Interview
Which three roles do you particularly appreciate?
I appreciate roles that really challenge me, where I can go deep into the material. Among the operas, from baroque opera to Mozart, Strauss and contemporary, there are many interesting roles. The multi-layered characters of a Cherubino or Sesto in Mozart's opera often show very rapid changes in drama: heaven and abyss exist almost side by side. The melodic line seems to be full of lightness, brought into a concrete form with simple means. It is one of the most difficult things to recognise the parallelism of these levels in the score; to depict them requires extreme precision.
Fascinating to me are the mezzo-soprano characters of Richard Strauss: the Composer's tonal language in "Ariadne auf Naxos" or Octavian’s in „Der Rosenkavalier" reproduces the characters with exuberant expressivity and radiance.
With a contemporary opera there is usually no familiar sound world, here the greatest challenge lies in understanding the sound language of the respective composer and in rehearsing the part. In the spring of 2022, I accepted the invitation by Semperoper Dresden, where I took on the role of Hagar in Torsten Rasch's world premiere of "The Other Woman" over the course of ten days. The scenic realisation was exciting because there was no direct contact with the conductor. We worked with monitors and additional conductors on the sides of the stage - a major project. In dialogue with the composer, I was able to understand the part better; it grew very close to my heart.
What moment or phase in the whole production process (from learning a role to performing it) do you like the most?
Conscientiously deciphering, understanding and thoroughly rehearsing the score is an important requirement for me.
My favourite phase is getting together with the team around the director and the orchestra, the lively work on developing an idea. The team creates something new together. Of course, the performance, the live moment, is special: the audience helps shaping the performance through their experience and so a unique version of the piece is created every evening.
In a production process it always remains exciting
What should/could be the role of music theatre in society
Theatre in all its forms gives society the opportunity to come together and engage in an experience together. People co-create the moment of a performance through their participation. This community and togetherness, that for me is the essence of theatre.
Interviewer: Peter te Nuyl
Annelie Sophie Müller studied singing, song interpretation and music teaching with piano at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts and attended the vocal soloist class with Susanna Eken at the Copenhagen Conservatory. She has benefited from formative collaborations with Brigitte Fassbaender and Peter Berne and currently with Krassimira Stoyanova.
After winning First Prize in the International Lied Competition of the Hugo Wolf Academy in Stuttgart in 2010, her first career step led her to the Junior Ensemble of the Komische Oper Berlin, where she quickly garnered attention in the leading role of Pe-Ki in a new production of Daniel Auber's Le cheval de bronze. As a member of the Académie Européenne de Musique in 2011, she also made her debut as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.
From 2012 to 2015, Annelie Sophie Müller was a permanent member of the ensemble at the Komische Oper Berlin, where she subsequently appeared in roles such as Hänsel in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, Minerva in Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, Mercédès in Bizet's Carmen and Hermia in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Further highlights were Phébé in Rameau's Castor et Pollux directed by Barrie Kosky, Zerlina in Herbert Fritsch's production of Mozart's Don Giovanni and her role debut as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus directed by Andreas Homoki.
As a guest soloist, she made her role debut as the Composer in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos at the Stadttheater Gießen and also appeared on stage as Sesto in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at the Bregenz Theatre and as Wellgunde in Wagner's Die Götterdämmerung at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. As Amando in a new production of Ligeti's Le grand Macabre staged by Calixto Bieito, Annelie Sophie Müller made her house debut at the Semperoper Dresden under the direction of Omer Meir Wellber, where she was subsequently heard in the title role of Hagar in Torsten Rasch's world premiere of Die andere Frau and as Cherubino and Prince Orlofsky.
In the 2022/23 season, Annelie Sophie made her debut with the title role of Rossini's La Cenerentola at the Volksoper Vienna, where she has been a permanent member of the ensemble ever since. Her roles there have included Georgine in the world premiere of Moritz Eggert's Die letzte Verschwörung, Prince Orlofsky, Hansel and in the Vienna State Ballet's new production of The moon wears a white shirt, based on solo works by György Ligeti.
She concluded the 2023/24 season as a guest soloist with Hector Berlioz' “Le spectre de la rose” and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra under the direction of Simon Hewett in the Nijinsky Gala XLIX to mark the farewell of ballet director and chief choreographer John Neumeier.
In the 2024/2025 season, Annelie Sophie has already appeared as Prince Orlofsky under conductor Marc Minkowski and the Musiciens de Louvre in a concert performance of ‘Die Fledermaus’ at Musikfest Bremen. She will also be performing as Prince Orlofsky with Minkowski at the Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona.
In Vienna, she will make her role debut as Carmen and as Anna Mahler in the world premiere of Ella Milch-Sheriff's new opera Alma, dedicated to Alma Mahler-Werfel, conducted by Omer Meir-Wellber. She will also appear as Cherubino in a new production of Le Nozze di Figaro directed by Lotte de Beer and conducted by Ben Glassberg.
In concert, Annelie Sophie Müller has performed at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Gasteig Munich, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Konzerthaus Berlin, Philharmonie Luxembourg and Osaka Symphony Hall in Japan. She has performed in Bach's St John Passion in Rome, appeared at the Munich Opera Festival with Luciano Berio's Folk Songs and at a Mozart gala with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and has also performed with orchestras such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the MDR and WDR symphony orchestras and the Balthasar Neuman Choir and Ensemble under its artistic director Thomas Hengelbrock. In the current season, Annelie Sophie Müller, together with the choir and orchestra of the Plovdiv State Opera, will appear as a soloist in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and will make her debut with the Würth Philharmonic Orchestra under Claudio Vandelli in a Christmas concert with Bach's Magnificat.
In addition, Annelie Sophie Müller has worked with conductors such as Christian Curnyn, Ben Glassberg, Kristjan Järvi Alexander Joel, Konrad Junghänel, Axel Kober, Patrick Lange, Henrik Nánási, Eiji Ōue, Andris Poga, Kristiina Poska, Ivan Repušić and Omer Meier Wellber in the course of her career to date.
As a lieder singer, Annelie Sophie has given solo recitals at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele,
the International Hugo Wolf Academy, the Traunsteiner Festspiele and the Heidelberger Frühling.
2024 | 2025
(as of September 2024)
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