Aile Asszonyi
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Aile Asszonyi (born 22 July 1975) is an Estonian
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical 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 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
who has made an international career, known for dramatic roles such as Puccini's
Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...
, Wagner's
Senta Senta ( sr-cyrl, Сента, ; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Zenta'', ; Romanian language, Romanian: ''Zenta'') is a town and municipality located in Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisza, Tisa river in the geographical ...
and Elektra by Richard Strauss.


Life and career

Asszonyi was born on 22 July 1975. Her mother Aino Asszonyi was an architect. Her maternal grandfather John Pori was a renowned orchestra leader and dance musician. She studied at the
Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...
in Tallinn with Matti Pelo and Helin Kapten, graduating in 2002. She studied further at the studio of 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, a m ...
from 2002 to 2004, and the Carlo Bergonzi Accademia Verdiana in
Busseto Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with about inhabitants. Its history is quite well documented back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundred years it was the ...
. She won the Prix des Donateurs at the
Queen Elisabeth Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition (, ) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is named after Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1876–1 ...
in Brussels in 2004. Asszonyi first sang in the Philharmonic Chamber Choir in Estonia. She made her stage debut in 2000 as Despina in Mozart's ''
Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, 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 ...
'' at the Theater Vanemuine in Tartu. She participated in the world premieres of Isidora Žebeljan's operas ''Zora D'' and ''Dve glave i devojka''. She was a member of the
Estonian National Opera Estonian National Opera (''Rahvusooper Estonia'') is the national opera company of Estonia. The company is based at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn. The theatre has had several names throughout its existence. The latest one being "The Estonian Na ...
from 2010. Her roles include Haydn's
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic '' Jerusalem Delivered'' (), Rinaldo is a fierce and determined warrior who is also honorabl ...
, Mozart's Fiordiligi, both Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in ''
Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full 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 Spanish legen ...
'', Adina in Donizetti's ''
L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...
'', Verdi's Violetta and
Giovanna d'Arco ''Giovanna d'Arco'' (''Joan of Arc'') is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, who had prepared the libretti for ''Nabucco'' and ''I Lombardi''. It is Verd ...
. She then ventured into more dramatic roles such as the title role in Beethoven's ''
Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...
'', and both Elisabeth and Venus in Wagner's ''
Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...
''. In Europe, she performed the roles of the Mother in Dallapiccola's ''
Il prigioniero ''Il prigioniero'' (''The Prisoner'') is an opera (originally a radio opera) in a prologue and one act, with music and libretto by Luigi Dallapiccola. The opera was first broadcast by the Italian radio station RAI on 1 December 1949. The work is ba ...
'' at the Oper Graz in 2016, Prothoe in Schoeck's ''
Penthesilea Penthesilea () was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she was killed by Achilles or Neoptolemus. The ...
'' at the Oper Bonn, and Abigaille in Verdi's ''
Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (; short for ''Nabucodonosor'' , i.e. "Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblic ...
'' at
Theater Regensburg Theater Regensburg (also known as the Stadttheater Regensburg, theatre of the city of Regensburg) is a theatrical organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Regensburg, Germany. The organization operates sever ...
. She appeared as Fata Morgana in Prokofiev's ''
The Love for Three Oranges ', Op. 33, is a 1921 satirical French-language opera by Sergei Prokofiev. He wrote his own libretto, basing it on the Italian play '' L'amore delle tre melarance'', or ''The Love for Three Oranges'' ( ''Lyubov k tryom apyelsinam'') by Carlo Goz ...
'' at Theater Koblenz, as both Wagner's
Isolde Iseult ( ), alternatively Isolde ( ) and other spellings, is the name of several characters in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult the Blonde, or Iseult of Ireland, the wife of Mark of Cornwall and the lover of Trista ...
and Puccini's
Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...
at the Staatstheater Saarbrücken, and as Senta in Wagner's ''
Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner Conducting, conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hofthe ...
'' with De Nederlandse Reiseoper. She has sung with conductors such
Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...
,
Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia (then occupied by the Soviet Union), to Liilia Järvi and the Estoni ...
and
Dirk Kaftan Dirk Kaftan (born 1971) is a German opera and concert conductor. Career Born in Marburg, West Germany, Kaftan grew up in Wittlich and Canada. At the age of 18 he began employment as a repetiteur at the Theater Trier. Kaftan then studied sound ...
and with directors such as Dmitry Bertman, Michiel Dijkema, Stefan Herheim, Roman Hovenbitzer, Tobias Kratzer,
Peter Konwitschny Peter Konwitschny (born 21 January 1945 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German opera and theatre director. Biography Peter Konwitschny grew up in Leipzig, where his father Franz Konwitschny was principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchest ...
,
David Pountney Sir David Willoughby Pountney (born 10 September 1947) is a British-Polish theatre and opera director and libretto, librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works. He has di ...
, Daniel Slater, Nicola Raab and Andrejs Žagars. In 2023 Asszonyi appeared in the title role of '' Elektra'' by Richard Strauss at the
Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...
, directed by
Claus Guth Claus Guth (born 1964) is a German theatre director, focused on opera. He has directed operas at major houses and festivals, including world premieres such as works of the Munich Biennale, and Berio's '' Cronaca del luogo'' at the Salzburg Festiv ...
and conducted by Sebastian Weigle. A reviewer noted that she was convincing from the beginning by both a "energetic voluminous high dramatic voice" and by stage presence, acting as a traumatised woman close to madness. Jan Brachmann from the '' FAZ'' experienced her as identifying with her character, and portraying in her monologue a woman with an unrealised capacity to love. At the Saarbrücken Opera ( Saarländisches Staatstheater), she will take on the role of Brünnhilde in Wagner´s "
Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...
" from the 2023/2024 season. She took part in the world premiere of
Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (24 October 1931 – 13 March 2025) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Modernism (music), modernist Holy minimalism, sacred music. She was highly prolific, producing numerous Chamber music, chamber, Orchestra, orch ...
's oratorio ''Über Liebe und Hass / About Love and Hate'' both in Tallinn and at the Olavsdagene Festival in Trondheim. Asszonyi was named best musician of the year 2007 by the Estonian Music Council, and was awarded the annual Estonian Theatre Award for the best operatic performance in 2009.


Discography

* 2003 Tormis Vision of Estonia I Estonian National Male Chorus Alba records (UPC: 641713120175) * 2011 Isidora Žebeljan Rukoveti
Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (''Janáčkova filharmonie Ostrava'') is a Czech orchestra based in Ostrava. Named after composer Leoš Janáček, the orchestra performs its concerts at the City of Ostrava Cultural Centre. History The root ...
CPO label (CPO: 777 670-2) * 2012 Van Gilse Symphony No. 3 Netherlands Symphony Orchestra CPO label (CPO: 777 518-2)


References


External links

* * *
Aile Asszonyi
Operabase Operabase is an online global database for audiences and professionals. It lists details on opera performances, opera houses and companies, and performers as well as their agents. It was founded in 1996 by English software engineer and opera love ...

94 Notable alumni of Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre
edurank.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asszonyi, Aile Living people 21st-century Estonian women opera singers Estonian operatic sopranos Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 1975 births Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition