Born in Feuchtwangen, Bavaria, soprano Christiane Karg completed her studies at the Mozarteum University Salzburg under Heiner Hopfner and in the lied class of Wolfgang Holzmair, where she was additionally awarded the Lilli Lehmann Medal for her master’s degree in opera performance.
While still completing her studies, she made her highly acclaimed debut at the Salzburg Festival.
Christiane Karg has been heard in the most celebrated roles of her fach, performing at major opera houses such as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Opéra national de Paris as Pamina, the Lyric Opera Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera New York as Susanna, La Scala Milan as Sophie and Euridice, the Vienna State Opera as Mélisande, the Hamburg State Opera as Pamina, Mélisande, Daphne and Contessa, the Berlin State Opera as Micaëla, and the Bavarian State Opera as Pamina, Blanche and Fiordiligi.
As Artist in Residence at the Graz Musikverein, she debuted as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, and as Rusalka she made her acclaimed role debut at the Berlin State Opera.
She is equally sought-after on the international concert stage, collaborating with conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph Eschenbach, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Iván Fischer, Daniel Harding, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Thomas Hengelbrock, Manfred Honeck, Mariss Jansons, Fabio Luisi, Marek Janowski, Christian Măcelaru, Antonello Manacorda, Andrew Manze, Klaus Mäkelä, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Kirill Petrenko and Christian Thielemann.
These collaborations have led to performances with leading orchestras such as the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Bamberg and Vienna Symphony Orchestras and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
Highlights of the current season include Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the Cleveland Orchestra under Elim Chan, Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Andris Nelsons and with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Daniel Harding, as well as Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Staatskapelle Berlin under Sir Simon Rattle.
She will also tour Spain with the Gürzenich Orchestra and make her operatic debut at the Staatsoper Berlin as the Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.
Christiane Karg continues to cultivate her passion for song and chamber music, with recitals alongside the Aris Quartett and regular appearances at the Schubertiade, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, Konzerthaus and the Salzburg Festival.
Off stage, she is the creator of her own concert series in Feuchtwangen and artistic director of the KunstKlang festival, as well as founder of the project “Be part of it! – Music for All”, promoting music education for young people.
For her achievements, she has received the Brahms Prize, the Bavarian Culture Prize, and the Bavarian Order of Merit.
Her discography includes the acclaimed solo album Parfum, the award-winning Mozart recording of Le nozze di Figaro, as well as albums such as Scene!, Verwandlung, Amoretti and Heimliche Aufforderung.
Currently an exclusive artist with Harmonia Mundi, she has recorded Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mahler works and the recent album Das Licht der Welt – A Christmas Promenade.
