Soloist - Soprano
Mirka Wagner
Zitat einfügen oder Element löschen... about my first visit to the opera. I sat with my eyes wide open, staring at the stage as if I were hypnotised.
In the Ensemble of the Komischen Oper
Berlin since 2012.
ORIGINALLY FROM
Hamburg
STUDIES
Hochschule für Musik »Hanns Eisler« Berlin (bei Prof. Norma Sharp und Snezana Brzakovic)
Opernstudio Komische Oper Berlin
Berlin since 2012.
ORIGINALLY FROM
Hamburg
STUDIES
Hochschule für Musik »Hanns Eisler« Berlin (bei Prof. Norma Sharp und Snezana Brzakovic)
Opernstudio Komische Oper Berlin
PRIZES
2. Preis beim Bundeswettbewerb Gesang in der Sparte Oper/Operette
MASTERCLASSES WITH
Thomas Quasthoff
Julia Varady
Wolfram Rieger
IMPORTANT PARTS AT THE KOMISCHE OPER BERLIN
Despina (Così fan tutte)
Titelpartie in Der goldene Hahn von Nikolai Rimski-Korsakow
Berta (Der Barbier von Sevilla)
Musette (La Bohème)
Julia de Veert (Der Vetter aus Dingsda)
Marietta (Die Bajadere)
Parasja (Der Jahrmarkt von Sorotschinzi)
Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin (Der Rosenkavalier)
Noémie (Cendrillon)
Das Fräulein (Heute Nacht oder nie)
Wendy Darling (Peter Pan)
Briefträgerin Kathi (Im Weißen Rössl)
Frasquita (Carmen)
Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel)
Eurydike (Orpheus)
Mrs. Naidoo (Satyagraha)
Trauernde Frau (Die Nase)
Prinzessin Ninetta (Die Liebe zu drei Orangen)
Eine Schäferin / Die Fledermaus / Der Stuhl / Die Eule (Petruschka/L’Enfant et les Sortilèges)
Erste Dame(Die Zauberflöte)
Tatjana (Frühlingsstürme)
Yvonne Dschainah (Das Mädchen aus dem Tanzhaus)
Die gute Hexe des Nordens/Die gute Hexe des Südens/Die Königin der Feldmäuse/Glinda (Der Zauberer von Oz)
Pamina (Die Zaubermelodika)
Saffi (Der »Zigeuner«baron)
IMPORTANT PARTS ELSEWHERE
Lisa (Das Land des Lächelns, Theater Regensburg)
Prinzessin Ninetta (Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen, Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz)
Annina (Eine Nacht in Venedig, Staatsoperette Dresden)
Lisa (Das Land des Lächelns, Musikalische Komödie Leipzig)
EXCURSIONS
Bregenzer Festspiele: Zwerg in der Uraufführung von Detlev Glanerts Solaris
Théâtre Nantes/Angers: Papagena(Die Zauberflöte)
Edinburgh Festival und Shanghai Grand Theater: 1. Dame (Die Zauberflöte)
Asked about her favourite film, Mirka Wagner doesn’t have to think long: La vita è bella, by and starring Roberto Benigni! »I’m just fascinated by the honesty and joy exuded by the film and its protagonists, even when there is really nothing left to laugh about.« Happiness and a fundamentally positive view of things are also central characteristics of Mirka Wagner. »My parents tell everyone about my first visit to the opera. I sat with my eyes wide open, staring at the stage as if I were hypnotised. The costumes, the light, that incredible music. In that moment I knew I was going to be an opera singer.«
When the children’s choir of the Hamburgische Staatsoper was looking for new singers, it was obvious that Mirka Wagner had to join. At 9 years of age, she was accepted into the children’s choir, and she left a full 10 years later, at 19, to move to Berlin to study. »Though I had been involved in countless operas in the children’s choir, I have to admit that I had very rarely experienced an opera as a member of the audience. And when I then did find myself sitting in the audience again, I thought to myself: Something is wrong here. I’m looking in the wrong direction«, she laughs.
A love of music influences every sphere of Mirka Wagner’s life – both private and professional. And the genre doesn’t really make a difference. Regardless of whether it’s classical or jazz, rock or pop, the main thing is that the music touches your heart. Her creative work in music is just as diverse: she helped to finance her studies recording advertising jingles and songs for Sesame Street. »Pay with Mastercard for your chance to win: go shopping in Milan and visit the Scala!« she sings with a laugh to the melody of »La donna è mobile«.
Making her start in Berlin wasn’t necessarily easy. »People often say that artists are a bit of a mess. My fridge was mostly empty except for mustard and some dehydrated vegetables. And when I did do the shopping, I had no idea what to do with the groceries. I had to learn how to cook.« Nowadays though, it’s become a bit of a hobby. Mirka is a passionate chef, especially for her friends, cooking Turkish or Italian fare, following recipes or freestyle. As long as it tastes good!
1. Which opera character have you learned the most from (and what)?
Norma, sung by Maria Callas in Bellini’s aria “Casta Diva.” It’s not just her singing that’s fascinating, but especially the 1:30 min leading up to the aria. The way she fills that pause with nothing but the expression in her eyes is simply impressive and elevates the role to an even higher level.
2. What do you sing when no one is listening?
I actually sing nonstop – whatever happens to pop into my head. Sometimes I’m standing on the subway and wonder why people look so surprised… and then I realize: I hadn’t even noticed that I’d been humming my part out loud to myself. It just happens—as if the music were spinning itself out, even without a stage.
3. What profession would you have today if you hadn’t become a singer?
I didn't really have a Plan B – I always knew I wanted to be a singer. But if things had turned out differently, I probably would have ended up in a field that still had to do with the voice and being human: maybe as a voice therapist or a speech-language pathologist. Helping people find their own voices would have been just as fulfilling for me.
4. Which artistic experience changed everything for you?
That was the moment when I first got to appear on stage at the Hamburg State Opera as a gingerbread child in Hänsel und Gretel. I remember exactly how it felt: that light, that world, that sense of “something is happening right now.” And I had just one thought, crystal clear and completely calm: I want to do this for the rest of my life.
5. What do you do after the performance?
It varies from time to time – but what I like best is meeting up with friends or family in the cafeteria and winding down the evening. That slow unwinding after the last note, the shared laughter. Since I often work in the evenings, it’s all the more wonderful when they come to visit me and we get to spend time with each other “after work.”
Norma, sung by Maria Callas in Bellini’s aria “Casta Diva.” It’s not just her singing that’s fascinating, but especially the 1:30 min leading up to the aria. The way she fills that pause with nothing but the expression in her eyes is simply impressive and elevates the role to an even higher level.
2. What do you sing when no one is listening?
I actually sing nonstop – whatever happens to pop into my head. Sometimes I’m standing on the subway and wonder why people look so surprised… and then I realize: I hadn’t even noticed that I’d been humming my part out loud to myself. It just happens—as if the music were spinning itself out, even without a stage.
3. What profession would you have today if you hadn’t become a singer?
I didn't really have a Plan B – I always knew I wanted to be a singer. But if things had turned out differently, I probably would have ended up in a field that still had to do with the voice and being human: maybe as a voice therapist or a speech-language pathologist. Helping people find their own voices would have been just as fulfilling for me.
4. Which artistic experience changed everything for you?
That was the moment when I first got to appear on stage at the Hamburg State Opera as a gingerbread child in Hänsel und Gretel. I remember exactly how it felt: that light, that world, that sense of “something is happening right now.” And I had just one thought, crystal clear and completely calm: I want to do this for the rest of my life.
5. What do you do after the performance?
It varies from time to time – but what I like best is meeting up with friends or family in the cafeteria and winding down the evening. That slow unwinding after the last note, the shared laughter. Since I often work in the evenings, it’s all the more wonderful when they come to visit me and we get to spend time with each other “after work.”