Vivian Tierney Soprano
Acknowledged as a superb “singing actress”, Vivian Tierney has appeared in many of the première opera houses in Europe and the United States. She is particularly associated with the operatic heroines of Strauss, Janacek, Shostakovich, Berg and Britten. Recent highlights have included guest appearances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Opera de Monte Carlo and the Teatro Municipal Santiago di Chile.
Acknowledged as a superb “singing actress”, Vivian Tierney has appeared in many of the première opera houses in Europe and the United States. She is particularly associated with the operatic heroines of Strauss, Janacek, Shostakovich, Berg and Britten. Recent highlights have included guest appearances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Opera de Monte Carlo and the Teatro Municipal Santiago di Chile.
Born in the UK, Vivian Tierney began her career as Principal Soprano with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and has since worked regularly with the major opera companies throughout Europe.
Since her début with English National Opera in 1987 she has developed a very close relationship with the company. Roles there have included REGAN in Reimann’s Lear, MIMI/La Boheme, MALINK/ETHEREA/KUNKA in Janacek’s The Adventures of Mr Broucek, FIORDILIGI/Cosi fan Tutte, the title role in Holloway’s Clarissa, the title role in Salome, ELLEN ORFORD/Peter Grimes, MRS FORAN in the world premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage’s The Silver Tassie and TATYANA/Eugene Onegin of which Michael Kennedy wrote in the Sunday Telegraph ’At the centre was Vivian Tierney’s lovely singing and characterisation of Tatyana. She sang the Letter Aria with shining tone, touching expressiveness and a rapture that was most affecting’.
Appearances throughout the UK have included MARIE/Wozzeck and the title role in KATYA KABANOVA for Opera North, GUTRUNE/Götterdämmerung and MISS JESSEL/The Turn of the Screw for Royal Opera House, JITKA in Smetana’s Dalibor for Scottish Opera and ELLEN ORFORD/Peter Grimes at the 1992, 1994 and 2000 Glyndebourne Festivals. She has a strong affinity with Britten and at the 1997 Festival sang the role of MRS COYLE in Owen Wingrave.
She made her début at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich in 1995 singing the triple roles in The Adventures of Mr Broucek and in the same year sang THE DYER'S WIFE/Die Frau ohne Schatten in Basle. For Freiburg Opera she has sung KATERINA ISMAILOVA in Shostakovich’S Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, MARSCHALLIN/Der Rosenkavalier, RENATA in Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel, JENNY in Weill’s Mahagonny and ELLEN ORFORD/Peter Grimes. In 2000 she made her house and role début in Köln singing MARIETTA in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt.
Elsewhere in Europe she has sung MUSETTA/La Bohème and THE WHORE in the world première of Liebermann’s Dorian Grey for the Opera de Monte Carlo and MARIE/Wozzeck in Nancy. She made her US début singing the title role in Kalman’s The Gypsy Princess for Opera Pacific in Los Angeles.
Vivian Tierney is also active on the concert platform. Performances have included Shostakovich’s 14th Symphony with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group under Mark Elder; Milhaud’s Les Malheurs d’Orphée at the Alte Oper Frankfurt under Jan Latham Koenig; Berg’s Wozzeck Suite with Diego Masson and Britten’s War Requiem at the Royal Festival Hall, London and in Linz, Austria with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst.
Last season she returned to English National Opera for critically acclaimed performances as KATERINA ISMAILOVA/Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Param Vir’s Snatched by the Gods for Transparant in Antwerp and recorded DONNA ELVIRA/Don Giovanni for Chandos. She recently took part in the revival of The Turn of the Screw for the Royal Opera, which was also recorded for EMI.
Most recent engagements have included revivals of The Silver Tassie for ENO the title role in Max von Schilling's Mona Lisa at the Opera of St Gallen, The Death of Klinghoffer for Opera OT, the London premiere of Nyman's Man and Boy for the Almeida Opera, ELLEN ORFORD Peter Grimes for the Teatro Comunale di Modena and MARIE (Wozzeck) for the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona.
This season sees her make her debut at the Teatro Municipal Santiago di Chile as MISS JESSEL in The Turn of the Screw and her return to the Opera de Monte Carlo for a production of Menotti's The Medium and to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Linbury Theatre to sing MISS WINGRAVE in Britten's Owen Wingrave.
Future engagements take her to the Washington Opera, the Canadian Opera and the Liceu Barcelona where she will sing her first HERODIAS in Salome
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