Biography

With a versatile voice that ranges from Verdi and Wagner to Puccini and Strauss, Astrid Kessler is a sought-after soprano on the international stages. She began her vocal training at the age of 16 at the International School Seoul in South Korea, and later studied at the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg, Berlin and Hannover.

Some of her recent engagements include singing Salome in Strauss’ Salome at Vienna Volksoper in September 2023, Alice in Verdi’s Falstaff at Staatsoper Stuttgart, Arabella in Strauss’ Arabella at Teatro Real Madrid, Oper Leipzig und Oper Zürich, Rosalinde in Strauß’ Die Fledermaus at New National Theatre Tokyo, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre in a new production by Peter Konwitschny at Theater Dortmund, Agathe in Weber’s Der Freischütz at Nationaltheater Mannheim and Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin at Forum Ludwigsburg, alongside Klaus Florian Vogt.

Astrid Kessler is a prize winner of the international Meistersinger competition Nürnberg 2018 in the German Fach, and has impressed audiences and critics alike with her portrayals of Eva in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Feldmarschallin in Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco and Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly..

She has worked with renowned conductors such as Fabio Luisi, Manfred Honeck, Marc Piollet, Cornelius Meister, Dan Ettinger, Alexander Soddy, Axel Kober, Friedrich Haider and Ulf Schirmer.