Rachel Harnisch started into the year 2000 with her debut in the title role of Jenůfa at Deutsche Oper Berlin conducted by Donald Runnicles and performed Emilia Marty in Janacek’s Vĕc Makropulos in Geneva in fall. 2019 she was highly successful as Una Moreau in the world creation of Hector Parras’ Les Bienveillantes directed by Calixto Bieito in Antwerp. After her debut as Emilia Marty in Vĕc Makropulos 2016 in Antwerp she guested 2018 very successfully in the same production at the Janacek festival in Brno.
In 2016 she added in Lyon the part of Rachel in Halévy’s La Juive in a production staged by Olivier Py and conducted by Daniele Rustioni to her repertoire and repeated the role in Peter Konwitschni’s production at Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg.
During past seasons she guested with roles like Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Michaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, Marzelline in Fidelio, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Blanche in Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmélites, Clémence in Kajia Saariaho‘s L’amour de loin, Anne Truelove in The Rake’s Progress or Hélène in Donizetti’s Le Duc d’Albe in Berne, Geneva, Zurich, Munich, Essen, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Brussels, Antwerp, Florence, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara, Modena, Verona, Turin, Naples, Madrid, Athens and Santiago de Chile. She is a regular guest at the festivals of Lucerne, Gstaad, Glyndebourne Edinburgh, Evian and at the BBC Proms.
At the Teatro alla Scala in Milan she gave her debut as Nermin in the world creation of Fabio Vacchi’s opera Teneke conducted by Roberto Abbado.
Rachel Harnisch works with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Douglas Boyd, Philippe Herreweghe, Kent Nagano, Dimitri Kitajenko, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Roberto Abbado, John Neschling, Christian Zacharias, Stefan Soltesz, Sir Christopher Hogwood, Antonio Pappano, Michel Plasson, Jeffrey Tate and with the leading European orchestras. A close artistic partnership related her to Claudio Abbado.
She performs a large concert repertoire. Recently she sang Mahler IV. With Daniele Gatti in Rome and Paris, Schubert‘s Lazarus with Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Ingo Metzmacher at the Vienna Musikverein, also with Ingo Metzmacher Berg’s Lulu Suite and Schönberg’s op. 22 in Turin. In Florence she was heard with Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis conducted by Zubin Mehta, in Berne in Verdi’s Requiem, with Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Hope and Albrecht Mayer she performed New Year’s Eve concerts, in Tampere Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn conducted by Eliahu Inbal and Mahler’s symphonies no 2, 4 and 8 in Taipei conducted by Eliahu Inbal.
Rachel Harnisch adores song recitals. Together with her accompanist Jan Philip Schulze she performed 2019 at the Bruckner-Haus Linz Hindemith’s Ein Marienleben, at the Zurich Tonhalle Maag she fascinated her audience with songs by Mahler, Schubert, Strauss and Crumb.
She recorded several CDs. Among them a live recording of a concert in memoriam Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg conducted by Claudio Abbado, in which she sang arias by W. A Mozart. Also with Abbado she recorded several pieces by G. B. Pergolesi, among them his Stabat mater. With Mario Venzago she recorded Schoeck’s Besuch in Urach and Der Fischer und syni Fru. Lately have been released Beethoven’s 9. Symphony with Lucerne Symphonic Orchestra conducted by James Gaffigan and a highly acclaimed recording of Hindemith’s Ein Marienleben. Fidelio conducted by Claudio Abbado from the Lucerne Festival 2010, Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Donizetti’s Le Duc d’Albe are available on DVD.
