AUŠRINĖ STUNDYTĖ: A LUSCIOUS VOICE WITH WHITE-HOT TOP NOTES

Interpreted by Aušrinė Stundytė for the first time in 2016 at the Opéra national de Lyon and then sung for five revivals since, does the role of Renata in The Fiery Angel still reserve a few surprises for this sublime Lithuanian soprano? There is no doubt that MariuszTreliński's interpretation at the Festival d’Aix this summer will be able to cast new light on this strange multi-faceted feminine character.
 

I adore these great explosions of emotion of which we do not always grasp the origin or the sense, but of which the only evidence is the power and the impact.

Aušrinė Stundytė, regarding "The Fiery Angel"

Visited by a fiery angel since her childhood, Renata starts looking for him when he abandons her. Whilst pursuing him she meets Ruprecht the knight, who through love for her will try and get her out of this carnal trap. Astounding from all points of view, Aušrinė Stundytė has a powerful well placed voice and has shown herself to be an exceptional actress playing this most demanding of roles with vocal assurance and an impressive volume.

Her physical engagement is profound, Aušrinė Stundytė portrays Renata with mastery and a vocal intelligence which forces our admiration.

Forumopera.com, "The Fiery Angel", Opéra de Lyon, October 2016

    

Everything relies upon the strength of the heroine Renata’s character. Aušrinė Stundytė is a human torch. She gives absolutely everything, both vocally and theatrically.

Le Temps, "The Fiery Angel", Opéra de Lyon, October 2016

Artist’s Biography

The Lithuanian soprano Aušrinė Stundytė studied at the Music Academy of Lithuania with Irena Milkeviciute, and then at the Hochschule in Leipzig with Helga Forner. She made her debut at the Leipzig Opera, but as a member of the Cologne Opera Ensemble.

She can be heard in Die Walkyrie in Palermo ; Schreker’s Die Gezeichnecten at the Komische Oper in Berlin; Das Wunder der Heliane by Korngold in Antwerps; Zemlinsky’s The Florentine Tragedy in Amsterdam; Catalani’s Lorley at the Saint Gall Festival ; The Fiery Angel in Zurich, but also in Munich and at the Opéra national de Lyon; Tannhäuser in Venice and Antwerps; Lady Macbeth of Mzensk by Chostakovitch in Lyon and then in Antwerps; Rihm’s Die Eroberung von Mexiko in Cologne and Madrid; Fidelio in Israël and at the Volksoper in Vienna as well as in Florence (staged version) conducted by Zubin Mehta; Boito’s Mefistofole in Munich; Bluebeard’s Castle at  the Komischen Oper in Berlin; Tosca in Seattle and São Paulo; Elektra in Antwerps; La Giaconda in Saint Gall; Madama Butterfly at the Savonlinna Opera Festival and in Seattle; Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony and  Götterdämmerun (Schlussgesang) in Tokyo. More recently, the soprano made her debut in the title role of Salomé at the Statsoper in Berlin conducted by Thomas Guggels and interpreted Renata at the Wieki Theatre in Warsaw, but also Tosca in Helsinki. In concert she has performed at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig as well as the Cologne and Essen Philharmonic Societies. With the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk she has recorded songs by Herman Heyer.

This summer, you can hear Aušrinė Stundytė at the Festival d’Aix en Provence in the role of Renata (The Fiery Angel) from the 5th July at the Grand Théâtre de Provence.

 

Translation: Christopher Bayton