Alexandra Ionis
Born in Moldova and raised in Berlin, mezzo-soprano Alexandra Ionis studied at the Berlin University of the Arts, at Milan's Conservatorio di musica Giuseppe Verdi and was a member of the International Opera Studio of the Accademia nazionale di Santa Cecilia, where she received valuable inspiration from Renata Scotto, among others.
During her studies, she took part in Aribert Reimann's opera Melusine/Pythia at the Berlin University of the Arts under Errico Fresis and Frank Hilbrich.
Her love of contemporary and modern music has been demonstrated numerous times since then, including Widmann's Babylon and Reimann's Gespenstersonate/Mumie at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Britten's Death in Venice under Donald Runnicles and Graham Vick at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berg's Wozzeck/Margret at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia under James Gaffigan and in the two world premieres of Die Schneekönigin (Tischlerei der Deutschen Oper Berlin) and Subotnik (Neuköllner Oper) by the composer Samuel Penderbayne.
She also sang in the world premiere of Péter Eötvös' opera Sleepless at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden with revivals in Geneva and Budapest and was recently heard in a staged project with music by Zimmermann (director: Calixto Bieito) with the Gürzenich Orchestra under the direction of François-Xavier Roth at the Philharmonie Köln and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.
Other opera engagements in recent seasons include Roßweiße in Die Walküre under the direction of Stefan Reck at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari and under Juraj Valčuha at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Il viaggio a Reims/Maddalena and Il trovatore both under Giacomo Sagripanti at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Maddalena at the Dresden Semperoper, Annina/Der Rosenkavalier at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin (Simone Young/André Heller) as well as Annina/Rosenkavalier, Ulrica/Un ballo in maschera and Marcellina/Le nozze di Figaro at the Chemnitz Opera House.
Her concert repertoire includes works by Pergolesi, Bach, Rossini, Verdi, Mahler, Shostakovich, Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Rachmaninov.
Highlights of the last season included the Schwertleite in the new Ring production at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (dir: Dmitri Tcherniakov) under the musical direction of Christian Thielemann and Thomas Guggeis, the revival of the successful production Die Schneekönigin at the Tischlerei of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the world premiere of the children's opera Robin Hood (M. dall'Ongaro) at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, in which she sang the role of the Nurse.
Projects for the 2023/24 season include revivals of Die Walküre at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Il viaggio a Reims and Die Schneekönigin at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as the new production of Elektra/1st Magd (director: Philipp Stölzl) with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Kirill Petrenko in Baden-Baden and in concert at the Berlin Philharmonie. Ionis can also be heard in concert performances of Zimmermann's Die Soldaten/Stolzius' Mutter with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and François-Xavier Roth (director: Calixto Bieito) in Cologne, Hamburg and Paris.
Since this season, Ionis has been a permanent member of the ensemble at Theater Bielefeld, where she can be heard in her first season as Anaide in Leoncavallo's Zazà, Mrs. Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff and in the mezzo role in Verdi's Requiem, among others.
Alexandra Ionis received a scholarship from the Richard Wagner Society in 2018.
Engagements in Bayreuth
| Year | Opera | Part |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Götterdämmerung | 2. Norn |
| 2024 | Die Walküre | Siegrune |
