| Claudia Mahnke mezzo |
| Mezzo-soprano Claudia Mahnke hailed from Stuttgart and gave the most compelling interpretation of the Composer I have heard in the theater. Superbly musical with an innate sense of Straussian line, Ms. Mahnke�s youthful, impetuous delivery had the requisite tonal splendor to make the Composer�s protestation �Musik ist eine heilige Kunst� (�music is a sacred art�) totally believable. The rapturously beautiful solo �Du Venus sohn� was a marvel of phrasing that left the listener breathless with wonder. (Review) |
| Mahnke's Dorabella was a charming comic foil for Fiodiligi's earnestness. Like von Stade, Mahnke has a gift for physical comedy. Her "Ah, non partite" was laugh-out-loud funny, and her luscious tone sparkled. (Cosi Review) |
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| September 27, 2004 (Monday)
I saw Cosi fan tutte this weekend, at the San Francisco Opera. It was a beautiful, funny, thoroughly engaging performance. It reminded me of a Marx Brother's movie, with better music. The stage setting was a Mediterranean resort town around the time of the first world war. It was Claudia Mahnke's resemblance, as Dorabella, to a young Lucille Ball, that first made me think of the Marx Brothers. (Review) |
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| As Cherubino, Claudia Mahnke was a perfect little cupid. Being short, pretty, and rather plump, Mahnke might not have been convincing as an older, hormone-crazed adolescent, but she wisely chose another way into the role. Her Cherubino was a surprising combination of childish appearance, ravishing voice, and genuine poetic sensibility. This had a nice implication for Cherubino's relationship with Countess, who in Act II seemed more flustered by the pretty boy than he was by her. Cherubino and the equally childlike Barbarina (Nikki Einfeld) made an innocent and charming pair, like a matched set of china figurines./ 06 SFCV |
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| Anyone can Google and get this information. |
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| OPERA DATABASE |
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| In SFO 2005-2006 Season Cherubino � Le Nozze Di Figaro |
| Role Past Dorabella- 2004-05�s Cos� fan tutte Composer - Ariadne auf Naxos |
| In SFO 2006-2007 Season Zerlina - Don Giovanni |
| In SFO 2005-2006 Season Cherubino � Le Nozze Di Figaro |
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| Above, Claudia Mahnke at SFO in Dolores Park in San Francisco, May 27, 2007 - She sang La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni with Wayne Tigges. |