"Star appeal & down to earth" (Das Opernglas) perfectly describes outstanding dramatic mezzo-soprano Nadine Weissmann "...who, apart from her flawless voice, has an incredible stage presence" (BR Klassik). A touch of glamour paired with fearless dramatic instincts and an enchanting vocality have established her at the forefront of the new generation of Wagnerian singers. Collaborations with some of the world's top conductors, directors, orchestras, festivals, theaters, and venues have already allowed her to capture the hearts of wide audiences through sensitive emotional communication and fiercely authentic artistry.
Berlin-born Nadine Weissmann came to international prominence for the public and press in 2013 as Erda in Frank Castorf’s Bayreuth Festival production of Der Ring des Nibelungen under Kirill Petrenko, a role she sang at Bayreuth in five consecutive seasons. In demand for Wagnerian roles worldwide, she is also known for her comedic talent, in past seasons jumping in five times as Quickly at the Opéra Bastille alongside the Falstaff of Sir Bryn Terfel. She made her Salzburg Festival debut in the summer of 2019 in Barrie Kosky's sensational Orphée aux enfers and shortly afterwards at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in David McVicar's legendary Magic Flute. A regular guest at the Komische Oper Berlin, she displayed her musical and dramatic range in roles as diverse as Ježibaba (Rusalka), Gora (Medea) by Reimann, Geneviève (Pelléas et Mélisande), and Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte) in the celebrated Kosky production that has taken her on tour as far as Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, the Edinburgh Festival, and Japan. A keen recitalist, she and collaborative pianist Karola Theill were last heard in concert at Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth. A recording of Mahler's Second Symphony with Ádám Fischer has just been released, the DVD of the Salzburg Orphée is already available. Most recently, she successfully added Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera), as well as her long-awaited Dalila (Samson et Dalila) to her repertoire. She returned to the KOB as Leokadja Begbick in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny and as Cupidon (Orphée aux enfers) this past fall with great success, and is now looking forward to concerts of the Wesendonck-Lieder, her role debut as Amneris, and her debut in the Budapest Wagner Days Ring Cycles as Erda, as well as the concert of act 3 of Siegfried at the Bregenz Festival.
Nadine studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and with Virginia Zeani at Indiana University, Bloomington, gaining B.Mus. and Master of Music (Vocal Performance) degrees as well as a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) and a Performer Diploma at IU. She has held full-time contracts with the Osnabrück Theatre and the German National Theater Weimar, where she was acclaimed as Carmen and in multiple roles in the Ring. Her wide-ranging repertoire also includes Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress), Herodias (Salome), Laura (La Gioconda), Floßhilde, Schwertleite, Second Norn and Waltraute in the Ring, the Old Lady (Candide), Duenna (Betrothal in a Monastery), Florence Pike (Albert Herring), Countess Helfenstein (Mathis der Maler), the Old Baroness (Vanessa), Federica (Luisa Miller), Annina (Der Rosenkavalier), Maddalena (Rigoletto),Brigitta (Die tote Stadt), Filipjevna (Eugen Onegin), Mary (Der fliegende Holländer), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro), and Amando (Le grand Macabre).
As a concert artist, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Missa solemnis, Mahler’s Second and Eighth Symphonies and Das Lied von der Erde, Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody, Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bach’s St. John Passion and Christmas Oratorio , Verdi’s Requiem, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été, Dvořák's Stabat mater, Berio's Folk Songs, and Schönberg's Song of the Wood Dove make up a large part of her performed repertoire. She also premiered the orchestral song cycle Gesänge zur Erde by George Alexander Albrecht with the Staatskapelle Weimar. Conductors she worked with have included Michael Boder, Jesús López-Cobos, Christoph Eschenbach, Ádám Fischer, Lawrence Foster, Leo Hussain, Martin Hoff, Marek Janowski, Kirill Karabits, Lothar Koenigs, Fabio Luisi, Antonello Manacorda, Kirill Petrenko, Donald Runnicles, and Christian Thielemann, in productions by Robert Carsen, Frank Castorf, Mariame Clément, Achim Freyer, La Fura dels Baus, Claus Guth, Jean-Louis Grinda, Barrie Kosky, Marco Arturo Marelli, Olivier Py, and Michael Schulz. Nadine is a prizewinner of the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg Singing Competition, the Francisco Viñas Competition in Barcelona, and the International Wagner Competition in Seattle. She was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2017.
