Aleksandra Kurzak

Aleksandra Kurzak ( Polish pronunciation : ; born 7 August 1977) is a Polish operatic soprano who has an international career primarily in Europe and the United States.

From 1996 to 2000, Kurzak studied at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Eugeniusz Sąsiadek's class; and meanwhile participated in several music festivals and was laureate in multiple competitions.

She received scholarships from the Polish Ministry of Culture and Aleksander Gudzowaty's Crescendum Est - Polonia Foundation.

She first met Kremling at the 1998 Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition in Warsaw.

Kurzak made her opera debut on 26 May 1999 in The Marriage of Figaro.

She was discovered by Peter Katona, the casting director of the Royal Opera, despite not entering the final at the 2000 edition of Operalia.

Kurzak played the role Susanna alongside her mother as the countess at the Wrocław Opera, where she would go on to be a soloist for two seasons (2000-2002).

In 2001, she performed Hanna in Moniuszko's The Haunted Manor at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw.

In the 2001/02 season she joined the Young Artists' Program of the Hamburg State Opera, she later became an ensemble member for the 2003/04 season.

Her first role with the program was Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.

She gained recognition after successful performances with Gilda (Rigoletto) and the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute).

By the second year she was assigned roles primarily in German and Italian repertoire, spanning from baroque to contemporary (Thomas Adès' Powder Her Face); and a performance in the 2002 production of Olga Neuwirth's Bählamms Fest.

She received international attention after her debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera, London in the 2004/05 season.

Apart from the Met and Covent Garden, she has performed leading roles with many opera companies, including the Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, and Paris Opera.

Her notable roles include Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Adina in L'elisir d'amore, Gilda in Rigoletto, Violetta in La traviata, and Nedda in Pagliacci.

After graduation, Kurzak pursued postgraduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with Ingrid Kremling till 2004.

In 2004, she performed Marzelline in Fidelio.

Kurzak received international attention when she debuted at the New York Metropolitan Opera with Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann in December 2004, and at the Royal Opera, London with Aspasia in Mitridate, re di Ponto in July 2005.

In 2005, she performed Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare and Servilia in La clemenza di Tito.

She has since been a frequent guest at the Royal Opera, returning in the 2005/06 season for Norina in Don Pasquale, and in consecutive seasons from 2007/08 till 2012/13.

During this time Kurzak featured in L'elisir d'amore (Adina), The Marriage of Figaro (Susanna), Matilde di Shabran (Matilde), Il turco in Italia (Fiorilla), The Barber of Seville (Rosina).

She made other guest appearances at the Bavarian State Opera, in Parma, Toulouse (Gilda in Rigoletto), Salzburg (Ännchen in Der Freischütz), and Palermo (Don Pasquale).

She also returned to the role in January 2007 when the production was again revived.

She sang Fraarte in Handel's Radamisto in May 2007 before embarking her freelance career.

She returned to the Metropolitan Opera in 2007/08 for Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Blonde), in 2008/09 for Rigoletto, and in 2011/12 for Hansel and Gretel.

In September 2008, she made her Vienna State Opera debut in The Barber of Seville.

She received a doctorate degree in music in 2009 and habilitated doctor's diploma in June 2016.

She returned in 2009 for a new staging of The Marriage of Figaro.

The year 2009 saw her appearance at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Finnish National Opera, and portrayal of Aspasia at the Palacio de la Ópera in A Coruña and Welsh National Opera.

Kurzak had been exclusive with Decca Records artist from January 2011 until moving to Sony Classical Records in May 2018.

Born in Brzeg Dolny and raised in Wrocław, Kurzak is daughter to operatic soprano Jolanta Żmurko and horn player Ryszard Kurzak.

She had intended to be a ballet dancer, then a violinist; and began her musical studies playing the violin at the age of 7.

Her singing talent was noticed by conductor Stefan Rachoń when she imitated her mother at a festival in Kudowa-Zdrój.

The conductor immediately offered to record an album, which her parents refused.

She went on studying in the violin at the Karol Szymanowski Musical Lyceum.

She turned to singing after graduation and started voice lesson with her mother, whom she still considers her primary teacher.

She was enrolled in the academy after auditioning with Konstanze's aria "Ach ich liebte" from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Since her marriage to Roberto Alagna in 2015, the couple has made frequent joint appearances on both concert and opera stages.

In her earlier career she was a specialist in lyric and coloratura soprano roles in German and Italian repertoire, and transitioned into heavier roles in 19th-century Romantic and verismo operas.

Trained in Wrocław and Hamburg, she started her career in Hamburg State Opera's ensemble.