Ana Maria Labin
The Romanian born soprano Ana Maria Labin grew up in Switzerland. Having won First Prize in the inaugural Concours Ernst Haefliger in Bern she began her career singing repertoire ranging principally from baroque and classical roles to operetta, in festivals and opera houses such as Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper and Opéra de Paris.
Ana Maria Labin recently took part in the prestigious Staatskapelle Dresden Silvesterkonzert (New Year’s Eve Concert) in the Semperoper Dresden, under the baton of Christian Thielemann. This was broadcast on the German TV channel ZDF and released on CD and DVD by Deutsche Grammophon.
A keen devotee of baroque repertoire Ana Maria Labin recently made her début as Armida in Robert Carsen’s production of Händel’s Rinaldo for Glyndebourne on Tour under Laurence Cummings. Other roles include Manto in Steffani's Niobe under Thomas Hengelbrock at the Schwetzingen Festival, the soprano part in Purcell's King Arthur by Corinne and Gilles Bénizio (alias Shirley & Dino) under Hervé Niquet with Le Concert Spirituel at Opéra de Montpellier, in Japan and on DVD, Giuditta in Scarlatti’s La Giuditta with Opera2day in the Netherlands, Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas for Festival Retz, and Galatea in Händel’s Acis and Galatea under Raymond Leppard with the English Chamber Orchestra for DVD. Her concert performances have included a tour with the English Concert under Harry Bickett, singing Vivaldi’s motet In furore iustissimae irae and Händel operatic arias, soprano in Alexander’s Feast with the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, Bach Mass in B minor with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Pergolesi Stabat Mater in Spain.
In the classical repertoire Ana Maria Labin has appeared as Klara in Haydn’s Die Welt auf dem Mond under Julia Jones, Zerlina Don Giovanni for the Opernfestspiele St Margarethen, Erste Dame Die Zauberflöte at the Bayerische Staatsoper München, the Théâtre du Châtelet Paris and the Opéra de Montpellier, Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice in Zurich and Celia in Mozart's Lucio Silla, at the Mannheimer Mozartsommer under Dennis Russel Davies and Adam Fischer. She has also sung with Adam Fischer and the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic in Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten at the Eisenstadt Festival, Il ritorno di Tobia at the Vienna Konzerthaus and Die Schöpfung in Innsbruck and Luxembourg. She has also sung Ines in La Favorite with Enrique Mazzola in Montpellier and Héro in Berlioz’ Béatrice et Bénédict with the Chelsea Opera Group.
Other concert appearances include performances of Brahms Requiem, Britten Les illuminations, Poulenc Gloria, Dvorak Stabat Mater, Fauré Requiem, Mendelssohn Lobgesang, Rossini Petite messe solenelle, as well as Liedrecitals with her pianist Jens Fuhr in repertoire by Brahms, Dvorak, and Mahler and Romanian songs.
Ana Maria Labin made her débuts at the Teatro alla Scala Milan and at the Opéra de Paris Garnier as Valencienne in Die lustige Witwe. Other operetta engagements have included Cupidon Orphée aux enfers, Juliette in Der Graf von Luxemburg at Mörbisch Festspiele under Rudi Bibl and Hanna Glawari Die lustige Witwe in concert.
In contemporary and modern repertoire Ana Maria Labin sang the world premiere of La Chevelure de Bérénice by Dominique Lemaître with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI under Daniel Kawka, a song cycle by Richard Dubugnon conducted by Alain Altinoglu at the Festival Présences of Radio France, and Luciano Berio’s Sequenza III and concerts under David Zinman and Christopher Hogwood in the Tonhalle Zürich.
Forthcoming engagements include her début this summer at the Festival Aix-en-Provence as Arminda La finta giardiniera which will also tour to Luxembourg and Toulon, and her début at Glyndebourne Festival as Naiad Ariadne auf Naxos in 2013 as well as further performances of King Arthur and concerts with Brabants Philharmonic Orchestra and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Ana Maria Labin is a Swiss citizen. She speaks fluent English, French, German, Italian and Romanian.
May 2012
