Claudia Mahnke
Oper Frankfurt – Guercoeur
Claudia Mahnke measures the spectrum between lyricism and drama for Guercoeur's widow Giselle.
Die-deutsche-buehne.de (February 3, 2025)Zurich Opera – Walküre
Claudia Mahnke celebrates a personal triumph as Fricka with an equally elegant and intense embodiment.
onlinemerker.com (May 21, 2024)
Season 26/27 and Highlights
SWR SYMPHONIEORCHESTER
Haydn – Harmoniemesse, Hob. XXII:14
Sep 17 (Stuttgart)/ 18 (Stuttgart)/ 19 (Mannheim)/ 20 (Freiburg)
OPER FRANKFURT
Humperdinck – Hansel and Gretel – Gertrude, his wife
Nov 13/22, Dec 5/10/20/26
OPERNHAUS ZÜRICH
Wagner – Das Rheingold – Fricka
Nov 29, Dec 4/12/17
Wagner – Die Walküre – Fricka
Jan 24/31, Feb 3/6
-
OPER FRANKFURT
Respighi – La fiamma – Agnese di Cervia
PREMIERE March 14
March 20/25/28, April 11/17/22/28, May 1Wagner – Die Walküre – Fricka
March 26/29, April 3/18, May 6Wagner – Das Rheingold – Fricka
Apr 4/10/24/30, May 9BAVARIAN STATE OPERA
Wagner – Götterdämmerung – Waltraute
PREMIERE June 27
July 1/4/24/31Wagner – Die Walküre – Waltraute
July 18/27
Biography
Claudia Mahnke has established herself as one of the most important mezzo-sopranos on the international opera concert stages.
Claudia Mahnke will begin the 2026/27 season with concerts with the SWR Symphony Orchestra. Afterwards, she will return to her home company, the Oper Frankfurt, where she will appear as Gertrud (Hänsel und Gretel), Herodias (Salome), Agnese di Cervia (La fiamma), and as Fricka in Wagner's Das Rheingold and Die Walküre . At the Opernhaus Zürich, she will also take on the role of Fricka in Das Rheinhold and Die Walküre and will sing Waltraute (Götterdämmerung) at the Bavarian State Opera.
-
Highlights of past seasons include Fricka in Tcherniakov's Ring at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde) and her appearance in the new production of Fortner's Bluthochzeit at the Oper Frankfurt, Herodias (Salome) and Waltraute (Die Walküre) in a new production at the Bavarian State Opera (directed by Tobias Kratzer), as well as a concert at the Vienna Musikverein with the RSO Vienna featuring works by Nadia Boulanger, her role debut as Countess Geschwitz in the new production of Lulu , and Giselle in Magnard's Guercoeur, both at the Oper Frankfurt , her Met debut as Magdalene (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) under Antonio Pappano, Herodias (Salome) at the Vienna State Opera and the Hamburg State Opera, Fricka at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin under Christian Thielemann, Thomas Guggeis and Philippe Jordan, as well as her role debuts as Amneris (Aida) and Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites at Oper Frankfurt.
Claudia Mahnke is a Kammersängerin (chamber singer) of the City of Frankfurt, where she has been an ensemble member since the 2006/07 season. There she has performed, among other roles, the Foreign Princess (Rusalka), Marie (Wozzeck), Sélika in Meyerbeer's L'Africaine (directed by Tobias Kratzer), Charlotte (Werther), Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretia), Dido (Les Troyens), Conceptión (L'heure espagnole), Judith (Bluebeard's Castle), Marguerite (La Damnation de Faust), Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), Waltraute and the Second Norn (Götterdämmerung), the Composer (Ariadne auf Naxos), Kundry (Parsifal), and the Mother in Hänsel und Gretel .
At the Bavarian State Opera, she appeared as Auntie (Peter Grimes), Magdalene (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) under Kirill Petrenko, Silla in Palestrina , and Frugola in Il tabarro , among other roles. The Hamburg State Opera invited the much sought-after artist to sing Kundry, Waltraute, and Brangäne. At the Theater an der Wien, she appeared as La Grande Vestale in Spontini's La Vestale under the baton of Bertrand de Billy. In San Francisco, she sang the roles of Dorabella, Cherubino, and Zerlina. She also performed her signature role of Judith at Los Angeles Opera. Her portrayal of Jocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex was a resounding success at the Semperoper in Dresden. Her Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier) captivated audiences in Cologne, among other cities, where she was also celebrated as Brangäne. She garnered attention at the Teatro Real in Madrid as Adriano in Rienzi .
Claudia Mahnke made her Bayreuth Festival debut in 2013 as Fricka, Waltraute, and the Second Norn in the new Ring cycle under Kirill Petrenko. She also sang Brangäne with Petrenko at the Ruhrtriennale.
From 1996 to 2006, Claudia Mahnke was a member of the ensemble at the Stuttgart State Opera, where her impressive portraval of the title role in Karl Amadeus Hartmann's Simplicius Simplicissimus earned her several nominations as "Singer of the Year by Opernwelt. In August 2006, Claudia Mahnke was appointed Kammersängerin (chamber singer) of the Stuttgart State Opera.
Claudia Mahnke's broad concert repertoire ranges from Bach's Mass in B minor, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Missa solemnis and Schumann's Paradies und die Peri, to Berg's Altenberg Lieder, Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder, and Penderecki's Credo. A significant focus is the symphonies and songs of Gustav Mahler, including most recently Das Lied von der Erde under Sylvain Cambreling in Berlin and Mahler's Symphony No. 2 under Lorenzo Viotti in Cologne.
Claudia Mahnke studied voice with Professor Heidi Petzold at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden.
2026/27
—
Any changes or reductions must be approved by ARSIS Artist Management. Please do not use older material.
