Marlis Petersen: Athens' sweetheart returns to the Met

Lulu, Athens 2005

The Greek audiences rarely fall in love with a singer but in the case of Marlis Petersen, it was love at first sight. Since her spectacular Lulu at the Athens Megaron in 2005 -4 performances, all sold out and people begging for tickets outside the theatre- till her last appearance as Thais in March 2009, the love at first sight has become a solid amour. Now Marlis is practically a Greek girl as about a year ago she moved to Athens and it's not very unlikely to see her walking by in the Kolonaki area (been there, done that).

Medea, Vienna 2010

I first got acquainted with Petersen's art when in 2002 she replaced Natalie Dessay (again!) as Zerbinetta at the ROH (next to Petra Lang's Ariadne and to Sophie Koch's Sophie) to some raving reviews. Back then Opera magazine (John Allison) had written:

"Marlis Petersen, a Düsseldorf ensemble member making her Covent Garden debut, was a sexy, savvy Zerbinetta, her rock-chick characterization as athletic as her vocal roulades: her brilliant coloratura carried all the emotional weight it should."

The ROH Zerbinetta

Zerbinetta, Thais, Lulu, Konstanze, Medea (her recent performances as Reinmann's Medea in Vienna were triumphant) and now again Ophélie: six performances of Hamlet at the Met, replacing Natalie Dessay who withdrew due to illness, next to Simon Keenlyside's Hamlet - not actually a step-in as Petersen would anyway sing a couple of scheduled performances before wearing the clothes (or the non-clothes) of Lulu once again at the Met in May 2010. (Petersen debuted at the Met on 19 December 2005 as Adele in Die Fledermaus)

(Petersen's debut at the MET as Adele,
pics by Ken Howard)

Here you can watch a few minutes of Petersen as Lulu in the awesome Eike Gramms production at the Athens Megaron (I would kill for that video, somebody get it for me pleeeez-ok, thanks).

Thais, Athens 2009

Marlis as Adele


An interview with Marlis at the Wiener Opernball 2010


On youtube you can find practically the whole performance of Haydn's Orlando Paladino starring Marlis Petersen as Angelica but also Pietro Spagnoli and Alexandrina Pendatchanska (major parsifal's protegés) as well as the Brahms Liebeslieder Walzer recording with Petersen and Doufexis - that we also had the chance of listening live in Athens - review available here.

Parsi treats:

Marlis Petersen singing Duparc's Chanson Triste

Marlis Petersen singing Martern aller arten (Aix-en-Provence, July 9, 2007)

Ach ich liebte (Aix-en-Provence, July 9, 2007)

Barbaro, o Dio - Il re pastore - (Salzburg, July 24, 2006)