BIOGRAPHY
"Whatever she sings is
imbued with a palette of fresh colour
and her deliveries exude a penetrating insight,
which makes her riveting to listen to."
~ Gillian Wills
Germany based, Australian born soprano, Valda Wilson, is an outstanding interpreter of the works of Mozart, Strauss, Handel, Verdi and Puccini and is a consummate musician who enjoys bringing to life the works of contemporary composers. Valda is praised as a true singing actress with a ‘full, crystal clear soprano voice,’ and ‘sensuous, sensitive phrasing’. Her richly coloured and warm timbred voice, captivating stage presence and nuanced interpretations delight opera and concert audiences alike.
Valda’s 2023 world premiere performance in the title role of Sarah Nemtsov’s Ophelia was fêted by Opus Kulturmagazin and the Frankfurter Allgemeine: ‘An extraordinary performance in terms of acting and singing.’ This was followed by ‘a wonderful Traviata with a beautiful, generous voice….dosing her lyricism with supreme elegance and remarkable expressiveness’ (ForumOpera) and a highly acclaimed debut as Suor Angelica: ‘So intimate, so moving, yet in the depths of tragedy so beautiful in timbre… Suor Angelica unquestionably crowned the evening’ (Saarbrücker Zeitung Il trittico).
Other recent operatic highlights include 2022/23 house debuts at the Royal Opera House Copenhagen (Helmwige, Die Walküre), the New National Theatre Tokyo (Euridice, Orfeo ed Euridice), l’Opéra Royal de Versailles (Wellgunde, Das Rheingold) and major role debuts at the Saarländisches Staatstheater where Valda has been a member of the ensemble for several years. These include the Feldmarschallin (Der Rosenkavalier, R. Strauss), Alcina (Alcina, Handel), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte, Mozart), Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito, Mozart), Marguerite (Faust, Gounod), Micaëla (Carmen, Bizet), Violetta (La traviata), Leonora (Il trovatore), Elisabeth de Valois (Don Carlos, 5-act French version, Verdi).
Valda’s irreverent Australian sense of humour and comic timing has found a home in the world of German and Austrian operetta – particularly the characters of Hanna Glawari (Die lustige Witwe, Lehár) and Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus, J. Strauss). Recent concert performances include Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 and the concert aria ‘Ah! Perfido’ with the Bremer Philharmoniker, the Strasbourg Philharmonique, Sinfonieorkester Aachen and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; and a Dresdner Philharmonie chamber concert featuring Brett Dean’s 'Ophelia'.
Valda enjoys collaborative relationships with conductors including Sébastien Rouland, Marko Letonja, Christopher Ward, Gaetano d’Espinosa, Marcus Bosch, Jonathan Darlington, Erik Nielsen, Tomáš Hanus, Suzuki Masato, Philippe Herreweghe, John Fiore, Erin Helyard, John Nelson, Richard Bonynge, and directors Eva-Maria Höckmayr, Lorenzo Fioroni, Roland Schwab, Vasily Barkhatov, Wolfgang Nägele and Lindy Hume.
Valda trained at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She won Opera Foundation Australia’s prestigious Rockend National Opera Studio London scholarship and then became a young artist at the Semperoper Dresden and at the Verbier and Salzburg Festivals. She placed in the finals of the Concours de Genève International Singing Competition and Plácido Domingo’s Operalia, and won the 2012 Stella Maris International Vocal Competition. Coaches and teachers have included Franco Farina, Lillian Watson, Karen Mitzscherling, Francisco Araiza, Christa Ludwig, Kiri Te Kanawa, Michael Schade, David Aronson, Angelika Kirschlager, Claudio Desderi, Edda Moser.
Valda Wilson was chosen by Richard Bonynge AC CBE to be the only featured soloist at the Westminster Abbey memorial service for Dame Joan Sutherland with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, under Sir Antonio Pappano. Thus began a happy friendship with Maestro Bonynge and a CD recording of a performance of Handel’s Rodelinda (ABC Classics). Valda’s discography includes Theodora with Pinchgut Opera and Erin Helyard (Pinchgut Opera), Verdi’s Un giorno di regno (Coviello Classics) and a CD of rarely performed Beethoven with Marcus Bosch and Capella Acquilea (CPO). With the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz she has recorded a CD of songs by Franz Schrecker with Christopher Ward (Capriccio) and another of Hindemith songs with Karl-Heinz Steffens (Capriccio Classics).
Full biography in English PDF
Please email for biography in German/French.
Operatic repertoire PDF
Concert and chamber music PDF
ENGAGEMENTS
2023-2024 Season
Suor Angelica
Il Trittico - Puccini
Saarländisches Staatstheater
7th, 15th, 17th 21st, 27th, 31st October
5th, 11th, 15th November
29th December
26th January
Helmwiege
Die Walküre - Wagner
Saarländisches Staatstheater
11th, 25th February
9th, 17th, 29th March
7th April
11th May
29th June
Agnes Sorel
The Maid of Orleans - Tchaikovsky
Saarländisches Staatstheater
13th, 16th, 19th, 25th, 27th April
3rd, 5th May
14th June
Dido
Dido and Aeneas - Purcell
Pinchgut Opera, Sydney
30th May
1st, 2nd, 3rd June
CONCERTS
2023-24 Season
Vier Letzte Lieder
Richard Strauss
&
Mahler 4th Symphony
Gabriel Venzago
8th, 10th & 13th December
New Years Concert
An American In Paris
Stefan Neubert
Saarländisches Staatsorchester
1st & 5th January
'Ah, son dannata!' - Suicide scene of Suor Angelica - Puccini
Aufbruch der Jugend - Hindemith
'Die Zeit, die ist ein sonderbar Ding'
Der Rosenkavalier - Strauss
Excerpt from Träume
Wesendonck Lieder - Wagner
'Fond, flatt'ring world... adieu'
Theodora - Handel
'Dove sono i bei momenti'
Le nozze di Figaro - Mozart
Excerpt from Euridice's aria - Gluck
'And once I played Ophelia' - Brett Dean
'To thee, thou glorious son of worth'
Duet with countertenor Christopher Lowrey
Theodora - Handel
gallery
Der Rosenkavalier, StraussPhoto: Bettina Stoess / Director: Jakob Peters-Messer / Conductor: Roger Epple | Der Rosenkavalier, StraussPhoto: Bettina Stoess / Director: Jakob Peters-Messer / Conductor: Roger Epple | Der Rosenkavalier, StraussPhoto: Bettina Stoess / Director: Jakob Peters-Messer / Conductor: Roger Epple |
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Der Rosenkavalier, StraussPhoto: Bettina Stoess / Director: Jakob Peters-Messer / Conductor: Roger Epple | Hanna Glawari - Die Lustige WitweStaging: Aron Stiehl Photo - Martin Kaufhold | Faust, GounodPhoto: Andrea Kremper / Director: Vasily Barkhatov / Conductor: Sébastien Rouland |
Faust, GounodPhoto: Andrea Kremper / Director: Vasily Barkhatov / Conductor: Sébastien Rouland | Faust, GounodPhoto: Andrea Kremper / Director: Vasily Barkhatov / Conductor: Sébastien Rouland | Faust, GounodPhoto: Andrea Kremper / Director: Vasily Barkhatov / Conductor: Sébastien Rouland |
Die Csárdásfürstin, KálmánPhoto: Martin Kaufhold | Die Csárdásfürstin, KálmánPhoto: Martin Kaufhold | Die Csárdásfürstin, KálmánPhoto: Martin Kaufhold |
Violetta Valéry, La Traviata, VerdiDirector and Set Design: Ben Baur / Costume Designer: Uta Meenen | Violetta Valéry, La Traviata, VerdiDirector and Set Design: Ben Baur / Costume Designer: Uta Meenen | Violetta Valéry, La Traviata, VerdiDirector and Set Design: Ben Baur / Costume Designer: Uta Meenen |
Violetta Valéry, La Traviata, VerdiDirector and Set Design: Ben Baur Costume Designer: Uta Meenen | Simplicius - SemperoperSimplicius Simplicissimus K.A. Hartmann Semperoper Dresden | Simplicius - SemperoperSimplicius Simplicissimus K.A. Hartmann Semperoper Dresden |
Portrait by Andrew Rankin | Fiordiligi, Cosi fan tuttePhoto Martin Kaufhold | Fiordiligi, Cosi fan tuttePhoto Martin Kaufhold |
Eliza Doolittle, My Fair LadyPhoto: Yaiza Davilla-Gomez | Eliza Doolittle, My Fair LadyPhoto: Yaiza Davilla-Gomez | Musetta, La BohemePhoto Martin Kaufhold |
Musetta - La BohemeSaarländisches Staatstheater. Photo: Martin Kaufhold | Hanna Glawari, Die Lustige WitwePhoto: Stephan Walzl | Harey, Solaris |
Harey, SolarisPhotos Martin Kaufhold | Mrs Naidoo, Satyagraha, Philip GlassPhoto: Stefan Walzl | Vitellia - La Clemenza di TitoPhoto: Ilja Mess |
Theodora, HandelPinchgut Opera, Sydney Photo: Robert Catto | Helena, Midsummer Night's DreamHelena and Demetrius Photo: Stephan Walzl | Donna AnnaDonna Anna, Don Giovanni |
Romilda - XerxesPhoto: Steven Carnarius |
contact
Daniel Wolfsbauer
tel.: +43/699/19138496
skype: d.wolfsbauer
e-mail: info@wolfsbauer-artists.com
website: www.wolfsbauer-artists.com
Opera Vladarski
tel.: +43 1 368 69 60 / 61
e-mail: opera@vladarski.com
Write to me directly:
Portrait photography by Luis Zeno Kuhn.