Juliane Banse, soprano

Juliane Banse was born in southern Germany and grew up in Zurich. She took lessons first with Paul Steiner, and later with Ruth Rohner at the Zurich Opera House, completing her studies under Brigitte Fassbaender and Daphne Evangelatos in Munich.

Her stage debut as a twenty-year-old in the role of Pamina in Harry Kupfer's production of The Magic Flute at the Komische Oper Berlin, and her much-fíªted performance as Snow White in the premiere of the opera of the same name (Schneewittchen) by Heinz Holliger in Zurich ten years later are prime examples of Juliane Banse's outstanding artistic versatility. By now her operatic repertoire ranges from the Countess in Figaro (her debut at the Salzburg Festival), Eva (Meistersinger von Ní¼rnberg), Fiordiligi (Cosí¬ fan tutte), Genoveva (title role), across Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Arabella (title role), Grete (Der ferne Klang) to Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito), which she sang last season at the Vienna State Opera in parallel with the Daughter in Hindemith's Cardillac. In the same season she also sang Eva in Wagner's Meistersinger von Ní¼rnberg at the Zurich Opera House. Recently she expanded her repertoire to include Leonore (Fidelio) under Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Theater an der Wien. She was also recently seen performing Rosalinde (Fledermaus) in Chicago.

On the concert stage too, Ms Banse is sought after in a wide variety of roles. She has worked with numerous other conductors of note, including Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Chailly, Bernard Haitink, Franz Welser-Möst and Mariss Jansons. Recent seasons have taken Juliane Banse to the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg again, and to the Wigmore Hall London, as well as to the Konzerthaus Wien with Bo Skovhus. Her concert diary includes DvoÅ™ák's Requiem with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer, an orchestral performance of Hindemith's Cardillac with the Munich Radio Orchestra, and a US-tour with the Vienna Philharmonic under Daniele Gatti with Mahler's 4th Symphony. Further engagements take her to the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach, to the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Jukka-Pekka Saraste as well as to the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer.

Many of her CD recordings have won awards. Two recordings with Juliane Banse won the Echo Klassik: Braunfels's Jeanne D'Arc with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Manfred Honeck (nominated 'first world recording of the year') and Mahler's Eighth Symphony with the Tonhalle Orchester Zí¼rich under David Zinman ('symphonic recording of the year, 19th century'). Further projects include a collection of opera arias under the title Per Amore with the German Radio Philharmonic Saarbrí¼cken Kaiserslautern, the recording of Lieder Tief in der Nacht with Aleksandar Madzar, and finally the film Hunter's Bride/Der Freischí¼tz with the London Symphony Orchestra, Juliane Banse playing Agathe, directed by Daniel Harding.