Anna Prohaska

In recent years, Anna Prohaska has become one of the the world's leading sopranos. We've met her for a talk about her art.

Miss Prohaska, your voice is beautiful, yet distinctive. What operatic roles do you enjoy the most, and why?

“I have a lot of friends who play certain instruments and complain about the limitations of their repertoire, and say that that they envy us singers for the sheer amount of marvellous music that has been written for the human voice. We, on the other hand, have to listen to our bodies and damp our enthusiasm for roles that might be too dramatic or too light or too high or too low, even if the greatest maestro tries to convince you that you would be ‘phenomenal’. But isn’t it fabulous that we are so spoilt for choice as singers? Our repertoire is vast and theoretically everyone can pick and chose what suits them best. I must admit, I do have a strong penchant for melancholy music, for the dramatic. But that doesn’t mean I’m dying to sing Tosca. I can find these sentiments in Handel, in Pamina, which I sang for the first time this season, or Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, which can have an immense emotional scope. In my opinion, you have to let a character grow in your mind first to help you falling into the trap of cliché — along with working with a good director of course! At the moment the early baroque composers, especially Cavalli, fascinate me. But one of my greatest loves will always be Henry Purcell. To sing Dido — one of the most perfect pieces of music theatre ever — on a concert tour this year with MusicAEterna was such a privilege and felt so right at the same time”.

Your repertoire is remarkably adventurous, and you sound comfortable in many different styles, from Baroque to Hanns Eisler. 

“Funny — I subconsciously avoided Eisler for a long time. Probably because I went to the former East Berlin Hanns Eisler Music Academy. Wouldn’t it be a shame if we singers didn’t make use of the wide scope of what composers have left us and are still writing for us? With recital programmes I tend to make brainstorming lists over the years, where I collect songs I have either heard in concert or on recordings, or which I have stumbled upon reading a score. I group them according to topics. To give the programme a shape, I try to narrow down the topic more than the periods of music, because it interests me to find the differences and similarities between songs with similar themes from different musical periods. It’s tied very closely to the songs’ poetry, of course, and I sometimes search for poems first and find really interesting settings. In the end, the precept should be that it’s good music and that the final sequence has to ‘click’. There I try to trust my dramaturgical instincts.”

At the Royal Opera House, you have been singing for Sir Simon Rattle. Based in Berlin, you've sung with the Berliner Philharmoniker many times. You also sang frequently with Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim and many others. How are these conductors influencing you?

“Sir Simon is simply a dream to work with. On the podium he manages to incorporate a paradox: the reliability and support of the classic ‘Kapellmeister’ and the inspired and innovative risk taker. He has this intellectual knowledge of the repertoire and the arts in general but is anything but a snob. When I took over a concert of Webern songs when I was 25 — my first regular concert series with the Berliner Philharmonic — I was terribly nervous before the first rehearsal. The first thing Simon said to me in front of the orchestra was ‘Thank you Anna, for taking over so short notice. We really appreciate that.’ I can tell you - you get spoilt by that sort of treatment! “

“I learned a great deal from working with Claudio Abbado, and it was a huge privilege to be part of his musical world for a short time while he was still with us. I would rather say though that the conductor and arranger Eberhard Kloke has been my mentor, opening up my ears and mind to the far corners of the repertoire from an early age on, and my voice teacher Brenda Mitchell taught me how to sing it healthily! Daniel Barenboim has had a huge part in my musical development since I started working with him at the Berlin State Opera when I was 23. Back then I was offered my contract as an ensemble member in the wake of learning the middle-sized role of Frasquita (Carmen) overnight. The morning of the performance — I had hardly slept due to cramming the French text into my head all night I wanted the musical rehearsal with Daniel to be perfect. So I sang from the score. He snatched it out of my hand, threw it on the floor and shouted ‘Are you using this tonight on stage as well?!’ He can be intimidating, and pushes you to your limits. But if you beat your inner demons of fear in these situations, there’s very little that can frighten you afterwards. “

“Contrasting colour and intention within a piece plays a major role in Daniel’s music making: ‘The colour between the first and the second phrase has to be so different, you need a visa to go across’, he would say. Last November I gave my first Lieder recital with him in Berlin. For me, it was so natural and on the other hand miraculous how we seem to have become musical partners, the way he listens to my ideas, the way we can discuss interpretation or simply make music spontaneously on stage.”