Kathryn Lewek is one of the greatest Queens of the Night of our times but shines just as bright in roles rush as Lucia di Lammermoor, and she will be back at the MET with her signature role! But first, just a small talk with Maria-Isabela Nica for OPERA Charm Magazine. Is there something Kathryn still doesn’t know about the Queen of the Night? Was it a dream role ever since she started singing? Find out the answer to the questions & more about the secret of perfect firework coloratura!
Kathryn Lewek has established herself as one of opera’s most thrilling coloratura sopranos of this generation, performing some of the most vocally challenging roles in the repertoire, joining the top-ranking operatic performers of all time. Lewek made an “especially brilliant” (Backtrack) début as Ginevra in Ariodante with the Salzburger Pfingstfestspiele in Austria, opposite Cecilia Bartoli, where Lewek “performed a miracle” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) and thrilled audiences with “a rich (and richly differentiated) soprano voice that has not been experienced for a long time.” (Salzburger Nachrichten).
She returned in the summer of 2019 in Barrie Kosky’s new production of Orphée aux Enfers, “ravishingly” (Bachtrack) singing “the raunchy, full-throttle” (Financial Times) role of Eurydice, wowing critics and audiences alike for her versatility as a performer and prompting Opera Wire to exclaim her Artist of the Week – not to mention a five-page spread in Salzburg’s official festival magazine.
Lewek’s interpretation of her signature role, the quintessential Mozart villain, has labeled her the current reigning Queen of the Night of the world, with productions of Die Zauberflöte with over 25 companies in over 300 performances to date, including The Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, The Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bregenzer Festspiele, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Wiener Straatsoper, Teatro Real in Madrid, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Festival Castell de Peralada, Opera Leipzig, The Royal Danish Opera, amongst others.
With an impressive history of leading female roles in her career, recent seasons’ engagements have also included Teresa in Benvenuto Cellini with Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Deutsche Oper Berlin and subsequently in her house début with the Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich); a reprisal of her performance as Ginevra in Ariodante with Opera Monte Carlo; the title role of Maria Stuarda with Edmonton Opera; Angelica in Handel’s masterpiece Orlando on tour throughout Europe; and Jessica in the world première of André Tchaikowsky’s Kupiec Wenecki (The Merchant of Venice) with Bregenzer Festspiele. This production was awarded the International Opera Award 2014 in the category “Best World Première''. Read full article.
