Full Biography
Praised by critics and loved by audiences for her beauty of tone and impeccable artistry, soprano Mojca Erdmann is a star in the international music scene. She is known for her broad repertoire – ranging from baroque to contemporary music – with which she performs in major opera houses, festivals, and concert halls worldwide.
Mojca Erdmann begins the 2023/24 season with her role and house debut at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen as Vitellia in a new production of La clemenza di Tito, directed by Jetske Mijnssen. She also takes on the roles of Klara and Therese in a new production of Roman Haubenstock-Ramati’s opera Amerika at the Opernhaus Zürich. A highly sought-after concert singer, Mojca Erdmann opens the season in San Sebastián’s Kursaal with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, “Symphony of a Thousand,” conducted by Robert Treviño. In the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, she sings The Lyric Symphony by Alexander Zemlinsky under the baton of Kevin John Edusei. At Müpa Budapest, she can be heard as soloist The Creation (Haydn), conducted by Adam Fischer. Other highlights of the season include her appearances at the Musikverein Vienna, the Mozart Festival in Augsburg, the Whitsun Festival in Baden-Baden together with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, as well as her recital with Malcolm Martineau.
Last season, Erdmann made her debut as Doña Clara in Alexander Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg at the Ópera de Tenerife. As artist-in-residence at the CSO Ada Ankara Concert Hall, she presented three different programs including works by Mendelssohn, Reimann and Schönberg. Mojca Erdmann also sang Berg’s Seven Early Songs together with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach at the Konservatoriets Koncertsal in Copenhagen and made her debut with Wolfgang Rhim’s Aria/Ariadne “Szenarie” under the musical direction of Gianandrea Noseda at the Opernhaus Zürich. She sang Jörg Widmann’s Arche at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and performed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and J.S. Bach’s Ich habe genug at the Kölner Philharmonie. Together with pianist Elena Bashkirova, Mojca Erdmann gave several chamber music recitals in Geneva and Andermatt as well as at the Cité de la musique in Paris. Joined by Malcolm Martineau, she presented a program of works by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms at the Narodni Dom in Maribor.
Highlights of past seasons include her appearances at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and Waldvogel (Siegfried). Zerlina was also the role of her debut at the Teatro Real Madrid in 2013. Much acclaimed was Mojca Erdmann’s debut in the title role in Alban Berg’s opera Lulu in a new production by Andrea Breth and conducted by Daniel Barenboim at the Staatsoper Berlin. Lulu advanced to become one of her signature roles, and she sang a new production by William Kentridge at the Amsterdam Opera and Christoph Marthaler’s award-winning production at the Hamburg State Opera. In 2014, the soprano interpreted Marzelline in a new production of Beethoven’s Fidelio as part of La Scala’s season opening, which is traditionally broadcast live worldwide on TV. At the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Mojca Erdmann could be heard as Waldvogel in Siegfried with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. Since her debut at the 2006 Salzburg Festival in the title role of Mozart’s Zaide under Ivor Bolton, Mojca Erdmann has returned to the stage as Zelmira in Haydn’s Armida and as Sophie in a new production of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, among other roles. In 2013 she also sang a series of world premieres with the Scharoun Ensemble as part of the festival.
An unusually versatile performer, Mojca Erdmann is much sought after for her interpretation of contemporary music: she made her debut with the Berlin Staatsoper in the world premiere of Takemitsu – My Way of Life, conducted by Kent Nagano. In 2009, she performed the title role in Wolfgang Rihm’s monodrama Proserpina and the following year Rihm entrusted her with the lead soprano role in his new opera Dionysos, which saw its world premiere at the Salzburg Festival in 2010 and had its German premiere at the Staatsoper Berlin in 2012. Mojca Erdmann’s interpretations of Toshio Hosokawa’s opera Stilles Meer at the Hamburg State Opera and Widmann’s monumental opera Babylon at the Berlin State Opera also earned unanimous critical acclaim. In 2020, Mojca Erdmann took on one of the two leading roles in Luca Francesconi’s two-person play Quartett, based on Heiner Müller’s play. The German version premiered at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin under the direction of Daniel Barenboim.
The soprano is featured on numerous studio recordings, such as an acclaimed version of Mahler’s Symphony No 4 with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Jonathan Nott, or Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, released by Sony. In 2011 she released a solo album of arias by Mozart and Mozart’s contemporaries entitled Mozart’s Garden on Deutsche Grammophon. In 2020, Neos released the album Die Schneekönigin, conducted by David Philip Hefti, in which the soprano took the lead role. Together with Daniel Barenboim on piano and Zubin Mehta conducting, Pierre Boulez Hall recorded Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Crumb’s Ancient Voices in 2021. In 2022 Pentatone presented a new album Hans Sommer Orchestral Songs with Mojca Erdmann in the soloist quartet.
Born in Hamburg, Mojca Erdmann received her first violin lessons at the age of six and sang in the children’s choir of the Hamburg State Opera. After graduating from high school, she studied singing with Hans Sotin at the Cologne University of Music in parallel with violin studies. In 2002, she not only won first prize at the German National Singing Competition, but also the special prize for contemporary music. In 2005 she was awarded the NDR Music Prize by the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Luitpold Prize by the Kissinger Sommer.
