MEZZO-SOPRANO | ALTO
Iris Vermillion
Representation: World
- Alexander Brunner
- +43 (0)5 06 80-011
- brunner@machreich-artists.com
GALLERY
BIOGRAPHY
Iris Vermillion remains a sought-after guest across leading international opera houses and concert halls, having followed a career appearing on the stages of the Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Berlin State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Theater an der Wien, Teatro Real in Madrid, La Scala in Milan and the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, among others.
Key moments in her early career included Clairon in Strauss' Capriccio at the Salzburg Festival, Herodias in Salome for new productions at the Bavarian State Opera and La Scala in Milan, Tristan und Isolde under Kurt Masur in Paris, and Erwin Schulhoff's Flammen at the Theater an der Wien. Following her interpretation of the title role in Othmar Schoeck's Penthesilea at the Dresden Semperoper, Iris Vermillion was awarded the German Theater Prize "Der Faust" in the category "Best Performance by a Singer in Musical Theater". Her interpretation of the Mother in Luigi Nono's Al gran sole carico d'amore at the Leipzig Opera, together with her Countess Geschwitz in Alban Berg's Lulu at the Graz Opera, received further international acclaim. She has enjoyed success as Herodias in Strauss' Salome at the Vienna State Opera, as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel in Dresden, in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites in Valencia, as Fricka in Die Walküre in Leipzig and Seville, and in Mahler's Das klagende Lied at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Alte Oper Frankfurt and St. Michaelis Church in Hamburg.
The mezzo-soprano made her acclaimed role debut as Clytemnestra in Strauss' Elektra at the Graz Opera, was invited by the Semperoper Dresden for a new production of Hans Werner Henze's We Come to the River, and went on tour in Japan with the Vienna State Opera for Strauss' Salome.
In addition to concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Gewandhaus Leipzig, the De Doelen in Rotterdam and the Graz Musikverein, followed her celebrated debuts as the Amme in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten in Buenos Aires, the Küsterin in Janáček's Jenůfa at the Graz Opera, as well as Salome at the Teatro Municipal of São Paulo, Hänsel und Gretel at the Semperoper, Jenůfa at the Stuttgart Opera and Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny at the Rome Opera.
Further engagements took Iris Vermillion to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, to the Graz Opera and – for the Spanish premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten – to the Teatro Real in Madrid. She has appeared as Clytemnestra in Richard Strauss' Elektra at the Vienna State Opera and Leipzig Opera, and as Herodias in a new production of Salome at Graz Opera. She was invited by the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo to perform the role of Judith in a concert performance of Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle conducted by Sylvain Cambreling. Recent engagements include Iris Vermillion's role as Mescalina in a new production of György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre at the Dresden Semperoper and her participation in the German premiere of Christian Jost's Egmont at the theater in her hometown of Bielefeld. Following her debut as Kabanicha in Janáček's Katja Kabanova, her longstanding collaboration with the Graz Opera House continues in the current season with the Austrian premiere of Peter Eötvös' Sleepless. Iris Vermillion will be heard at the Berlin State Opera this season in a new production of Strauss' Die schweigsame Frau, staged by Jan Philipp Gloger and conducted by Christian Thielemann.
Together with the Vienna Philharmonic, Iris Vermillion premiered Peter Eötvös' Halleluja - Oratorio Balbulum, composed in 2015, as part of the Salzburg Festival and conducted by Daniel Harding - a work she also took to Zurich, Munich, Cologne and Budapest.
Among her extensive concert and lied engagements, with worldwide television and radio broadcasts, Iris Vermillion is in particular demand as an interpreter of Gustav Mahler's song cycles. She has worked with such renowned conductors as Claudio Abbado, Gerd Albrecht, Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph von Dohnányi, Vladimir Fedosejev, Michael Gielen, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, René Jacobs, Armin and Philippe Jordan, Vladimir Jurowski, Marek Janowski, Kurt Masur, Cornelius Meister, Georges Prêtre, Helmuth Rilling, Donald Runnicles, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Sir Georg Solti, Christian Thielemann and Marcello Viotti.
The mezzo-soprano continues to work with the world’s most prominent orchestras and has made guest appearances during her career with names such as the Vienna, Berlin and Munich Philharmonic Orchestras, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, the Orchestra of the Beethovenhalle Bonn, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orkest, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Numerous recordings document the artist's versatility. Iris Vermillion’s extensive discography includes recordings of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Georg Solti, Mahler's Lied von der Erde with the Staatskapelle Dresden under Giuseppe Sinopoli, Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Solti, Zemlinsky's Eine florentinische Tragödie and songs by Alma Mahler with the Concertgebouw Orkest under Riccardo Chailly, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 under Roger Norrington, Mozart's Idomeneo under Fabio Luisi, as well as Carl Heinrich Graun's Cleopatra e Cesare with Concerto Köln under René Jacobs. On DVD she can be seen as Herodias in a production of Salome at La Scala, conducted by Daniel Harding and directed by Luc Bondy.
Iris Vermillion has recorded works by composers such as Viktor Ullmann, Franz Waxmann and Berthold Goldschmidt for Decca under series "Entartete Musik" (Degenerate Music). Under the German label cpo, she can also be heard in their release of the scenes for mezzo-soprano and alto from the operas of Siegfried Wagner.
2024 | 2025
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.
DISCOGRAPHY
Leoš Janáček: Jenůfa
Dunja Vejzovic, Aleš Briscein, Taylan Reinhard, Iris Vermillion, Gal James, David McShane, Konstantin Sfiris, Stefanie Hierlmeier et al.
Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester | Chor und Singschule der Oper Graz
Conductor: Dirk Kaftan
Label: Oehms | 2015
Anton Bruckner: Messe f-Moll
Lenneke Ruten, Iris Vermillion, Shawn Mathey, Franz-Josef Selig
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande | Rundfunkchor Berlin
Conductor: Marek Janowski
Label: Pentatone | 2013
Leoš Janáček: Mša glagolskaja
Aga Mikolaj, Iris Vermillion, Stuart Neill, Arutjun Kotchinian, Iveta Apkalna
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin | Rundfunkchor Berlin
Dirigent: Marek Janowski
Label: Pentatone | 2013
Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold
Tomasz Konieczny, Christian Elsner, Iris Vermillion, Günther Groissböck, Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Andreas Conrad et al.
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Conductor: Marek Janowski
Label: Pentatone | 2013
VIDEOS
CALENDAR
Richard Strauss: Die Schweigsame Frau
Peter Rose, Sir Morosus
Iris Vermillion, his housekeeper
Samuel Hasselhorn, Barber Schneidebart
Siyabonga Maqungo, Henry Morosus
Brenda Rae, Aminta, his wife
Evelin Novak, Iostta
Rebecka Wallroth, Carlotta
Dionysios Avgerinos, Morbio
Manuel Winchhler, Vanuzzi
Friedrich Hamel, Farfallo
Christian Thielemann, musical direction
Jan Philipp Gloger, production
Ben Baur, stage
Justina Klimczyk, costumes
Dani Juris, chorus rehearsals
Detlef Giese, dramaturgy
Staatsopernchor
Staatskapelle Berlin
Richard Strauss: Die Schweigsame Frau
Peter Rose, Sir Morosus
Iris Vermillion, seine Haushälterin
Samuel Hasselhorn, Barbier Schneidebart
Siyabonga Maqungo, Henry Morosus
Brenda Rae, Aminta, seine Gattin
Evelin Novak, Iostta
Rebecka Wallroth, Carlotta
Dionysios Avgerinos, Morbio
Manuel Winchhler, Vanuzzi
Friedrich Hamel, Farfallo
Christian Thielemann, Musikalische Leitung
Jan Philipp Gloger, Inszenierung
Ben Baur, Bühne
Justina Klimczyk, Kostüme
Dani Juris, Einstudierung Chor
Detlef Giese, Dramaturgie
Staatsopernchor
Staatskapelle Berlin
Richard Strauss: Die Schweigsame Frau
Peter Rose, Sir Morosus
Iris Vermillion, his housekeeper
Samuel Hasselhorn, Barber Schneidebart
Siyabonga Maqungo, Henry Morosus
Brenda Rae, Aminta, his wife
Evelin Novak, Iostta
Rebecka Wallroth, Carlotta
Dionysios Avgerinos, Morbio
Manuel Winchhler, Vanuzzi
Friedrich Hamel, Farfallo
Christian Thielemann, musical direction
Jan Philipp Gloger, production
Ben Baur, stage
Justina Klimczyk, costumes
Dani Juris, chorus rehearsals
Detlef Giese, dramaturgy
Staatsopernchor
Staatskapelle Berlin
