Biography
Anglo-German contralto Claudia Huckle, praised as a ‘marvel in Mahler with perfect technique’ (BBC Music Magazine), was a Grand Final Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the first female recipient of Operalia’s Birgit Nilsson Prize for singing Wagner. She has since appeared with opera companies and orchestras across Europe and the USA.
Current season highlights include Dritte Dame Die Zauberflöte at the Edinburgh International Festival; Rossini Stabat Mater with the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder; 1st Maid Elektra with the Bergen Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko; her debut at the Bayerischer Staatsoper as The Innkeeper in Boris Godunov; a leading role for the London Handel Festival; 1st Norn Götterdämmerung with the LPO and Vladimir Jurowski; and Verdi Requiem at Cadogan Hall in London.
Claudia recently appeared as Meg Page in Falstaff at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, under Daniele Gatti; and at the Bregenzer Festspiele as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, a role she has also sung for Zurich Opera and Glyndebourne on Tour. She returned to Opéra de Paris for Blumenmädchen/Stimme von Oben in Parsifal, and sang Erda/ Flosshilde in Das Rheingold for the Bregenzer Festspiele. She has also sung Erda for Oper Leipzig, Grand Théâtre de Genève and Opera North. She made her debut at Teatro alla Scala Milan singing Die allwissende Muschel in Strauss Die Ägyptische Helena, conducted by Franz Welser Möst.
Read moreReviews
“Most striking of all was the young contralto Claudia Huckle as Marfa, battered between religious and political forces. Mussorgsky gives her a substantial role and Huckle accomplished it magnificently: genuine, graceful and touching- hers is one of the richest, most beautiful contralto voices I’ve heard in years.”
“Behind Claudia Huckle’s compelling Lucretia one really can sense the distant presence of Kathleen Ferrier, the great contralto for whom this role was written; Huckle’s performance is finely judged, with its climax all the more thoughtprovoking for being understated – this Lucretia’s post-rape ‘shame’ is existential.”
“Claudia Huckle’s sensational, dark-burgundy alto was a standout among the women, her spellbinding ‘Erbarme Dich’ seeming to float around Matthew Truscott’s dusky violin line.”
“Stunning new recording”.
“…perfect technique, deep expression and unique vocal personalities combine…”
