchestra founded by Claudio Abbado and former members of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in 1997. The MCO appears throughout the year in about 60–70 concerts and performances. It ...

Avanti! Chamber Orchestra The Avanti! Chamber Orchestra is a Finnish ensemble that focuses on contemporary music. The ensemble when it performs varies in size from a solo player to a symphony orchestra. Avanti! Chamber Orchestra won the Gramophone Prize with their first re ...

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints pro ...

in Rome,

Britten Sinfonia Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in t ...

Gulbenkian Orchestra The Gulbenkian Orchestra ( pt, Orquestra Gulbenkian) is a Portuguese symphony orchestra based in Lisbon. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Grande Auditório'' (Grand Auditorium) of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The orchestra, which was f ...

, and The

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...

. She won the Ovatie 2014 award for her performance as soprano/conductor with her conducting debut at the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls in ...

in Amsterdam with the Ludwig Orchestra. In 2016, Hannigan was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

, one of Canada's highest civilian honours. She was a recipient of the

Rolf Schock Prize The Rolf Schock Prizes were established and endowed by bequest of philosopher and artist Rolf Schock (1933–1986). The prizes were first awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1993 and, since 2005, are awarded every three years. Each recipient current ...

2018 in the Musical Arts. The jury commented: "Hannigan is an extraordinary and innovative performer with a dynamic and intensive approach to the music she performs, often pure virtuoso stage interpretations, in which she often simultaneously assumes both the role of soloist and conductor. Her repertoire covers an impressive field, with great interest in new music. For a number of years she has also run a unique mentoring project, Equilibrium Young Artists, which focuses on young and newly professional musicians around the world." Other awards include ''Personalité Musicale de l'Année'' (Musical Personality of the Year) (Syndicat de la Presse Française, 2012), Singer of the Year (

Opernwelt ''Opernwelt'' (''Opera World'') is a monthly German magazine for opera, operetta and ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert ...

, 2013), ''Ehrenpreise'',

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

2018 and the Léonie Sonning Music Prize 2020.

Selected discography

Hannigan's commercial recordings in contemporary music include the premiere recording of Henri Dutilleux's ''Correspondances'' (Deutsche Grammophon) and

's ''Writing to Vermeer'' (Nonesuch), music of Luca Francesconi (Kairos) and of

Harry Freedman Harry Freedman (''Henryk Frydmann''), (April 5, 1922 – September 16, 2005) was a Canadians, Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphony, symphonic works, including the scores ...

(Centrediscs). She is also featured on four Naxos recordings of vocal works of

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

, ''

L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato ("The Cheerful, the Thoughtful, and the Moderate Man"), HWV 55, is a pastoral ode by George Frideric Handel based on the poetry of John Milton. History Handel composed the work over the period of 19 January to 4 February 1740,Michael O'Connel ...

'', ''Gideon'', '' Rinaldo'', and ''Tobit''. *Henri Dutilleux: ''

Correspondances ''Correspondances'' is a song-cycle for soprano and orchestra written by the French composer Henri Dutilleux in 2002–2003. It consists of five episodes and an interlude. The work was premiered by Simon Rattle and Dawn Upshaw with the Berlin P ...

'' for soprano and orchestra, conducted

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

2012 – world premiere recording with ending rewritten by the composer for Hannigan,

Gramophone Award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refe ...

''Contemporary'', 2013 *

: '' let me tell you'' for soprano and orchestra, text by Paul Griffiths,

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (german: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchest ...

Andris Nelsons Andris Nelsons (born 18 November 1978) is a Latvian conductor who is currently the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the ''Gewandhauskapellmeister'' of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He has previously served as music directo ...

conductor,

Winter & Winter Winter & Winter is a record label in Munich, Germany that specializes in jazz, classical and improvised music. It was founded by Stefan Winter following the demise of his JMT Records label. Since 1997 Winter & Winter has released records by ...

, 2016 – Awards: 2016

Grawemeyer Award (Music Composition) The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition () is an annual prize instituted by Henry Charles Grawemeyer, industrialist and entrepreneur, at the University of Louisville in 1984. The award was first given in 1985. Subsequently, the Grawemeyer Awar ...

;

''Contemporary'', 2016; Diapason d'Or 2016, ''Musique contemporaine''; Edison Klassiek 2016, ''De ontdekking'' *

Eric Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

: ''

Socrate ''Socrate'' is a work for voice and piano (or small orchestra) by Erik Satie. First published in 1919 for voice and piano, in 1920 a different publisher reissued the piece "revised and corrected". Wolfgang Rathert and Andreas Traub, "Zu einer bi ...

'' with pianist

Reinbert de Leeuw Reinbert de Leeuw (8 September 1938 – 14 February 2020) was a Dutch conductor, pianist and composer. Life Lambertus Reinier de Leeuw's mother and father were both psychiatrists: Cornelis Homme 'Kees' de Leeuw (1905-1953) and Adriana Judina ...

, Winter & Winter, 2016 *''Crazy Girl Crazy'': debut album as soprano and conductor, Ludwig Orchestra, Alpha Classics 2017, repertoire:

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

''Sequenza III'',

'' Lulu Suite'',

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

''Girl Crazy Suite'', arranged by

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racin ...

and Barbara Hannigan; album includes the documentary ''Music is Music'' directed by

Mathieu Amalric Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film ''Quantum of Solace'', in which he played the lead villain, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich'', Wes Ander ...

– Awards:

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album;

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

for Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral, 2018; Klara Award for Best International Classical CD; ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'': The Best Classical CDs of 2017. In 2014 two DVDs were released:

's ''

'' (Bel Air Classiques) and George Benjamin's '' Written on Skin''. ''Written on Skin'' received the

2014 in the category "Contemporary". Hannigan is featured on the

DVD ''Stravinsky'', released in 2017 on the LSO Live label,

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 ...

conducting, performing

's ''Three Fragments from

Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama '' Woyzeck'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at ...

'' and Gyorgy Ligeti's '' Mysteries of the Macabre''. Hannigan's artistic career has been the subject of two documentaries: Accentus Music's documentary ''I'm a creative animal'', produced at

Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it curren ...

2014 where she was Artiste Etoile, Dutch television's ''Canadees Podiumdier'' (NTR 2014), as well as Mathieu Amalric's short film, ''C'est presque au bout du monde''.

Personal life

Hannigan was previously married to Dutch theatre director . Since 2017, she has lived in Paris, France. Since 2015, she has been in a long-term relationship with French actor

References

External links

*
Equilibrium Young Artists, mentor programme founded by Barbara Hannigan
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hannigan, Barbara 1971 births Living people People from the Halifax Regional Municipality Musicians from Nova Scotia Canadian operatic sopranos Canadian contemporary classical musicians Edison Classical Music Awards winners 20th-century Canadian women opera singers 21st-century Canadian women opera singers 21st-century Canadian conductors (music) Royal Conservatory of The Hague alumni University of Toronto alumni Women conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) Members of the Order of Canada Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Vocal or Choral Performance winners