Gustav Mahler, Othmar Schoeck, and Richard Strauss: Britta Glaser introduces herself to classical audiences with these three great composers of Lieder. The many-faceted interpretations of the young soprano and pianist Matthias Veit cast a subtly modulated light on the themes of love, humanity, Nature and death, reflecting on the mortal and metaphysical, and the eternal cycle of creation and decay.

Othmar Schoeck, born in Brunnen in 1886, belonged to the important first generation of 20th-century Swiss composers. On completion of his music studies with Max Reger in Leipzig, Germany in 1908, he returned to Zurich, where he lived until his death in 1957. Although he worked in other genres, he is often referred to as the “last master of lieder” or even the “last Romantic”. Although these are clichés, Schoeck certainly played a prominent role in the German lied tradition. He composed over 400 lieder in the course of the five decades of his professional life; it was the most important musical form for him.

Britta Glaser studied voice at the University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. She made her debut at the Oper Leipzig and Landestheater Altenburg/Gera while still a student. Recent engagements include the Staatsoper Hamburg/Opera Stabile, Opernfestspiele Heidenheim, the Opernakademie Bad Orb, and the Radialsystem Berlin. She has worked with the Gewandhausorchester, the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, and the Hamburger Symphoniker. Britta has sung much of the mezzo repertoire both at home and abroad with avantgarde ensembles such as the AOIDE Ensemble.

Britta began her career as a mezzo-soprano, and is now extending her range upwards to the soprano repertoire. She gives frequent recitals of lieder in such venues as the Schumannhaus Leipzig and Komponistenquartier Hamburg, and has worked with many pianists, including Professor Phillip Moll and Matthias Veit. She has performed as oratorio soloist in such renowned venues as St Michaelis in Hamburg and the cathedral in Fulda. Thanks to the wide experience of her first teacher, KS Professor Regina Werner-Dietrich, Britta is well-versed in the operetta repertoire and has performed in the Musikalische Komödie of the Oper Leipzig/Leipzig Opera and the Altenburg Schlossfestspiele.

Britta has participated in master classes given by Klesie Kelly, Laura Sarti, Charlotte Lehmann, Alessandra Rossi, Claudia Visca, and Peter Berne. Prizes and scholarships include the Ottilie-Selbach-Redslob-Stiftung, Bundeswettbewerb Jugend Musiziert, Max-Liebhaber-Werk, and the Richard-Wagner-Verband.

Before pursuing her passion for singing, Britta earned a degree in Fine Arts and English at the University of Leipzig. She ran her own art-studio in Leipzig for several years; her large-scale oil paintings have appeared in many exhibitions.