Thrilling New Artists at Lyric this Fall

It’s always exciting to welcome new artists to Lyric!

In Idomeneo and Siegfried we’ll hear four extraordinarily gifted singers in their company debuts. All of them have triumphed on major stages in hugely challenging roles.

Arizona native Angela Brower (Idamante in Idomeneo) began her career with the ensemble of Munich’s Bavarian State Opera. She’s now a favorite there, and she’s also singing the gamut of lyric-mezzo roles all over the world. Terrifically successful in trouser roles like Idamante, she made triumphant house debuts last season singing Annio in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito (Opéra National de Paris) and Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus (Deutsche Oper Berlin). Her Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte has been a great success in Munich, as well as on CD. 

It’s momentous when a tenor sings the almost superhumanly demanding title role of Siegfried for the first time, as Burkhard Fritz will do in his Lyric debut. The German artist stands among the elite of heldentenors internationally. He’s starred in Vienna, Munich, Bayreuth, Salzburg, and many other important theaters, mastering every requirement of such formidable works as Wagner’s Die Walküre and Parsifal(he starred in that opera’s first performance in China), Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, and Korngold’s Die tote Stadt. In Amsterdam he starred in the first staged performance of Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder.

Singing opposite Burkhard in the daunting role of Mime is German tenor Matthias Klink who – unusually for interpreters of this role – sings predominantly lyric-tenor repertoire. His extraordinary musicality and beauty of voice have been hailed worldwide in Mozart (including his Metropolitan Opera debut as Tamino in The Magic Flute and appearances at many major European houses and festivals). He’s also been featured as Matteo in Arabella (R. Strauss) in Hamburg and Vienna, Erik in The Flying Dutchman (Wagner) in Berlin, and in the title role of Les contes d’Hoffmann(Offenbach) in Cologne.

The voice for Erda in Siegfried requires the ultimate in velvety richness but also true grandeur. American mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller has made this role her own in performances at San Francisco Opera and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. With the latter company she’s been an ensemble member since the 2013/14 season and has sung a dazzlingly varied repertoire. Among her successes has been the starring role of Fidès in Meyerbeer’s Le prophète. New York audiences can look forward to hearing her this season in the Met’s Ring cycle.

Welcome to Lyric, Angela, Burkhard, Matthias, and Ronnita!