Rosenblatt Recitals

Artist Biographies

Sylvia Schwartz is fast becoming one of the most exciting lyric sopranos of her generation.

Sylvia has appeared at many of the finest opera houses and festivals including La Scala Milan, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Vienna State Opera, Munich State Opera, The Bolshoi Theatre, Théâtre du Châtelet Paris and the Edinburgh International Festival, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Baden Baden Festival and the Verbier International Festival.

From 2005, Sylvia has been a member of the ensemble of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin where her performance highlights have included Susanna (Marriage of Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflote), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Sophie (Die Rosenkavalier), Nannetta (Falstaff), Oscar (Un ballo in maschera) and Marzelline (Fidelio) with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Jordan, Rene Jacobs and Fabio Luisi.

Aside from this, Sylvia is also much in demand on the concert and recital platform and has worked with pianists such as Wolfram Rieger, Charles Spencer and Malcolm Martineau; and with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Sir Colin Davis, Gustavo Dudamel, Patrick Fournillier, Yves Abel, Jean Christophe Spinosi, Helmut Rilling and Christopher Hogwood.

2009/2010 season highlights included the role of ‘Maria’ in a new production of The Sound of Music at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris; a concert tour of Il Barbiere di Siviglia singing Rosina under Jean-Christophe Spinosi in Spain; a double re-appearance at the Verbier festival singing with Anne Sofie von Otter, Christoph Pregardien and Markus Werba; Bach's Mass in B minor with the Hong Kong Bach Choir and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris; and recitals at the Berlin Staatsoper, De Singel Antwerp and Palau de la Música Valencia, all with great success.

For the 2010/11 season onwards, Sylvia is a member of the Vienna State Opera company; where her roles are including Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Morgana (Alcina), Pamina (Die Zauberflote), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and Despina (Così fan tutte).

On the concert platform, Sylvia will embark on a major tour in USA and Europe in a quartet with Bernarda Fink, Michael Schade and Thomas Quasthoff, accompanied by Malcolm Martineau & Justus Zeyen with music including the Brahms Liebeslieder. Sylvia will also perform recitals with Wolfram Reiger and Malcolm Martineau at Schubertiade Schwarzenberg and at the Wigmore Hall as part of the 'Decade by Decade' series.

Sylvia Schwartz is a graduate of the Escuela Superior de Canto in Madrid and was a postgraduate student at the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin under Wolfram Rieger, Thomas Quasthoff and Julia Varady, where she won a ‘Hezekiah Wardwell-Stipendium’ from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Simon Lepper was born in Kent, read music at King’s College Cambridge and studied piano accompaniment with Michael Dussek at the Royal Academy of Mausic. Whilst a student he won every major award for piano accompaniment including the Gerald Moore Award and the accompanist prizes in the Kathleen Ferrier, Royal Overseas League and Richard Tauber competitions. He is an Associate of the Royal Academy and currently a Professor of piano accompaniment at the Royal College of Music, London.

Simon Lepper has established himself as one of the UK’s leading piano accompanists performing regularly on BBC Radio 3 as well as at venues and festivals including the Wigmore Hall, Auditorium du Louvre, Cologne Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, Mozarteum, Verbier Festival and BBC Proms. He has given recitals with many of Britain’s leading singers as well as being an official accompanist for the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize. Recordings include Warlock songs with Andrew Kennedy. His CD with violinist Carolin Widmann of works by Feldman, Zimmerman, Xenakis and Schoenberg was released last year by ECM to much critical acclaim.