Representation: World (except Concerts in Germany)
Born in Feuchtwangen (Bavaria), soprano Christiane Karg studied at the Mozarteum University Salzburg with Heiner Hopfner and in Wolfgang Holzmair’s Lied class, being awarded the Lilli Lehmann Medal for her master's degree in opera/musical theatre. While still a student she made her debut at the Salzburg Festival and has been a welcome guest ever since.
She can be heard all over the world in the great roles of her profession: in London at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and at Opéra national de Paris as Pamina, at the Lyric Opera Chicago and at the Met in New York as Susanna, at La Scala in Milan as Sophie and Euridice, at the Vienna State Opera as Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), at the Hamburg State Opera as Pamina, Mélisande, Daphne and Contessa, at the Staatsoper unter den Linden as Micaëla and at the Bavarian State Opera as Pamina, Calisto (La Calisto) Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites) and Fiordiligi.
In the coming season, she has been invited to Paris to sing Pamina at the Opéra de Bastille and, for the first time, also Rosalinde in a concert performance of Die Fledermaus in Graz. The soprano is also in demand internationally for concert roles, her musical partners to date including conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph Eschenbach, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Iván Fischer, Daniel Harding, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Thomas Hengelbrock, Manfred Honeck, Mariss Jansons, Fabio Luisi, Marek Janowski, Andrew Manze, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kirill Petrenko und Christian Thielemann. She works with important orchestras all over the world.
Projects in the current season include Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Haydn's Creation with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Giovanni Antonini, Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Gewandhaus Leipzig under Andris Nelsons and Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Daniel Harding. Mahler's 4th Symphony will see her appearing with three different orchestras: with the Munich Philharmonic both under Krzysztof Urbański and Tugan Sokhiev, with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra under Teodor Currentzis and with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra under David Afkham. In addition, Christiane will take over the soprano part in Mahler's 2nd symphony performed by the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Zubin Mehta and appear as soloist with selected concert arias by Mozart with the Belgian B'Rock Orchestra led by René Jacobs.
Christiane Karg is a distinguished recitalist and regularly appears at the Schubertiade in Hohenems/Schwarzenberg, at London’s Wigmore Hall (where she was Artist in Residence in 2019/2020) and many other prestigious venues such as the Vienna Musikverein, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin and the Salzburg Festival. In the current season, she is also giving recitals with the principal harpist of the Vienna Philharmonic, Anneleen Lenaerts. In addition to her numerous engagements and as Artistic Director of the festival KunstKlang, Christiane Karg conceives her own concert series in her hometown Feuchtwangen and is very committed to her project "be part of it! - Musik für Alle" to promote music education for children and young people. The artist has been awarded the Bavarian Culture Prize and the Brahms Prize of the Brahms Society Schleswig-Holstein for her merits.
Christiane Karg's unmistakable voice has been recorded on numerous CDs. Among others, the CD "Erinnerung" with songs by Gustav Mahler was released by the Harmonia mundi label in late 2020. Her recording of Le nozze di Figaro under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, her CD Scene! with the ensemble Arcangelo under Jonathan Cohen and her Lied CD “Verwandlung - Lieder eines Jahres” received several awards. Her latest solo album, the CD 'Licht der Welt - A Christmas promenade', which was highly praised by the press, was finally released in 2021.
2022 | 2023
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by the artist’s management.
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2
Christiane Karg, Elisabeth Kulman
Czech Philharmonic und Prague Philharmonic Choir
Semyon Bychkov, conductor
Label: Pentatone | 2023
Licht der Welt | A Christmas Promenade
Christiane Karg, soprano
Gerold Huber, piano
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Howard Arman, choir director
Label: Harmonia Mundi | 2021
Gustav Mahler - Erinnerung
Gustav Mahler: Lieder
Christiane Karg, soprano
Malcolm Martineau, piano
Label: Harmonia Mundi | 2020
Johannes Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem
Christiane Karg, Matthias Goerne
Swedish Radio Choir & Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Daniel Harding
Label: Harmonia Mundi | 2019
Christiane Karg, soprano
Reinoud Van Mechelen, tenor
Tareq Nazmi, bass
Roberto González-Monjas, artistic direction
Musikkollegium Winterthur
Ensemble Corund, choir
Stephen Smith, chorus master
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: "Bella mia fiamma" - "Resta, o cara", for soprano and orchestra KV 528
Arnold Schönberg: Verklärte Nacht
Ludwig van Beethoven: "Ah! perfido", Op. 65
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonie Nr. 5 c-Moll op. 67
Christiane Karg, soprano
Mahler Chamber Orchestra
Andris Nelsons, conductor
Richard Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder
Christiane Karg, soprano
Anneleen Lenaerts, harp
Hector Berlioz: Villanelle, aus "Les nuits d'été" op. 7
Hector Berlioz: Le spectre de la rose, aus "Les nuits d'été" op. 7
Hector Berlioz: Sur les lagunes, aus "Les nuits d'été" op. 7
Hector Berlioz: Absence, aus "Les nuits d'été" op. 7
Hector Berlioz: Au cimetière, aus "Les nuits d'été" op. 7
Hector Berlioz: L’île inconnu, aus "Les nuits d'été" op. 7
Franz Schubert: Kennst du das Land, D 321
Franz Schubert: Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, D 877/4
Franz Schubert: Heiß mich nicht reden, D 726
Franz Schubert: So laßt mich scheinen, D 727
Franz Schubert: La pastorella al prato, D 513
Franz Schubert: Guarda che bianca luna, aus "Vier Canzonen", D 688
Franz Schubert: Non t'accostar all'urna, aus "Vier Canzonen", D 688
Franz Schubert: Da quel sembiante appresi, aus "Vier Canzonen" D 688
Franz Schubert: Mio ben ricordati, aus "Vier Canzonen", D 688
Franz Schubert: Vedi quanto adoro, D 510
Christiane Karg, soprano
Malcolm Martineau, piano
Johann Strauß: Die Fledermaus
Mauro Peter, Gabriel von Eisenstein
Christiane Karg, Rosalinde
Sebastian Holecek, Frank
Liviu Holender, Dr. Falke
Michael Schade, Prinz Orlowsky
Ilker Arcayürek, Alfred
Robert Bartneck, Dr. Blind
Miriam Kutrowatz, Adele
Chiara Uderzo, Ida
Max Müller, Frosch
Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, artistic direction
ORF Radio Symphonieorchester Wien
Arnold Schoenberg Chor
Erwin Ortner, chorus master
Representation: World (except Concerts in Germany)