Biography 2010
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American mezzo soprano,Fredrika Brillembourg is acclaimed for her rich, luminous voice as well as her charismatic portrayals of leading mezzo roles. She has built a reputation for her unusual versatility as a singer/actor in a variety of roles ranging from Carmen to Brangäne, Ligetti’s Mescalina and Hosokawa’s Jitsuko Honda. "Fredrika Brillembourg possesses a striking, velvety timbre; she gives her character a magnificent presence, both as a singer and actress." (Le Soir, Brussels).
Evidence of her range and versatility can be seen in recent debuts which include; Adalgisa in Bellini’s NORMA at the Bremen Theater, Siebel in Gounod’s FAUST at Catania’s Teatro Massimo Bellini, and as the First Norn and Flosshilde in concert performances of GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG with Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. She sang for the first time in Tokyo at Suntory Hall as Jitsuko Honda in the Japanese premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s Noh opera HANJO in a Luca Veggetti production which was subsequently featured at the Third International Milan Torino Festival (MiTo Settembre). In addition she sang Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Stuttgarter Kammerphilharmonie (recorded for CD) and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder with the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra in a concert that was broadcast throughout Europe.
As a member of the ensemble in Bremen from 1995-2001 she sang in new productions as: Carmen, Charlotte, Octavian, Komponist, Marguerite and Orphee among others and she was the first singer in the history of the theater to win both the Kurt Hübner Prize and the Bremen Volksbuhne Prize. Ms Brillembourg has returned to the theater in Bremen as a guest making role debuts as: Brangäne TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, Herodias SALOME, Mescalina in Ligetti’s LE GRAND MACABRE, Adalgisa, and for over 65 performances as the title character in Karin Baier’s production of CARMEN for which she appeared on the cover of Opernwelt magazine.
Important engagements at Brussels’ La Monnaie followed as Meg in Verdi’s FALSTAFF, as Marguerite in Berlioz’ LA DAMNATION DE FAUST and as Jitsuko Honda in the world premiere of Hosokawa’s HANJO a part she also sang at the Festival in Aix en Provence, Opera Lyon and Lisbon. At De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam she sang Martuccia in Schreker’s DIE GEZEICHNETEN, Enrichetta in I PURITANI and Flora in LA TRAVIATA, at Geneva’s Grand Theatre she sang Magdalena in DIE MEISTERSINGER and Bianca in Zemlinsky’s EINE FLORENTISCHE TRAGÖDIE which she also sang in Lisbon at Teatro Sao Carlos and at Greek National Opera in Athens. She sang the Gymnasiast and the Gardarobiere in a highly acclaimed production of Berg’s LULU at the opening of the Alexandra Trianti Hall at Athen’s Megaron. Opera Now wrote “Fredrika Brillembourg’s Gymnasiast was a real shining star, with a beautifully rounded voice and totally focused characterization."
In New York City she has been heard as Fidalma in Jonathon Miller’s production of Cimarosa’s IL MATRIMONIO SEGRETO at BAM and in Mark Adamo’s LYSISTRATA at NYCO and she took part in the Seattle RING in 2006 as Grimgerde in DIE WALKÜRE. Ms Brillembourg has performed throughout Europe in many important theaters including: Teatro La Fenice Venice, Theatre Basel, Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf, Komische Oper Berlin, and Dresden’s Semperoper.
Equally at home on the concert stage she has performed with a number of prestigious orchestras such as The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, MusikFabrik Köln and The Youth Orchestra of the Americas. Fredrika Brillembourg's concert repertoire includes such well know works as Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Berlioz Les Nuits d'Été and the Bach Passions as well as lesser known gems such as Liszt Christus and Elgar Sea Pictures.
Fredrika Brillembourg has sung under the baton of: Antonio Pappano, Ingo Metzmacher, Sir Jeffrey Tate, Sakari Oramo, Philippe Auguin, Paolo Carignani, Kazushi Ono, Mark Albrecht, Daniel Harding and Placido Domingo. She has collaborated with prominent stage directors such as Christof Loy, Willy Decker, Robert Carson, Martin Kusej, Karin Baier, Stephen Wadsworth, Jonathon Miller, Paul Curran, Francesco Negrin and Anne Theresa de Keersmaeker.
On CD, Ms Brillembourg can be heard; as Suzuki on the Naxos label in Puccini’s MADAMA BUTTERFLY, in solo arias with the Berlin Symphoniker, Eduardo Marturet conducting and on DVD and on CD in a live performance of the Verdi Requiem with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas conducted by Placido Domingo at Munich’s Philharmonie Gasteig.
Upcoming engagements include: concerts and a recording of Stavinsky’s Les Noces with Sylvain Cambreling conducting and the EuropaChorAkademie, Klementia in Paul Hindemith’s SANCTA SUSANNA as well as chamber music of Schoenberg, Strauss, Stravinsky, Berg and Franz Schmidt with the American Symphony Orchestra at the 2010 Bard Summerscape Festival; a reprise of HANJO at La Monnaie in Brussels and in Amsterdam in the spring of 2011 and a debut at the Bregenz Festival as the Countess and Madelon in Giordano’s ANDREA CHENIER, Keith Warner producing and Ulf Schirmer conducting.