MEZZOSOPRAN
Which three roles do you particularly appreciate?
I appreciate roles that really challenge me, where I can go deep into the material. Among the operas, from baroque opera to Mozart, Strauss and contemporary, there are many interesting roles. The multi-layered characters of a Cherubino or Sesto in Mozart's opera often show very rapid changes in drama: heaven and abyss exist almost side by side. The melodic line seems to be full of lightness, brought into a concrete form with simple means. It is one of the most difficult things to recognise the parallelism of these levels in the score; to depict them requires extreme precision.
Fascinating to me are the mezzo-soprano characters of Richard Strauss: the Composer's tonal language in "Ariadne auf Naxos" or Octavian’s in „Der Rosenkavalier" reproduces the characters with exuberant expressivity and radiance.
With a contemporary opera there is usually no familiar sound world, here the greatest challenge lies in understanding the sound language of the respective composer and in rehearsing the part. In the spring of 2022, I accepted the invitation by Semperoper Dresden, where I took on the role of Hagar in Torsten Rasch's world premiere of "The Other Woman" over the course of ten days. The scenic realisation was exciting because there was no direct contact with the conductor. We worked with monitors and additional conductors on the sides of the stage - a major project. In dialogue with the composer, I was able to understand the part better; it grew very close to my heart.
What moment or phase in the whole production process (from learning a role to performing it) do you like the most?
Conscientiously deciphering, understanding and thoroughly rehearsing the score is an important requirement for me.
My favourite phase is getting together with the team around the director and the orchestra, the lively work on developing an idea. The team creates something new together. Of course, the performance, the live moment, is special: the audience helps shaping the performance through their experience and so a unique version of the piece is created every evening.
In a production process it always remains exciting
What should/could be the role of music theatre in society
Theatre in all its forms gives society the opportunity to come together and engage in an experience together. People co-create the moment of a performance through their participation. This community and togetherness, that for me is the essence of theatre.
Interviewer: Peter te Nuyl
Annelie Sophie Müller studied singing, song interpretation and pedagogikal music with piano at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts and soloist class singing with Susanna Eken at the Copenhagen Conservatory. She has had formative collaborations with Brigitte Fassbaender and Peter Berne, and currently with Krassimira Stoyanova.
The 1st prize at the International Lied Competition of the Hugo Wolf Academy in Stuttgart in 2010 opened the doors to the great concert and opera stages for her. For the 2010/11 season she was engaged in the Young Ensemble of the Komische Oper Berlin and quickly attracted attention by taking on the leading role of Pe-Ki in the new production of "Le cheval de bronze".
As a member of the Académie Européenne de Musique in 2011, she made her debut with Mozart's Cherubino at the renowned Festival d' Aix - en - Provence.
From the 2012/13 season onwards, Annelie Sophie was a member of the ensemble in roles such as Hänsel / Hänsel und Gretel, Minerva / Ulisse, Mercédès / Carmen, Hermia / Midsummernight's Dream and again as Cherubino at the Komische Oper. There she worked with conductors such as Stefan Soltesz, Kristiina Poska, Patrick Lange, Christian Curnyn, Ivan Repušić and Alexander Vedernikov. Highlights of her last season were Phébé / Castor et Pollux with director Barrie Kosky, Zerlina in Herbert Fritsch's production of Don Giovanni and her role debut as Prince Orlofsky / Die Fledermaus directed by Andreas Homoki.
Important role debuts such as Komponist / Ariadne auf Naxos at the Gießen Theatre with director Hans Hollmann and Sesto / La Clemenza di Tito at the Bregenz Theatre followed. After her house debut at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein she appeared as Wellgunde / Götterdämmerung in the CD - recording under conductor Axel Kober and the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
At the Semperoper Dresden Annelie Sophie made her house debut with the role of Amando / Le Grand Macabre with conductor Omer Meir Wellber and director Calixto Bieito. She was subsequently invited back to the Semperoper for the title role of Hagar in the world premiere of "The Other Woman", as Cherubino and as Prince Orlofsky.
In the 2022/23 season Annelie Sophie made her debut with the title role of Cenerentola at the Volksoper Wien. As a soloist of the ensemble she created, among others, the part of Georgine in the world premiere "The Last Conspiracy" with director Lotte de Beer.
She opens the current 2023/24 season again as Cenerentola in the production of the same name and will be heard as Prince Orlofsky, Hänsel and with solo works by G. Ligeti in the Vienna State Ballet's new production "The moon wears a white shirt".
As a sought-after concert singer, Annelie Sophie Müller has performed at venues such as the Konzerthaus Vienna, the Gasteig Munich, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Philharmonie Luxembourg and the Osaka Symphony Hall in Japan. She sang the alto part in Bach's St. John Passion in Rome alongside Klaus Maria Brandauer, was a guest soloist at the Munich Opera Festival with L. Berio's Folk Songs and most recently with a Mozart gala with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. She has performed with orchestras such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra and the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble and worked with conductors such as Dmitri Jurowski, Eiji Oue, Alexander Prior, Andris Poga, Helmut Rilling, Kristjan Järvi and Thomas Hengelbrock.
As a Lied singer, Annelie Sophie has given recitals at the Schleswig - Holstein Festival, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele, the International Hugo Wolf Academy, the Traunsteiner Festspiele and the Heidelberger Frühling.
Season 2023/24 (as of August 2023)
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