Diana Damrau

As one of Germany's most renowned soprano singers, Diana Damrau has performed at some of the greatest opera houses in the world, received the Bavarian Order of Merit and been bestowed the honorary title of Bayerische Kammersangerin.

Growing up in the small town of Günzburg in South Germany, Damrau fell in love with her parents' collection of Verdi records at a young age and went on to study at the Würzburg Conservatory under the guidance of Hanna Ludvig. Cutting her teeth with the National Theatre Mannheim and the Opera Frankfurt, she made her name playing The Queen of the Night in Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' and made her first major recordings in 2007 with the album 'Arie di Bravura', featuring arias by Righini and Salieri. Her charismatic, passionate style and voice led to high profile performances at the Metropolitan Opera of 'Les Contes d'Hoffman', 'La Traviata' and 'Rigoletto' and she became regarded as one of the best coloratura sopranos in the world.

Away from the stage she recorded a collection of Strauss songs with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra on the album 'Poesie' in 2011 and with pianist Helmut Deutsch she took on 'Liszt's Lieder' before winning Best Female Singer at the International Opera Awards in 2014. In 2018 she picked up the Opus Klassik Singer of the Year award before teaming up with Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch to record an album of lieder by Christian Wolf. The album, titled 'Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch' was released in 2019.