“Star appeal & down-to-earthness” (Das Opernglas) perfectly describe the outstanding dramatic mezzo-soprano Nadine Weissmann, who “has an incredible stage presence alongside her impeccable voice”( BR Klassik). A touch of glamour coupled with fearless theatrical instincts and a ravishing timbre have established her at the forefront of the new generation of Wagner singers. Collaborations with some of the world’s finest conductors, directors and orchestras in festivals, theatres and concert halls have already allowed her to capture a wide audience through sensitive emotional communication and passionate authenticity. 

Berlin-based, Nadine Weissmann first gained international attention from audiences and the press in 2013 as Erda in Frank Castorf’s Bayreuth Festival production of Der Ring des Nibelungen under the baton of Kirill Petrenko; she sang this and other roles for five summers on the Grüner Hügel. In demand worldwide as a Wagner singer, she is also known for her comic talent, as she has recently demonstrated, for example, when standing in five times as Quickly in Falstaff at the Bastille in Paris alongside Sir Bryn Terfel. She made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in Barrie Kosky’s sensational Orphée aux enfers in summer 2019, 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 has had the privilege of demonstrating her range of performing and musical talent there, in roles as diverse as Ježibaba (Rusalka), Gora (Medea) by Reimann, Geneviève (Pelléas et Mélisande) and as the Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte) in the acclaimed Kosky production, which has already sent her on tour to Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Japan and the Edinburgh Festival. An enthusiastic Lieder singer, she was privileged to perform an evening with her piano partner Karola Theill at the Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth some time ago. A recording of Mahler’s Second Symphony under Ádám Fischer has just been released, and the new DVD of the Salzburg Orphée is already on the market. She recently celebrated role debuts as Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera) and the long-awaited Dalila (Samson et Dalila) and added them to her repertoire. She returned to KOB this autumn as Leokadja Begbick (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) and Cupidon (Orphée aux enfers) to great acclaim.  She is now looking forward to concerts of the Wesendonck Lieder, her role debut as Amneris, her debut at the Budapest Wagner Days in the Ring cycles as Erda, and the concert third act of Siegfried at the Bregenz Festival.

Nadine studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and with Virginia Zeani at Indiana University, Bloomington, where she graduated with both a B.Mus., Master of Music (Voice) and earned a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) and a Performer Diploma (I.U.). She was a member of the ensemble as a permanent soloist at the Osnabrück Theatre and the German National Theatre in Weimar, where she was particularly celebrated as Carmen and in various roles in the Ring. Her broad repertoire also includes Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress), Herodias (Salomé), Laura (La Gioconda), Floßhilde, Schwertleite, Zweite Norn and Waltraute in the Ring, Old Lady (Candide), Duenna (DieVerlobung im Kloster), Florence Pike (Albert Herring), Countess Helfenstein (Mathis der Maler), Old Baroness (Vanessa), Federica (Luisa Miller), Annina (Der Rosenkavalier), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Brigitta (Die tote Stadt), Filipjevna (Eugene Onegin), Mary (Der fliegende Holländer), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) and Amando (Le grand Macabre). 

On the concert podium are Beethoven’s Ninth and Missa solemnis, Mahler’s Second and Eighth Symphonies and Das Lied von der Erde, Brahms’ 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 Schoenberg’s Lied der Waldtaube form a large part of her repertoire. She was soloist in the world premiere of George Alexander Albrecht’s orchestral song cycle Gesänge zur Erde with the Staatskapelle Weimar. Conductors with whom she has performed include. 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, directed by Robert Carsen, Frank Castorf, Mariame Clément, Achim Freyer, La Fura dels Baus, Claus Guth, Jean-Louis Grinda, Barrie Kosky, David McVicar, 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.