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date = "2019-01-29T03:10:49+00:00"
discipline = "Mezzo-soprano"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1548731300/media/2019/01/ClaudiaMahnke.jpg"
primary_image_credit = ""
related_companies = ["scene/companies/bayerische-staatsoper.md", "scene/companies/los-angeles-opera.md", "scene/companies/deutsche-oper-berlin.md", "scene/companies/san-francisco-opera.md", "scene/companies/oper-frankfurt.md"]
slug = "claudia-mahnke"
social_media = []
title = "Claudia Mahnke"
website = ""

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Claudia Mahnke is one of today’s most important mezzo-sopranos, recognized internationally in the recent seasons for such performances as her Brangäne and Fricka at Bayreuth Festival, Judith in Bartok‘s _Bluebeard’s Castle_ at Staatsoper Hamburg, as well as her Didon in _Les Troyens_ and Selika in _L’Africaine_ at Oper Frankfurt.

Ms. Mahnke begins the 2018/19 season as Magdalene in _Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg_ at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Following that she appears at Oper Frankfurt to perform in _Rusalka_, _Hänsel und Gretel_, _Wozzeck_ and _Walküre_. She will also be presented as Judith in a new production of Bartok’s _Bluebeard’s Castle_ at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, and she will sing Waltraute in _Götterdämmerung_ at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Kundry in _Parsifal_ at the Ravello Festival, and Walküre-Fricka with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Further engagements this season will bring her to Munich to sing Mahler’s _Lied von der Erde_ and Symphony No.8 with the Münchner Philharmoniker, which she will also perform in Bregenz under the baton of Kirill Petrenko, while in Tokyo she will perform Waldtaube in Schönberg’s _Gurre-Lieder_, and in Bern Brahms‘ _Alto Rhapsody_.

Among Ms. Mahnke’s notable engagements in the 2017/18 season were her potrayal of Kundry in a new production of Parsifal at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Judith in _Bluebeard’s Castle_ at Oper Frankfurt, where she also appeared as Selika in Meyerbeer‘s _L‘Africaine_ and as Fricka in _Rheingold_. Also in 2017/18, she sang an impressive Iokaste in Stravinsky‘s _Oedipus Rex_ at the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden.

In the 2016/17 season Ms. Mahnke performed at the Bayerische Staatsoper München in _Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg_, and at the Staatsoper Hamburg in _Bluebeard’s Castle_. In autumn 2015, she gave concerts in Tokyo (Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra) and was a guest performer at the Oper Stuttgart, singing the role of Herodias in _Salome_. In summer 2013, Ms. Mahnke made her debut in Bayreuth under Kirill Petrenko in the new Ring (Fricka/_Rheingold_, Fricka/_Walküre_, Waltraute/_Walküre_,Waltraute/_Götterdämmerung_, 2nd Norn/_Götterdämmerung_).

Claudia Mahnke has given many guest performances at numerous international auspices, such as the Komische Oper Berlin (Composer in _Ariadne auf Naxos_), at the San Francisco Opera (Dorabella in _Così fan tutte_, Cherubino in _Le Nozze di Figaro_, Zerlina in _Don Giovanni_ and Komponist in _Ariadne auf Naxos_), at the Opera National de Lyon (Dorabella), in Seoul with the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Cherubino), at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe (Le Prince Charmant in Cendrillon), at the Aalto Theater in Essen and the Oper Köln (Octavian), at the Ruhrtriennale under Kirill Petrenko (Brangäne), at the Bayerischen Staatsoper München (Palestrina, _I Puritani_), at the Teatro Real Madrid (Adriano in _Rienzi_) and in autumn 2014 at Los Angeles Opera as Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle.

Ms. Mahnke has been a member of the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt since the beginning of the 2006/2007. During her time in Frankfurt she has performed, amongst other roles, the part of Magdalena (_Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg_), Charlotte (_Werther_), Bianca (_Florentinische Tragödie_), Lucretia (_The Rape of Lucretia_), Conception (_L'heure espagnole_), Cherubino, Silla (Palestrina), Miranda (_The Tempest_/Ades), Giovanna Seymour (_Anna Bolena_), Giulietta (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Judith (_Herzog Blaubarts Burg_), Marguerite (_La Damnation de Faust_/Berlioz), Brangäne (_Tristan und Isolde_), Waltraute and 2nd Norn (_Götterdämmerung_), Blanche (_The Gambler_ by Prokofiev), Composer (_Ariadne auf Naxos_), Kundry (_Parsifal_) and Mrs. Meg Page (_Falstaff_).

From 1996 to 2006, Ms. Mahnke was an ensemble member of Oper Stuttgart, where she developed a broad repertoire. For instance, it was a great personal success for her when she sang the title role in Karl Amadeus Hartmann's Simplicius Simplicissimus in Stuttgart and at the Munich Opera Festival 2005. Her portrayal of Simplicius Simplicissimus brought her several nominations for "Singer of the Year" in the "Opera World," and in August 2006, Ms. Mahnke was appointed "Kammersängerin" of the Oper Stuttgart.

In addition to her busy operatic career, Ms. Mahnke also maintains a broad concert repertoire, including Bach's Mass in B Minor, Penderecki's _Credo_ and Rossini's _Petite messe solennelle_ (under Helmuth Rilling), Beethoven's _Missa Solemnis_, Mahler's _Kindertotenlieder_, Mahler's Symphony No.2 and Schoenberg's _Gurrelieder_ (under Lothar Zagrosek and under Markus Stenz with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne), Mahler's _Lied von der Erde_ (with the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart), Verdi's _Messa da Requiem_ (under Manfred Honeck and Nicola Luisotti), Beethoven's Mass in C major and Bruckner's Mass in F minor (under Fabio Luisi), Haydn’s _Paukenmesse_ and Mendelssohn's _Elijah_ (under Yun Märkl and Helmuth Rilling), Bruckner's Mass in F minor (under Herbert Blomstedt with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) and Bruckner’s _Te Deum_ (under Simone Young in Madrid).

Born in Germany, Claudia Mahnke studied singing with Prof. Heidi Petzold at the Academy of Music in Dresden.