Cyndia Sieden
Encyclopedia
Cyndia Sieden is an American coloratura soprano
on the opera
and concert stages.
in master classes in Carmel Valley, CA in 1982. Schwarzkopf then invited Sieden to become her private student, and also to work with her in her master classes at the 1983 Salzburg Mozarteum. Sieden sang in the culminating concert/competition and won first place, which became the catalyst for her first professional engagements. In 1984, she made her European debut in the Ruth Berghaus production of The Barber of Seville
(Silvio Varviso
conducting) at the Bavarian State Opera
; her American debut also took place in 1984, in La Fille du Regiment
in Tampa, Florida.
Since then, she has moved among the Baroque, classical, romantic and modern/contemporary repertoire at most of the world’s great opera houses, including Munich’s Bavarian State Opera
, Paris’s Opéra Bastille
, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Brussels's La Monnaie
, and London’s Royal Opera House
and English National Opera
, as well as in Beijing and Australia. Her Metropolitan Opera
, New York, debut was in the title role of Alban Berg
’s Lulu
, and she returned there in 2008 for the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte. With a great sympathy for the works of Richard Strauss
, she often performs Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos
(Munich, Japan, Vienna), Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier
(Paris Châtelet) and Aminta in Die schweigsame Frau
(Palermo).
On the concert platform Cyndia Sieden has appeared with most major European and North American orchestras; Sieden often sings Carl Orff
's Carmina Burana
, the oratorios of Handel
, Mozart, and Haydn, and works of Johann Sebastian Bach
and Gustav Mahler
. Among her collaborators have been Christoph Eschenbach
, John Eliot Gardiner
, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
, James Levine
, Nicolas McGegan, Roger Norrington
, Wolfgang Sawallisch
, Pinchas Steinberg
and Esa-Pekka Salonen
.
Challenging contemporary roles have been a hallmark of her career, including the high-flying and athletic role of Ariel in the premiere of Thomas Adès
’s The Tempest
at the Royal Opera House
Covent Garden. 2011 appearances in contemporary opera include Morton Feldman
’s monodrama Neither for New York City Opera
and Ariadne - Soprano I in Wolfgang Rihm
’s Dionysos at The Netherlands Opera.
Sieden divides her time between homes in Europe and the state of Washington, USA.
Label: Archiv Produktion (DG)
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performers: Gardiner, Oelze, Schade, Sieden
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir
Label: Archiv Produktion (DG)
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performers: Olsen, Orgonasova, Sieden, Peper
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir
Label: Glossa
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer: Cyndia Sieden
Conductor: Frans Brüggen
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestra of the 18th Century
Label: Berlin Classics
Composer: Anton Schweitzer
Performers: Hofstetter, Genz, Schneider, Sieden
Conductor: Michael Hofstetter
Orchestra/Ensemble: Concerto Cologne
Label: Orfeo
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performers: Ford, Sieden, Oelze
Conductor: Roger Norrington
Orchestra/Ensemble: Camerata Salzburg
Label: Telarc
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performers: Pearlman, Aler, Sieden
Conductor: Martin Pearlman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Baroque
Label: Philips
Composer: Christoph W. Gluck
Performers: Ragin, McNair, Sieden
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra/Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists
Label: EMI Angel
Composer: Richard Strauss
Performers: Kollo, Studer, Schwarz, Vinzing, Muff, Sieden
Conductor: Wolfgang Sawallisch
Orchestra: Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Label: Koch
Composer: Richard Strauss
Performers: Kurt Moll
, Van Der Walt, Sieden
Conductor: Pinchas Steinberg
Orchestra: Munich Radio Orchestra
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
on the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and concert stages.
Biography
Cyndia Sieden was born in 1961 in California, USA, and received her first vocal instruction there. A significant early milestone in her studies was work with Elisabeth SchwarzkopfElisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
in master classes in Carmel Valley, CA in 1982. Schwarzkopf then invited Sieden to become her private student, and also to work with her in her master classes at the 1983 Salzburg Mozarteum. Sieden sang in the culminating concert/competition and won first place, which became the catalyst for her first professional engagements. In 1984, she made her European debut in the Ruth Berghaus production of The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
(Silvio Varviso
Silvio Varviso
Silvio Varviso was a Swiss conductor who spent most of his career devoted to conducting operas. He began his conducting career working in minor opera houses in Switzerland in the mid 1940s. He became the principal conductor of the opera house in Basel in 1956 where he served for six years...
conducting) at the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
; her American debut also took place in 1984, in La Fille du Regiment
La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment is an opéra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. It was written while the composer was living in Paris, with a French libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard.La figlia del reggimento, a slightly different Italian-language version , was...
in Tampa, Florida.
Since then, she has moved among the Baroque, classical, romantic and modern/contemporary repertoire at most of the world’s great opera houses, including Munich’s Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
, Paris’s Opéra Bastille
Opéra Bastille
L'Opéra Bastille ' is a modern opera house in Paris, France. It is the home base of the Opéra national de Paris and was designed to replace the Palais Garnier, which is nowadays mainly used for ballet performances....
, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Brussels's La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
, and London’s Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
and English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
, as well as in Beijing and Australia. Her Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
, New York, debut was in the title role of Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
’s Lulu
Lulu (opera)
Lulu is an opera by the composer Alban Berg. The libretto was adapted by Berg himself from Frank Wedekind's plays Erdgeist and Die Büchse der Pandora .-Composition history:...
, and she returned there in 2008 for the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte. With a great sympathy for the works of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, she often performs Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
(Munich, Japan, Vienna), Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(Paris Châtelet) and Aminta in Die schweigsame Frau
Die schweigsame Frau
Die schweigsame Frau is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's Epicoene, or the Silent Woman.-Performance history:...
(Palermo).
On the concert platform Cyndia Sieden has appeared with most major European and North American orchestras; Sieden often sings Carl Orff
Carl Orff
Carl Orff was a 20th-century German composer, best known for his cantata Carmina Burana . In addition to his career as a composer, Orff developed an influential method of music education for children.-Early life:...
's Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana (Orff)
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936. It is based on 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana...
, the oratorios of Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
, Mozart, and Haydn, and works of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
and Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
. Among her collaborators have been Christoph Eschenbach
Christoph Eschenbach
Christoph Eschenbach , born February 20, 1940, Breslau, Germany is a German-born pianist and conductor. He currently holds positions in Washington, D.C. as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.-Early...
, John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
, James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
, Nicolas McGegan, Roger Norrington
Roger Norrington
Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington, CBE is a British conductor. He is the son of Sir Arthur Norrington and his brother is Humphrey Thomas Norrington....
, Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
, Pinchas Steinberg
Pinchas Steinberg
Pinchas Steinberg is an Israeli conductor.He was a violin student in the USA and a composition student in Berlin. His conducting debut was in 1974 with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Berlin. He was a regular guest conductor with the Vienna State Opera from 1986-1993...
and Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
.
Challenging contemporary roles have been a hallmark of her career, including the high-flying and athletic role of Ariel in the premiere of Thomas Adès
Thomas Adès
Thomas Adès is a British composer, pianist and conductor.-Biography:Adès studied piano with Paul Berkowitz and later composition with Robert Saxton at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London...
’s The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
Covent Garden. 2011 appearances in contemporary opera include Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
’s monodrama Neither for New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
and Ariadne - Soprano I in Wolfgang Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm
Wolfgang Rihm is a German composer.Rihm is Head of the Institute of Modern Music at the Karlsruhe Conservatory of Music and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Festival...
’s Dionysos at The Netherlands Opera.
Sieden divides her time between homes in Europe and the state of Washington, USA.
Selected Discography
- Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
Label: Archiv Produktion (DG)
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Performers: Gardiner, Oelze, Schade, Sieden
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
Orchestra/Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir
- Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem SerailDie Entführung aus dem SerailDie Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
Label: Archiv Produktion (DG)
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Performers: Olsen, Orgonasova, Sieden, Peper
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
Orchestra/Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists, Monteverdi Choir
- Mozart: Arias For Aloysia Weber
Label: Glossa
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Performer: Cyndia Sieden
Conductor: Frans Brüggen
Frans Brüggen
Frans Brüggen is a well-known Dutch conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist.-Biography:Brüggen studied recorder and flute at the Amsterdam Muzieklyceum. He also studied musicology at the University of Amsterdam. In 1955, at the age of 21, he was appointed professor at the Royal...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Orchestra of the 18th Century
- Schweitzer: Alceste
Label: Berlin Classics
Composer: Anton Schweitzer
Performers: Hofstetter, Genz, Schneider, Sieden
Conductor: Michael Hofstetter
Orchestra/Ensemble: Concerto Cologne
- Mozart: Mitridate, re di PontoMitridate, re di PontoMitridate, re di Ponto , K. 87 , is an early opera seria in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto is by Vittorio Amadeo Cigna-Santi after Giuseppe Parini's Italian translation of Jean Racine....
Label: Orfeo
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Performers: Ford, Sieden, Oelze
Conductor: Roger Norrington
Roger Norrington
Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington, CBE is a British conductor. He is the son of Sir Arthur Norrington and his brother is Humphrey Thomas Norrington....
Orchestra/Ensemble: Camerata Salzburg
- Mozart: Der SchauspieldirektorDer SchauspieldirektorDer Schauspieldirektor , K. 486, is a comic Singspiel written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, an Austrian Schauspieldirektor....
Label: Telarc
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Performers: Pearlman, Aler, Sieden
Conductor: Martin Pearlman
Orchestra/Ensemble: Boston Baroque
- Gluck: Orfeo ed EuridiceOrfeo ed EuridiceOrfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
Label: Philips
Composer: Christoph W. Gluck
Performers: Ragin, McNair, Sieden
Conductor: John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
Orchestra/Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists
- Strauss: Die Frau ohne SchattenDie Frau ohne SchattenDie Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917...
Label: EMI Angel
Composer: Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
Performers: Kollo, Studer, Schwarz, Vinzing, Muff, Sieden
Conductor: Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Wolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...
Orchestra: Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
- Strauss: Die schweigsame FrauDie schweigsame FrauDie schweigsame Frau is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's Epicoene, or the Silent Woman.-Performance history:...
Label: Koch
Composer: Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
Performers: Kurt Moll
Kurt Moll
Kurt Moll is a German operatic bass, now retired.-Biography:Moll was born in Buir, near Cologne, Germany. As a child, he played the cello and hoped to become a great cellist. He also sang in the school choir, and the conductor encouraged him to concentrate on singing...
, Van Der Walt, Sieden
Conductor: Pinchas Steinberg
Pinchas Steinberg
Pinchas Steinberg is an Israeli conductor.He was a violin student in the USA and a composition student in Berlin. His conducting debut was in 1974 with the RIAS Symphony Orchestra, Berlin. He was a regular guest conductor with the Vienna State Opera from 1986-1993...
Orchestra: Munich Radio Orchestra
Sources
- NY Times Review, 3/2011
- LA Philharmonic bio
- Washington Post review 3/27/2011
- Classical Review article 3/2011
- KDHX review of St. Louis Symphony concert, 5/6/2011
- Bach-Cantatas online bio