Christine Schäfer

Christine Schäfer was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1965. Along with her studies with Ingrid Figur at the Berlin Hochschule der Künste (Academy of Arts), she regularly attended the master classes of Arleen Augér. The soprano's artistic development was also influenced by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Sena Jurinac and Aribert Reimann, who composed several songs for her. Her international breakthrough as an opera singer came as Sophie in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and Berg's Lulu. In addition to stage and concert repertoire, one of her preoccupations is bringing early music to life, and she has worked extensively with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Reinhard Goebel. The combination of intellect, mathematics, and emotion that she finds in the music of Bach speaks directly to her contemporary sensibilities. A much-recorded artist, Christine Schäfer's discography for Deutsche Grammophon includes a collection of Mozart and Strauss with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Claudio Abbado, Bach's Wedding Cantatas with Goebel and Musica Antiqua Köln, Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire and Boulez's Pli selon Pli with Boulez and the Ensemble Intercontemporain and her acclaimed portrayal of Cherubino in the 2006 Salzburg Festival production of Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Harnoncourt.