Artist Of The Week: Kathryn Lewek
American Soprano To Make Role Debut in ‘Orphée Aux Enfers’
By Francisco Salazar(Credit: Kathryn Lewek Official Facebook)
Kathryn Lewek is the reigning Queen of the Night.
She has performed the role in every major theater including the Metropolitan Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bregenzer Festspiele, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real in Madrid, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Festival Castell de Peralada, Opera Leipzig, Opera de Toulon, English National Opera, Nashville Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Welsh National Opera, and The Royal Danish Opera. It has brought her critical acclaim for not only her dramatic strength but her vocal fireworks.
This week, the soprano steps away from the villainous queen and into the comical and mythical Eurydice in “Orphée aux Enfers” for a big return to the Salzburg Festival. The operetta is one of the most popular in the repertoire and is a chance for Lewek to show another facet of her career on a worldwide stage. The soprano will not only get to showcase her vocal fireworks but she will also demonstrate her comic timing which garnered her acclaim when she performed the role of Cunegunde in “Candide” at the Glimmerglass Festival.
And for those who will not be present in Salzburg, “Orphée” will be live-streamed through ORF and Arte. The 2019-20 season will also see the Operalia winner return to the Metropolitan Opera, Nashville Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Opera d’Nice, among other theaters.
Recordings
For those not familiar with the soprano, Lewek has a recording of music by Gary Ratcliffe. Her recording of the Queen of the Night from the Metropolitan Opera is also available on iTunes.
Here she is in her iconic portrayal as the Queen of the Night at the Met…
…and here she is at the Operalia competition in 2013.