Nina Stemme

Nina Stemme (born May 11, 1963 in Stockholm) is an opera singer known for her warm, solid spinto soprano voice, with some qualities of a dramatic soprano.

Parallel to her studies of business administration and economics at the University of Stockholm, Stemme followed a 2-year-course at the Stockholm Operastudio. Her debut as Cherubino in Cortona, Italy, in 1989 made Stemme decide to follow a professional singer's career; her studies at the National College of Opera in Stockholm were completed in 1994. In addition to two minor roles at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, she also sang Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Mimi (La bohème), Euridice in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, and Diana (La fedeltà premiata by Haydn).

She sang in two singing competitions, Operalia, The World Opera Competition and Cardiff Singer of the World. As winner of Operalia in 1993, Stemme was invited by Placido Domingo, founder of Operalia, to appear with him in a concert at La Bastille (1993); the same concert also took place on January 1, 1994, in Munich.

Since her operatic debut as Cherubino in Cortona, Italy, Stemme has appeared with many opera companies, including the Royal Swedish Opera Stockholm, the Vienna State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Geneva, Zürich, Teatro San Carlo Naples, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera New York, and San Francisco Opera, as well as at the Bayreuth, Salzburg, Savonlinna, Glyndebourne and Bregenz festivals.

Her roles include Rosalinde, Mimi in La bohème, Cio-Cio-San in Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Suor Angelica, Euridice, Katerina in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Marguerite, Agathe, Marie, Nyssia (König Kandaules), Jenůfa, Marschallin, Eva, Elisabeth, Elsa, Senta, Sieglinde, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser and Isolde. This last brought her critical acclaim at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2003, on disc for EMI Classics with Plácido Domingo, Antonio Pappano and the chorus and orchestra of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden released in 2005 and most recently at the Bayreuth Festival in 2005 and again in 2006. In 2007 Stemme returned in the role of Isolde to Glyndebourne Festival Opera where she first made her debut in the role.

In 2006, Stemme sang Maria in the premiere of Sven-David Sandström's Ordet - en passion, on March 24 in Stockholm. She also made her role debut in the title role of Aida in a new production at Zürich Opera and recorded her first album of Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs and final scenes. On the concert platform in 2006-07, she appeared in recital with Antonio Pappano (piano) in Barcelona and Dresden, in concert performances of Salome in Strasbourg and Paris and in recital at the Zurich opera.

In 2008, Stemme replaced Deborah Voigt in what would have been the American soprano's role debut as Brünnhilde in the new Wiener Staatsoper Ring Cycle conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. Stemme also sang Brünnhilde in San Francisco Opera's 2011 Ring Cycle.

Stemme is a member of the ensemble of the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm, where she was named Hovsångerska in 2006.

External links

• Official website
• EMI Classics biography
• MusicalCriticism.com 2009 Interview
• New York Times review of Stemme in Tristan in Bayreuth (2006)

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Name	Stemme, Nina
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Date of birth	11 May 1963
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