Photo © Della Bass
As a singing actress MARISOL MONTALVO is highly appreciated for the unconditional identification with her characters. She has the privilege of performing with the world's most renowned conductors and orchestras and working closely with many of today's leading composers, including Matthias Pintscher, Olga Neuwirth and Wolfgang Rihm. Some have written roles especially for them, including Peter Eötvös (Sierve Maria in "Love and Other Demons"), Pascal Dusapin (Prothoe in "Penthesilea") and Marco Stroppa (Olbia in "Il Re Orso").
Her passionate dedication to contemporary music results in regular engagements with leading ensembles such as the Klangforum Wien, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the Ensemble Remix and the Ensemble Modern.
In addition to her great successes in various opera roles, Montalvo is particularly associated with the title role in Berg's "Lulu". After her debut at the Opèra National in Paris, Le Monde celebrated her "Lulu" as a true revelation: "The American soprano is truly present on stage, as with her voice, and interprets the demanding role with incredible intensity."
The "Lulu" became the centerpiece of her stage work and has become an important part of the soprano's repertoire; She has sung them on houses like the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Théatre du Capitole Toulouse, the Teatro de la Maestranza, the Theater an der Wien, the Komische Oper Berlin and the Theater Basel, in the much acclaimed production of Calixto Bieto.
As a soloist for orchestral concerts, Montalvo has a particularly close relationship with Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, who supports her as a mentor as well as a regular concert partner. Since conducting her Carnegie Hall debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, he has repeatedly invited her to work alongside him with orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Houston Symphony, the London Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Orchester de Paris. Most recently, under her direction, she performed in the role of Sophie in a concert performance of Der Rosenkavalier with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
She has also worked with such conductors as Daniel Harding, Vladimir Jurowski, Christopher Hogwood, Yuri Temirkanov, Bernard Kontarsky, Sylvain Camberling, Sussana Malik, Lothar Zagrosek and Sir Neville Marriner, and orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, SWR Sinfornie Orchestra, RSO Vienna, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.
She has performed internationally at the best venues such as the Zurich Opera, Theater an der Wien, Bregenz Festival, Gran Teatro del Liceu, Baden-Baden Festival Hall, Teatro Real de Madrid, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Theater du Chatelet, Théatre de Geneva, La Monnaie de Munt, Opera of Monte Carlo, at the Lithuanian National Opera, Polish National Opera and Opera Comique.