A lyric soprano possessing an uncommonly smooth and powerful tone, Anna Prohaska harnessed the nuances of her voice and embarked on a career that has brought her to opera's most prestigious record labels and concert stages. Born in Germany in 1983, Prohaska made her debut with the Berlin State Opera at age 20, and quickly melded her voice with a striking visual presence, rarely shying away from a bold outfit or a dramatic music video.
After a decade of stage performances, Prohaska released her solo debut, Sirène, in 2011 on the highly-esteemed Deutsche Grammophon label (the oldest surviving label in the world). Her passionate performances of pieces by Schubert, Mahler, and Schumann earned strong notices, and the solo albums Enchanted Forest (2013), Behind the Lines (2014), and Serpent & Fire (2016) followed. Beyond her solo releases, her appearances on collaborative recordings of works by Pergolesi, Mozart, and Henze won her additional acclaim. A long-simmering joint effort with English pianist Julius Drake, a cycle of pieces about original sin called Paradise Lost, arrived in 2020.
Amidst her recording commitments, Prohaska continued to perform around the world, appearing with orchestras in Boston, Tokyo, London, Vienna, and Amsterdam, in addition to frequently taking the stage in her adopted hometown of Berlin and at the long-running Salzburg Festival. Her accomplishments on stage and on recordings have earned her awards from the International Classical Music Awards (Best Baroque Vocal, Best Video Performance), the Berlin Art Prize (2016), and the ECHO Klassik (Newcomer Award, 2011).
In addition to her work in the more traditional milieu, Prohaska has appeared in productions that give the classics a modern twist, wearing fishnets and air-guitaring up a storm in Nicolai's The Merry Wives of Windsor, strutting in a sparkling technicolor dreamcoat Joseph would envy in a visually compelling take on Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie, and bringing Björk's swan dress back with a sneer in a performance of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
