Miah Persson
Encyclopedia
Miah Persson, born 27 May 1969 in Örnsköldsvik
, is a Swedish soprano, active internationally and in recordings.
, singing in choirs and taking part in amateur drama productions. After studying social sciences and law at university in Stockholm, she undertook musical studies at the Kulturama, Operastudio 67 and, from 1996, at the University College of Opera
also in Stockholm
.
She made her operatic debut as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro
at Confidencen
in 1998.
As a member of the Royal Swedish Opera
her roles have included Barbarina and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Pamina in The Magic Flute
, Sandrina in La finta giardiniera
(Mozart), Dorinda in Orlando
(Handel), Tebaldo in Don Carlos
(Verdi), Frasquita in Carmen
(Bizet), Gabrielle in La vie Parisienne
(Offenbach), Gretel in Hansel und Gretel
(Humperdinck) and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier
(Strauss).
In addition to these roles, at other opera houses Miah Persson has sung Brigida in Cimarosa's Gli sposi per accidenti (Studio Lirico, Cortina, Italy), Hero in Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict
(Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris and Baden-Baden), Costanza in Scarlatti's La Griselda (Staatsoper, Berlin), Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff
(Aix-en-Provence), and Governess in Britten's The Turn of the Screw
(Frankfurt). Other recent roles include Arianna in Creta
in 2009, and in 2010 she sang her first Anne Trulove at Glyndebourne.
She made her concert debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2003 and her operatic debut there in 2004 (Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier) and returned in 2005 (Sifare in Mitridate
).
Her Royal Opera House
Covent Garden debut was in 2006 (Susanna) and the same year at Glyndebourne Festival sang (Fiordiligi). In 2009 she made her Metropolitan Opera
debut as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier. She has also appeared with the London Gabrieli Consort and Players and at the Carnegie Hall New York, San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
At the Proms she has sung in the Brahms' Requiem, Così fan tutte
and Mahler's Symphony No. 2
, and has also given song recitals at the Wigmore Hall
in London. Her broadcasts on Swedish Radio include Britten Les illuminations, songs by Grieg and Sibelius, songs and arias by Mozart, and Respighi's Christmas Cantata.
Her husband is the tenor Jeremy Ovenden; they have a daughter and a son.
Örnsköldsvik
Örnsköldsvik is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 28,617 inhabitants in 2005.Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the High Coast area. It is well known as an exporter of paper products...
, is a Swedish soprano, active internationally and in recordings.
Career
Miah Persson grew up in HudiksvallHudiksvall
Hudiksvall is a city and the seat of Hudiksvall Municipality, in Hälsingland, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 14,850 inhabitants in 2005. Hudiksvall is also known as Glada Hudik , a term that originated in the 19th century as word spread of its friendly hospitality and its lively social life...
, singing in choirs and taking part in amateur drama productions. After studying social sciences and law at university in Stockholm, she undertook musical studies at the Kulturama, Operastudio 67 and, from 1996, at the University College of Opera
Operahögskolan i Stockholm
Operahögskolan i Stockholm is a Swedish institution offering higher education in the field of opera music and related arts. Operahögskolan is tasked with educating singers, répétiteurs and opera directors and has approximately 40 students, including 36 singers enrolled.- External links :* for...
also in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
She made her operatic debut as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
at Confidencen
Confidencen
Confidencen, or Ulriksdals slottsteater ; is a Swedish opera stage.Confidencen is Sweden's oldest rococo theatre situated in the National City Park, on the ground of the Ulriksdal Palace outside Stockholm. The building's original structure was built in 1671...
in 1998.
As a member of the Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera
Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
her roles have included Barbarina and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Pamina in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, Sandrina in La finta giardiniera
La finta giardiniera
La finta giardiniera , K. 196, is an Italian opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote it in Munich in January 1775 when he was 18 years old and it received its first performance on January 13 at the Salvatortheater in Munich...
(Mozart), Dorinda in Orlando
Orlando (opera)
Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and...
(Handel), Tebaldo in Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
(Verdi), Frasquita in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
(Bizet), Gabrielle in La vie Parisienne
La Vie Parisienne
La Vie Parisienne was a magazine in France founded in 1863 and popular at the turn-of-the-twentieth century. It was originally intended as a guide to upper class and artistic life in Paris , but it soon evolved into a mildly risqué erotic publication...
(Offenbach), Gretel in Hansel und Gretel
Hänsel und Gretel
Hansel and Gretel is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a Märchenoper . The libretto was written by Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel"...
(Humperdinck) and 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...
(Strauss).
In addition to these roles, at other opera houses Miah Persson has sung Brigida in Cimarosa's Gli sposi per accidenti (Studio Lirico, Cortina, Italy), Hero in Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict
Béatrice et Bénédict
Béatrice et Bénédict is an opera in two acts by Hector Berlioz. Berlioz wrote the French libretto himself, based closely on Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing....
(Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris and Baden-Baden), Costanza in Scarlatti's La Griselda (Staatsoper, Berlin), Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
(Aix-en-Provence), and Governess in Britten's The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw (opera)
The Turn of the Screw is a 20th century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, "wife of the artist John Piper, who had been a friend of the composer since 1935 and had provided designs for several of the operas". The libretto is based on the novella...
(Frankfurt). Other recent roles include Arianna in Creta
Arianna in Creta
Arianna in Creta is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo, a text previously set by Nicola Porpora in 1727 and Leonardo Leo in 1729.-Performance history:The opera was first given at...
in 2009, and in 2010 she sang her first Anne Trulove at Glyndebourne.
She made her concert debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2003 and her operatic debut there in 2004 (Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier) and returned in 2005 (Sifare in Mitridate
Mitridate, re di Ponto
Mitridate, 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....
).
Her 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 debut was in 2006 (Susanna) and the same year at Glyndebourne Festival sang (Fiordiligi). In 2009 she made 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...
debut as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier. She has also appeared with the London Gabrieli Consort and Players and at the Carnegie Hall New York, San Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
At the Proms she has sung in the Brahms' Requiem, Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
and Mahler's Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 2 by Gustav Mahler, known as the Resurrection, was written between 1888 and 1894, and first performed in 1895. Apart from the Eighth Symphony, this symphony was Mahler's most popular and successful work during his lifetime. It is his first major work that would eventually mark his...
, and has also given song recitals at the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
in London. Her broadcasts on Swedish Radio include Britten Les illuminations, songs by Grieg and Sibelius, songs and arias by Mozart, and Respighi's Christmas Cantata.
Her husband is the tenor Jeremy Ovenden; they have a daughter and a son.