Polina Pasztircsák

Polina Pasztircsák (international spelling: Pastirchak) (born 24 September 1982 in Budapest) is a Hungarian operatic and concert singer (soprano).

Polina Pasztircsák, Plácido Domingo, 2016

Biography

Education and early career

Polina Pastirchák was born in Budapest as the second daughter of a Hungarian father and a Russian mother. Her parents are designers, as well as her sister, Larisza Pasztircsák is founder of the fashion label Mrs Herskin. Pastirchak began studying voice at the age of 19 with her first teacher, Julia Bikfalvy, in Budapest. In 2004, she won the Simandy National Singing Competition. She continued her musical studies in Italy as a pupil of Mirella Freni. In 2010, she completed her degree in Conservatorio Girolamo Frescobaldi in Ferrara. In addition to her musical studies, she attained a degree in Cultural Management at the West Hungarian University. Her current teachers are Carol Richardson-Smith and Jeffrey Smith in Hannover. In 2007, she made her operatic debut in Modena in a contemporary opera by Lorenzo Ferrero, Le piccole storie.[1] Here at Teatro Comunale Modena, in the next season, she sang with great success the role of Micaëla. Her international breakthrough came in 2009 when she won the first prize and all special prizes at the Geneva International Music Competition. In 2011, she sang Partenope at the Handel festival in Karlsruhe, in 2013 Woglinde in the new ring production of Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Artistic development

Since 2011, Polina Pastirchák is regularly guesting at the Hungarian State Operahouse with roles like Desdemona, Amelia, Nedda, Violetta, Melisande, Mimì, Micaëla, Donna Anna, Contessa. In 2014, she made an important debut as Strauss's Daphne conducted by Zoltán Kocsis. She returns every year at Ádám Fischer's Budapest Wagner Festival as Gutrune. In 2016, she sang Vespina in Cavalli's Veremonda at the Schwetzingen Festival, Mimì in St. Gallen. Later she sang Traviata at the Capitole de Toulouse and Humperdinck's Königskinder in Oper Graz. Since 2019 is regularly working with Rene Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester with whom she sang Donna Anna.

Pastirchak is also in demand as a concert soloist, for example with Beethoven's IX. and Mahler's IV., which she sang with Ádám Fischer, Christian Arming, Henrik Nanasi and Clemens Schuldt. In 2019, she recorded Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with Harmonia Mundi, Rene Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester. In the same year Sony recorded Shostakovich's XIV. Symphonie with Michael Sanderling and the Dresdner Philharmonie. In 2011, she sang Mozart Arien with Sabine Meyer, Andreas Spering and the Basel Kammerorchester at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, which was also recorded by Sony. In Mahler's VIII. Symphonie she sang Una Poenitentium conducted by Adam Fischer in Düsseldorf. At the occasion of Arvo Pärt's 80 birthday she sang Como Cierva Sedienta conducted by Gabor Takács-Nagy in Manchester in the presence of the composer. As soprano soloist she sang furthermore Mendelssohn's Lobgesang (Thomas Dausgaard, Swedish Chamber Orchestra), Elias (György Vashegyi, Orfeo Orchestra), Berlioz's Les Nuits d’Ete and Verdi's Requiem (Francesco Angelico, Tiroler Symphonieorchester, Sinfonia Varsovia), Strauss Vier letzte Lieder (Alejo Perez, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande), Ravel Sheherazade (Vassily Sinaisky, Hungarian National Philharmonic), Händel's Brockes Passion (Howard Arman, Capella Savaria), Bach Cantatas (Maurice Steger, Concerto Köln), Beethoven's Egmont (Nikolai Alexeev, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra).

In gala concerts she sang as a partner of Plácido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Erwin Schrott and Jose Cura. She enjoys singing operetta in festive concerts such as in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam with Marc Albrecht, Palermo and Vicenza with Gabor Takács-Nagy, in Köln with Helmut Froschauer and in Kazan with Aleksander Sladkovsky. A significant part of her singing activity are chamber concerts and song recitals with her pianist, Jan Philip Schulze, such as in the Züricher Tonhalle, Marburger Konzertverein, Radio France, Budapest Spring Festival, Mahler Festival in Toblach, Sommets Musicaux Gstaad, Capitole Toulouse, Jewish Summer Festival, kamara.hu Festival, etc.

Opera roles and engagements (selection)
Year Role Venues
2007 Irma (Le piccole storie) Teatro Comunale Modena
2009 Mimi (La Bohème)
2009 Micaëla (Carmen)
2011 Partenope (Partenope) Haendel Festival Karlsruhe
2013 Violetta Valéry (La traviata)
2013 Woglinde (Rheingold, Götterdämmerung) Grand Théâtre de Genève (2013, Feb. 2019)[7][8]
2013 Desdemona (Otello) Hungarian State Opera[9]
2014 Nedda (Pagliacci) Hungarian State Opera[10]
2015 Daphne (Daphne) Müpa Budapest[11]
2016 Vespina (Veremonda) Schwetzingen Festival
2016 Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro) Erkel Theatre Budapest[12]
2016 Donna Anna (Don Giovanni)
2017 Gutrune (Götterdämmerung) Müpa Budapest Wagner Festival
2018 Amelia (Simon Boccanegra) Hungarian State Opera
2019 Gänsemagd (Die Königskinder) Opernhaus Graz[14]

Concert repertoire and performances (selection)
Composer Title Performers
Soviet Lieder with Jan Philip Schulze (Revolution-Perestroika) Amici della Musica di Padova 2019
Christmas concert at Aachen Dom WDR Funkhausorchester, Enrico Delamboye (2018)
”Alles Walzer!” WDR Funkhausorchester, Helmut Froschauer (2014)
Operetta Gala Netherlands Philharmonic, Marc Albrecht (2018)
Johann Sebastian Bach Cantatas Concerto Köln, Maurice Steiger (2016)
Ludwig van Beethoven Egmont St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicolai Alexeev (2012)
9th Symphony
Missa Solemnis Freiburger Barockorchester, RIAS Kammerchor, René Jacobs (Philharmonie de Paris, Mai 2019)[16]
Hector Berlioz Les Nuits d’Ete Sinfonia Varsovia, Francesco Angelico (2011)
Gabriel Fauré Requiem Grand Theatre Geneve (2010)
Georg Friedrich Haendel Brockes Passion Capella Savaria, Howard Arman (2016)
Gustav Mahler 4th Symphony Komische Oper Berlin, Henrik Nánási (2017)[17]
8th Symphony Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Ádám Fischer (2018)
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Elijah Orfeo Orchestra, György Vashegyi (2018)
2nd Symphony Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard (2014)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Arias Sabine Meyer, Kammerorchester Basel, Andreas Spering (2015)
Arvo Paert Como cierva sedienta Manchester Chamber Orchestra, Gábor Takács-Nagy (2015)
Maurice Ravel Shéhérazade Hungarian National Philharmonic, Vassily Sinaisky (2017)
Dmitri Shostakovich 14th Symphony Dresdner Philharmonie, Michael Sanderling (Kulturpalast Dresden, Jan. 2019)[18]
Richard Strauss Vier letzte Lieder Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Alejo Perez (Victoria Hall Geneva, 2013)
Giuseppe Verdi Requiem Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck, Francesco Angelico (2014)

Awards and recognitions

Discography
  • Polina Pasztircsák: R. Strauss, D. Shostakovich, B. Bartók, Z. Kodály. Musikkollegium Winterthur, Alexander Rahbari. Montres Breguet, Ysaye Records 2010.
  • Mozart Arias: Arrangements for clarinet & orchestra by Andreas N. Tarkmann. Polina Pasztircsák, soprano, Sabine Meyer clarinet, Kammerorchester Basel conducted by Andreas Spering. Sony, 2012.
  • György Selmeczi: Spiritisti. Polina Pasztircsák as Colombina. Hungarian State Opera, 2017.
  • Gustav Mahler: Symphonie 8. Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Adam Fischer. Deutschlandradio, 2018
  • Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies 1–15 with Polina Pasztircsák as a soloist in Symphony No. 14. Dresden Philharmonic, Michael Sanderling. Sony, 2019.

References
  1. "Polina Pasztircsák sings Lorenzo Ferrero's Le Piccole Storie". Videodokument in YouTube.
  2. "Polina Pasztircsák sings Sono andati from La Bohéme by Giacomo Puccini". Videodokument in Youtube. 2009-12-08.
  3. "Polina Pasztircsák sings "Si, mi chiamano Mimi" from Puccini's La Bohème". Videodokument in Youtube. 2014-09-05.
  4. Katharina Hogrefe (2017-10-05). ""La Bohème" wieder in Graz". blog4tickets. Kulturreferat ÖH Uni Graz.
  5. "Polina Pasztircsák sings "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante" from Bizet's Carmen". Videodokument in Youtube. 2014-09-14.
  6. "Polina Pasztircsák sings "È strano, è strano" from Verdi's Traviata". Videodokument in Youtube. 2014-09-14.
  7. Fabrice Malkani (2019-02-12). "Mouvement perpétuel; Das Rheingold - Genève". ForumOpéra (in French).
  8. José Pons (2019-02-20). "Le Crépuscule des Dieux, dernière journée du Ring à Genève". Olyrix (in French).
  9. "Polina Pasztircsák sings Desdemona from Verdi's Otello". Videodokument in Youtube. 2014-09-05.
  10. "Polina Pasztircsák sings "Qual fiamma avea nel guardo" from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci". Videodokument in Youtube. 2015-01-05.
  11. "Polina Pasztircsák sings Strauss' Daphne - Daphe's Entrance". Videodokument in Youtube. 2017-09-12.
  12. "Polina Pasztircsák sings Contessa "Dove sono" from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro". Videodokument in Youtube. 2017-09-07.
  13. "Polina Pasztircsák sings Donna Anna "Non mi dir" from Mozart's Don Giovanni". Videodokument in Youtube. 2018-02-27.
  14. "Humperdincks "Königskinder" als düsteres Märchen in Graz". Oberösterreichisches Volksblatt. 2019-12-15.
  15. Otto Paul Burkhardt (2020-01-13). "Jubiläum: 75 Jahre Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen. Leben und Tod, Krieg und Frieden". swp.de. Südwest Presse.
  16. Michel Jakubowicz (2019-05-09). "Concert : René Jacobs interprète la Missa Solemnis de Beethoven à la Philharmonie de Paris" (in French).
  17. Frederik Hanssen (2017-05-07). "Komische Oper: Neuer Generalmusikdirektor". Der Tagesspiegel.
  18. Michael Ernst (2019-01-15). "Klangkultur, nicht zu empfehlen". Musik in Dresden.
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