ElsaDreisig

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  • Soprano

About Elsa

“You often set limits for yourself before they exist,” says Elsa Dreisig. This is certainly not true for the French-Danish native, who is rapidly establishing herself as one of today’s most captivating lyric sopranos. Since joining the studio of the Berlin State Opera in 2015 and going on to become an ensemble member, she has made role debuts at leading houses across Europe, from Zurich to London. As an exclusive recording artist with the label Erato, Elsa in January 2022 released her third album, Mozart x 3, featuring arias from Mozart’s three Da Ponte operas and three opere serie.

Elsa’s interpretations stand out through her commitment to continually uncovering new facets in a role. That also means transcending historic constructs so that the performance comes to life in a believable way. For the soprano, no female personality – whether Manon, Violetta or Fiordiligi – should ever be a victim. “It’s the modern blood that flows in my veins and should also flow into my singing,” she explains.

And yet the ultimate goal is to “make the score heard: with a solid technique – that goes without saying – but also a body that can recreate the character in the flesh.” She likens the psychological knowledge required to a kind of inner nourishment that feeds her musical delivery. Upon debuting in the title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in 2021, Elsa above all focused on the queen’s emotional state and tried to relate to her on a personal level.

Elsa thrives on participating in what she identifies as exceptional events – even if they involve some risk. In 2017, she jumped in at a day’s notice to sing Haydn’s Creation with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle. This season, after giving concerts with two different orchestras in Copenhagen, the Berlin State Opera called on her to appear as Pamina just a few hours later. “I hope to never rest on my laurels,” she says, “and continue to explore.”

Elsa is based in Paris

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Contact

For availability and general enquiries:

Alice Stacpoole

Alice Stacpoole

Assistant Artist Manager

Representation

Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt

Season Highlights

Sep 2024 - Nov 2024
Weiner Staatsoper, Vienna
Carmen (Michaela)
Oct 2024 - Nov 2024
Theater an der Wien, Vienna
Paradies und die Peri (Peri)
Dec 2024
Theatre de Champs-Elysees, Paris - Teatro Real, Madrid - Theater an der Wien, Vienna
Alcina (Alcina) with Il Pomo d'Oro
Jan 2025 - Feb 2025
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Hamburg
Manon (Manon)
Mar 2025 - Apr 2025
Teatro Real, Madrid
Mitridate (Sifare)
Apr 2025
Philharmonie de Paris-Salle Pierre Boulez, Paris
Vier letzte Lieder, Strauss with the Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Jukk-Pekka Saraste.
Jul 2025
Aix-en-Provence Festival, France
Louise

Video

Selected Repertoire

Bellini

I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Giulietta)

Berg

Wozzeck (Marie)   •   Lulu (Lulu)

Bizet

Carmen (Micaëla)

Charpentier

Louise (Louise)

Debussy

Pelléas et Mélisande (Mélisande)

Donizetti

Anna Bolena (Anna Bolena)   •   Roberto Devereaux (Elisabetta)   •   Maria Stuarda (Elisabetta)

Dvořák

Rusalka (Rusalka)

Gounod

Romeo et Juliette (Juliette)   •   Faust (Marguerite)

Handel

Alcina (Alcina)

J. Strauss

Die Fledermaus (Rosalinde)

Massenet

Manon (Manon)   •   Thaïs (Thaïs)

Mozart

Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira)   •   Cosi fan tutte (Fiordiligi)   •   Idomeneo (Elettra)   •   Mitridate (Sifare)   •   Le nozze di Figaro (Contessa)   •   Die Zauberflote (Pamina),

Poulenc

Dialogues of the Carmelites (Blanche de la Force)

Puccini

La Boheme (Mimi)   •   Gianni Schicchi (Lauretta)

R. Strauss

Capriccio (Countess Madeleine)   •   Salome (Salome)   •   Arabella (Arabella)

Verdi

La Traviata (Violetta)   •   Otello (Desdemona)   •   Simon Boccanegra (Amelia)   •   Falstaff (Alice Ford)

News

Press

  • Le nozze di Figaro (Contessa Almaviva)

    Bayerische Staatsoper
    Oct 2023
    • Elsa Dreisig ist derzeit eine breit gefeierte Contessa Almaviva. Mit ihrer eleganten Erscheinung und ruhigen Haltung ist sie ein passender Gegensatz zum lebhaften Gatten. Ihre Stimme unterstreicht mit einer feinsinnigen, klar intonierten und ruhig geführten Melodien die Qualität und technische Sicherheit. Vollmundig artikuliert sie die Vokale und versteht Gefühle zu unterlegen. [TRANSLATED] Elsa Dreisig is currently a widely celebrated Contessa Almaviva. With her elegant appearance and calm demeanor, she is a fitting contrast to her lively husband. Her voice underlines the quality and technical security with a subtle, clearly intonated and calmly led melody. She articulates the vowels full-bodied and understands how to convey feelings.

    • Elsa Dreisig è la contessa Almaviva. Esprime disperazione, rabbia, tenerezza con una voce limpida e fresca e un portamento nobile. [TRANSLATED] Elsa Dreisig is Countess Almaviva. She expresses despair, anger and tenderness with a clear, fresh voice and noble bearing.

    • Elsa Dreißig ist wieder mal die stöckelschuhstaksige Gräfin zwischen Depression und Eherettungsangriff. Vor allem ihre zweite Arie singt sie mit herrlichen Bögen und verletzlicher Delikatesse. [TRANSLATED] Elsa Dreisig is once again the high-heeled countess between depression and an attempt to save her marriage. She sings her second aria in particular with wonderful arches and vulnerable delicacy.

      • Welt
      • 07 November 2023
    • Die Gräfin wird dargestellt von Elsa Dreisig, die neu im Ensemble der Bayerischen Staatsoper ist. Wie schwerelos schwebt ihre Stimme durch den Raum und verleiht der Partie auch da überzeugende Emotion, wo die Personenregie an ihre Grenzen kommt. [TRANSLATED] The Countess is played by Elsa Dreisig, who is new to the Bavarian State Opera ensemble. Her voice floats weightlessly through the space and lends the role convincing emotion even where the direction of the characters reaches its limits.

    • Berückend die Contessa di Almaviva der Elsa Dreisig. Man versteht nicht, wie der Graf eine so schöne, so meisterhaft und nuanciert singende Frau (und wenn er auch aus der Rolle fiele) links liegen lässt. Die Staatsoper kann sich glücklich schätzen, so eine Ausnahmesängerin zum Ensemble zählen zu dürfen. Leider nur für ein Jahr. [TRANSLATED] The Contessa di Almaviva by Elsa Dreisig is enchanting. One cannot understand how the Count would ignore a woman who is so beautiful, sings so masterfully and with such nuances (even if he were out of character). The State Opera can consider itself lucky to be able to count such an exceptional singer in the ensemble. Unfortunately only for one year.\

      • Ioco
      • 16 November 2023
    • Elsa Dreisig war eine artifiziell ausgefeilte Gräfin; überzeugend bereits ihr erster Auftritt „Porgi amor” zu Beginn des zweiten Akts, vielschichtig ihre Rolle zwischen Enttäuschung und Liebesschmerz. [TRANSLATED] Elsa Dreisig was an artificially polished Countess; her first appearance "Porgi amor" at the beginning of the second act was already convincing, her role multi-layered between disappointment and the pain of love.

  • I Capuleti e I Montecchi

    Salzburg Festival
    Aug 2023
    • Nicht weniger beeindruckend gestaltete Elsa Dreisig an ihrer Seite die Giulietta. Mit verträumten Klangfarben verlieh sie der Figur mädchenhafte Frische; ihren fokussierten, silbrig glänzenden Sopran ließ sie entsprechend der widerstreitenden Gefühlswelten mal rosarot verliebt strahlen und mal grau verschattet für Melancholie sorgen. Dabei meisterte sie scheinbar mühelos alle Klippen der Partie – von scheinbar endlosen Legatobögen bis hin zu sanften Höhen im Piano. Und obwohl es sich um eine konzertante Aufführung handelte, gelang es ihr auch stets, den inneren Konflikt zwischen ihrer Liebe zu Romeo und der erwarteten Wahrung der Ehre der Familie nicht nur stimmlich, sondern auch in der Darstellung zum Ausdruck zu bringen, wodurch die Figur nicht bloß eine Schablone blieb, sondern zum Leben erwachte. [TRANSLATED] Elsa Dreisig's Giulietta was no less impressive at her side. With dreamy timbres, she lent the character a girlish freshness; her focused, silvery soprano sometimes radiated a rose-red glow of love and sometimes a grey shade of melancholy to match the conflicting emotional worlds. She mastered all the cliffs of the part seemingly effortlessly - from seemingly endless legato arches to gentle high notes in the piano. And although this was a concert performance, she always managed to express the inner conflict between her love for Romeo and the expected preservation of the family's honour not only vocally, but also in her portrayal, which meant that the character did not remain a mere template, but came to life.

    • Ebenso überzeugend passt Stimme und Spiel von Elsa Dreisig als Giuletta. Ihre Stimmfärbung ist weich und dunkel. Die Französin zeigt die Zerbrechlichkeit der mädchenhaften Seele, die lodernde Liebe und Hoffnung, in den Wirren doch noch ein Glück zu finden. [TRANSLATED] The voice and acting of Elsa Dreisig as Giuletta are just as convincing . Her vocal coloration is soft and dark. The Frenchwoman shows the fragility of the girlish soul, the blazing love and hope of finding happiness in the turmoil.

  • Roméo et Juliette (Juliette)

    Opera National de Paris
    Jun 2023
    • Nonobstant quelques aigus un peu durcis et une entrée qu’on pourrait souhaiter plus légère, la Juliette d’Elsa Dreisig, dès qu’elle prend la mesure de son destin, n’est pas moins magnifique, par la chair du médium, là où l’on distribue souvent des sopranos trop légers, la frémissante beauté du phrasé, l’incandescence de l’incarnation – qui culmine dans l’air du breuvage, dont les grands élans appellent cette voix corsée. [TRANSLATED] Elsa Dreisig's Juliette is no less magnificent once she takes the measure of her destiny, for the fleshiness of the midrange, where too light a soprano are often cast, the quivering beauty of the phrasing, the incandescence of the embodiment - which culminates in the aria du breuvage, the great outbursts of which call for this full-bodied voice.

    • Auch für jede ihrer Arien sehr applaudiert und auch hochgelobt, verkörpert und singt die französisch-dänische Sopranistin Elsa Dreisig eine Juliette in einem durchflutenden und tragendem Licht aus vielen dunklen tragischen Leidenschaften. Das Paar bildet ein ebenso komplementäres, aber ebenso auch widersprüchliches Duo, angefangen bei ihren extremen dekadenten Kostümen: Schwarz für Roméo, Weiß für Juliette. [TRANSLATED] Also very applauded and highly praised for each of her arias, the French-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig embodies and sings Juliette in a flooding and carrying light from many dark, tragic passions. The pair form an equally complementary but equally contradictory duo, starting with their extremely decadent costumes: black for Roméo , white for Juliette .

    • I have heard few singers with greater musical chemistry than Elsa Dreisig and Benjamin Bernheim. Their voices blended well together, and they seemed to share similar instincts on where to go with the music. Their instruments blended in such a way that there was no competition at all. It was a beautiful sonic cooperation. Their mutual chemistry was there even when they were not singing together. There was often something of Dreisig in Bernheim’s phrases, and a souvenir of Bernheim in Dreisig’s high notes. The most cathartic moment of this, to me, was in the death scene, in which they both were very aware how to emulate musical gestures and dynamics when facing death. Juliette, since its inception has been the home of the greatest French prima-donnas. The first Juliette, Marie Caroline Miolan-Carvalho, is one of those nineteenth-century opera stars whose voice’s qualities, so old in story, unfortunately preceded the advent audio recording. Dreisig is part of this star tradition, shining in her two arias with a light and fierce instrument. Her coloraturas are always marked by the great willfulness within Juliette’s spirit. It scarcely seems that Juliette is ever even minimally subordinated to anyone else. In her first aria, “Je Veux Vivre,” Dreisig survived an elaborate troupe of spinning dances and still managed to create a meaningful version of Juliette. There were no senseless dynamics; everything was clearly connected to the text. In her second aria, “Amour ramine mon courage,” she had much stamina and rhythmical control.

    • Reste le couple éponyme, longuement acclamé. C’est à Elsa Dreisig qu’échoit le rôle difficile de Juliette, qui doit passer de l’insouciance juvénile de ses premières apparitions au lyrisme enflammé des duo d’amour, puis au dramatisme sombre de l’air du quatrième acte. Parfaitement crédible dans le personnage, Elsa Dreisig possède une fraîcheur de timbre qui la rend particulièrement brillante dans l’acte du bal, avec une élégante et virtuose entrée en scène – même si la chanteuse choisit la version sans contre-ré de sa périlleuse vocalise. Le portrait dessiné est in fine parfaitement convaincant et très émouvant. [TRANSLATED] That leaves the eponymous couple, who have won rave reviews. The difficult role of Juliet falls to Elsa Dreisig, who must move from the youthful insouciance of her first appearances to the fiery lyricism of the love duets and then to the sombre drama of the Act IV aria. Perfectly believable in character, Elsa Dreisig has a freshness of tone that makes her particularly brilliant in the ball act, with an elegant and virtuoso entrance - even if the singer chooses the version without counter-revolution in her perilous vocalise. In the end, the portrait she paints is perfectly convincing and very moving.

  • Il Trittico

    Bavarian State Opera
    • Elsa Dreisig überzeugt gleichermaßen in „Il tabarro“ und „Gianni Schicchi“, wo sie durch ihre weltbekannte Arie „O mio babbino caro“ nicht nur dem Schicksal die entscheidende Wendung gibt, sondern sich auch in die Herzen sowohl ihres Vaters als auch des Publikums singt. [TRANSLATED] Elsa Dreisig is equally convincing in “Il tabarro” and “Gianni Schicchi”, where she not only gives fate a decisive twist with her world-famous aria “O mio babbino caro”, but also sings her way into the hearts of both her father and the audience.

  • Mitridate, re di Ponto

    Staatsoper Unter den Linden
    • Die Sopranistin Elsa Dreisig wiederholte ihre Aufführung von Sifare, die sie 2021 mit demselben Orchester und Dirigenten aufgenommen hatte. Auf der Bühne ist Dreisig noch großartiger als auf der Aufnahme. Sifares Arie im zweiten Akt („Lungi da te, mio bene“) war besonders ergreifend, weil Dreisig die Traurigkeit eines jungen Mannes zum Ausdruck brachte, der zwischen seiner Liebe zu Aspasia und der Loyalität gegenüber seinem Vater hin- und hergerissen ist. [TRANSLATED] Soprano Elsa Dreisig repeated her performance of Sifare, which she recorded in 2021 with the same orchestra and conductor. On stage, Dreisig is even more magnificent than on recording. Sifare's Act II aria (" Lungi da te, mio ​​bene ") was particularly poignant because Dreisig expressed the sadness of a young man torn between his love for Aspasia and loyalty to his father.