Nadine Secunde

American soprano Nadine Secunde has become a leading artist in the world's finest opera houses in the demanding Strauss and Wagner repertoire. Her international career began in Wiesbaden, after Wolfgang Wagner heard her in a performance of "Walküre" at the State Theatre and engaged her as Elsa for the Bayreuth "Lohengrin" in 1987. Born in Cleveland, Ohio (USA), Nadine Secunde studied piano and singing and came to Germany in 1979. In 1980, she received her first engagement at the Wiesbaden State Theatre, after which she became an ensemble member at Cologne Opera in 1985. Her career then took her to opera houses in Munich, Hamburg, Vienna and Zurich. Apart from Elsa ("Lohengrin", Werner Herzog/Peter Schneider) at the Bayreuth Festival, she has also sung Sieglinde in the "Ring" cycle (Harry Kupfer/Daniel Barenboim). Guest engagementrs include Elisabeth in "Tannhäuser" (Zubin Metha), Elsa, Sieglinde, Isolde, Chrysothemis ("Elektra") and Marschallin in "»Rosenkavalier"(Christian Thielemann) at the Vienna State Opera, in Paris, Covent Garden London, Brussels, Vienna, Athens, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Important highlights include the world premiere of the opera "Venus und Adonis" (Hans Werner Henze, Munich 1997), as well as roles such as "Lady Macbeth von Mzensk" and Marie in "Wozzeck".

Her discography includes recordings for DGG/Decca, Philips (Chrysothemis in "Elektra"), DGG (Renata in "Der feurige Engel" by Prokofiev), Teldec (Sieglinde in »Ring«, also on Video), Naxos (Miss Jessel in "The Turn of the Screw" by Britten) and Arthaus-Musik (Elisabeth in "Tannhäuser"). DVDs include EMI Classics' "Lady Macbeth of Mzensk" (Katerina) and Opus Arte's "Die Walküre" (Sieglinde).

This season, Ms. Secunde returns to the Wiesbaden stage as Kabanicha in "Katja Kabanowa".