Aga Mikolaj

Soprano

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“…sweet-toned-yet-steel-cored full-bodied lyric voice of absolutely immaculate technical control and simply gorgeous soprano sound: Aga Mikolaj. One to watch, past question.”
(Opera Britannia)

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A former member of Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper, Aga Mikolaj studied with the late Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and built her reputation on Mozart’s leading ladies. Having amassed a wide and varied repertoire over past seasons, including principal roles by Richard Strauss, Verdi and Wagner, Aga has enjoyed operatic success throughout Europe and the USA.

Highlights of an extensive career include debuts at Opéra national de Paris and Teatro alla Scala (Die Zauberflöte), Staatsoper unter den Linden and Semperoper Dresden (Don Giovanni), at Glyndebourne Festival (Cosí fan tutte) and at Opera de Monte Carlo (Falstaff). Further notable appearances include role debuts as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) in Dmitri Tcherniakov’s production at the Bolshoi Theatre, and as Tatyana (Eugene Onegin) for Semperoper Dresden, Eva (Die Meistersinger) at the Aalto Theater in Essen, Elizabeth (Tannhäuser) for Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Freia (Das Rheingold), and Micaela (Carmen) at Bayerische Staatsoper. As Donna Elvira, Aga Mikolaj has performed at the Walt Disney Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, on tour to Japan with Wiener Staatsoper under Seiji Ozawa, at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under James Conlon, and as part of Daniel Barenboim’s triumphant Ring Cycles, she has appeared at Teatro alla Scala, Berliner Staatsoper and at London’s BBC Proms.

A sought after concert artist, Aga Mikolaj has a diverse repertoire including Mahler, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Verdi, Penderecki and Szymanowski. Verdi’s Messa da Requiem has featured strongly in recent seasons after a debut in the piece under Mariss Jansons at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and thereafter in Berlin, Barcelona, Warsaw, Paris, and Boston. Other calling cards include Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony, Britten’s War Requiem, and Strauss’ Vier letzte lieder for which Aga remains in international demand.

Upcoming season highlights include Fiordiligi and Donna Elvira in Teatro Massimo di Palermo’s new Da Ponte trilogy under Omer Meir Wellber. On the concert stage Aga sings Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 under Andrey Boreyko with both the Naples Philharmonic and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as with the Scottish Chamber Orchester under Emmanuel Krivine. She also sings Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony under Jordan de Souza at the Staatstheater Hannover and Glanert’s Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch under Semyon Bychkov both with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic.

Verdi: Requiem - Libera me Domine (excerpt) Mariss Jansons, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Choirs of Netherlands Radio & Flemish Radio, Sept 2013, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam © RCO

Glanert: Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch “No.7 Invidia” © Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro (excerpt) © CPO

Strauss: Klänge der Heimat from Die Fledermaus © Naxos

Mozart: Don Giovanni (excerpt) © CPO

“the final “Libera me” from the Polish soprano Aga Mikolaj reached the intensity of Desdemona from Verdi’s penultimate opera “Otello”

(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, October 2018)

“Mikolaj’s walm, unusually dusky soprano is an idea fit for Strauss’s solemn, tender, introspective songs”

(Texas Classical Review, September 2018)

“… the burgundy warmth of Aga Mikolaj was compelling. This Polish singer also impressed in the Debussy-indebted Love Songs of Hafiz by Szymanowski”

(The Times, March 2018)

“Aga Mikolaj’s lustrous soprano wound, glided and vaulted sinuously through the treacherous music, with marvellous results. Caustic in the choppy phrases, shining and soaring into the lyrical heights, she captured every tint and contour of this magnificent new oratorio.”

(Bachtrack, November 2016)

“Vocally the strongest and most versatile woman in the group is Aga Mikolaj’s Donna Elvira. Initially driven by the pain and longing for Don Giovanni, baring her strong, multifaceted soprano with irrepressible passion in her proud second act aria.”

(elbmargarita.de, June 2016)

“The tone was plush, the colouring dusky while sensitive phrasing pointed to the soprano’s past as a pupil of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf”

(The Times, November 2015)

“Mikolaj is just such a singer. Her tone is warm, rich, and pure; her intonation spot-on. She sings with deep understanding and musical intelligence….her crystalline tone evoking not just a purity of vision but also a sincerity of message.”

(Jonathan Blumhofer, Telegram.com, February 2015)

“It’s unusual for sopranos to perform both Strauss and Mahler on a single program as the two composers demand very different things from the singer. But one would have been hard pressed to find a more dexterous performer than Mikolaj. With a voice that is thoroughly rich and gorgeous, she is equally capable of softening her tone without losing its penetrating effect. Whereas her singing in the Strauss was rich and earthy, she delivered her lines in the Mahler with a light, nimble touch, her upper notes taking on an innocent, boyish quality.”

(Aaron Keebaugh, Boston Classical Review, February 2015)