Full Biography
Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, possessing “a voice as if cut from crystal” (Salzburger Nachrichten) is considered in equal measure to be one of today’s foremost interpreters of lied and concert repertoire, and one of the most sought-after operatic artists. The soprano had her international breakthrough at the 2014 Salzburg Easter Festival as Zdenka in Strauss’ Arabella, co-starring with Renèe Fleming and Thomas Hampson under the baton of Christian Thielemann. For this role, she was voted “Young Artist of the Year” by Opernwelt magazine. The production was subsequently released on DVD under United Classica in partnership with C Major. Müller is a frequent guest of the world’s leading opera houses and festivals, including the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Vienna Staatsoper, the Metropolitan Opera, Dresden’s Semperoper, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opernhaus Zurich, and the Salzburg Festival, among others.
In the 2024-25 season, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller’s peerless versatility is once again on display in a return to the Vienna State Opera, where she debuts the role of Rosalinde in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus under the baton of Bertrand de Billy. Additionally in Vienna, she returns to the role of Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. With the Staatsoper Berlin, Müller reprises Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Elettra in Idomeneo alongside Rolando Villazón in the title role.
On the concert stage, Müller performs her signature Vier letzte Lieder of Richard Strauss with Philharmonia Zürich under the baton of chief conductor Gianandrea Noseda, and returns to Zürich Opera to sing Italienisches Liederbuch by Hugo Wolf under the musical direction of Ann-Katrin Stöcker. She is twice heard as the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”: with Orchestre National de France in Paris under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru, In Rome with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under direction of Maestro Daniel Harding. Müller can also be heard as the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with whom she also performs Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland. Further concert engagements incude performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Academy of Bayerische Staatsoper and Vladimir Jurowski and Mozart’s Requiem with Camerata Salzburg. Müller stars at an opera gala concert with Würth Philharmoniker under the baton of Claudio Vandelli, and joins Philharmonie Köln to present a recital with pianist Juliane Ruf and Clarinetist Daniel Ottensamer.
Highlights of the 2023-24 season include Hanna-Elisabeth Müller’s debut of the title role in Strauss’s Daphne under the baton of Sebastian Weigle at the Vienna State Opera and in Salzburg’s Mozart Week, she made another role debut, Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito. 25. In Vienna, the soprano saw further performances as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and at the Bayerische Staatsoper, she reprised Elettra in Idomeneo.
On the concert stage, Müller thrice performed Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder at the CRR Concert Hall in Istanbul, in Salzburg with the Mozarteum Orchestra, and in Bamberg under the musical direction of Christoph Eschenbach. She sang her first performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” the New York Philharmonic and music director Jaap van Zweden as well as in the Philharmonie in Cologne. Müller also sang Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem in Zürich, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Munich Philharmonic under Philippe Herreweghe, Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder in Helsinki, and Dvořák’s Stabat mater in Dresden conducted by Marek Janowski. Additionally, she stared at the 2023 Christmas Concert at Frauenkirche Dresden under the baton of Christian Thielemann.
Highlights of recent seasons include her auspicious role debut as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with the Vienna State Opera, where she was also heard as Contessa Almaviva in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro and as Donna Anna in Barrie Kosky’s Don Giovanni. She saw further performances of Donna Anna at the Bayerische Staatsoper and in Robert Carsen’s iconic production for La Scala under Pablo Heras-Casado.
Other Operatic highlights of recent seasons include her Metropolitan Opera debut as Marzelline in Fidelio, subsequently returning for Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Müller made her debut at Zurich Opera in Idomeneo as Ilia, and sang Elettra in the same opera at the Bayerische Staatsoper in a new production by Antú Romero Nunes. From 2012-2016 she was a member of the ensemble of the Bayerische Staatsoper, and has since become a favorite of the company, including on tours to Japan (Pamina, Die Zauberflöte), Carnegie Hall New York (Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier) and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Noteworthy concert performances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden led by Christian Thielemann, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Schumann’s Faust Scenes under Daniel Harding with the Orchestre de Paris, Vier letzte Lieder with the Staatskapelle Berlin, orchestral songs of Strauss with the WDR Symphony Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach, and Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder with the Berlin Philharmonic and Paavo Järvi.
A seasoned recitalist, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller has performed at major venues such as Teatro alla Scala Milan, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Heidelberger Frühling, Cologne Philharmonie, De Singel Antwerp, Teatro de la Zarzuela Madrid, Schubertiada Vilabertran, and Festival Rheinvokal.
Hanna-Elisabeth Müller is a Pentatone exclusive artist. Her debut album Traumgekrönt was released in 2017 and included songs by Strauss, Berg and Schönberg. Reine de Coeur, her second Lied disc, featured works by Schumann, Zemlinsky, and Poulenc, and was released in 2020. Her third album, an all-Strauss program entitled Sinnbild, was recorded live during the aforementioned 2022 concert performance in collaboration with the WDR Symphony Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach. A longtime student of Rudolf Piernay, Müller has participated in master classes with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Julia Varady, Elly Ameling and Thomas Hampson.
© CSAM, August 2024
