Artistes

"An absolute world-class soprano with enchanting timbre, flawless height and lyric-dramatic expressiveness." ​Schleswig-Holsteiner Zeitungsverlag
„A sumptuous voice, a poetic and passionate singer” ​Luxemburger Wort
„Iwona’s voice - a dream” ​Le fait de jour
 

Iwona Sobotka achieved international acclaim as the Grand Prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium. Other awards include the East & West Artists International Auditions in New York, where she was awarded her debut recital in Carnegie Hall.

Recent and upcoming projects include a return to the Komische Oper Berlin as Pamina in Barrie Kosky’s production of The Magic Flute on tour to Australia and New Zealand,her debut at the Teatro de La Zarzuela in Madrid as Esperanza in Gimenez’ Maria del Pilar, her debut at the Baden-Baden Festival with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Sir Simon Rattle as Blumenmädchen in Wagner’s Parsifal, a return to the Polish National Opera in Warsaw as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, to the Poznan Opera as Violetta Valery in Traviata and to the Opera Podlaska as Mimi in La Boheme.

In concert Iwona enjoys regular collaborations with Sir Simon Rattle which have recently included concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic (Wagner`s Parsifal in concert), the London Symphony Orchestra (world premiere of the Norman’s A Trip to the Moon) and will continue  with her debut with the Staatskapelle Berlin (Janacek`s Glagolitic Mass), the City of Birmingham Orchestra (Beethoven’s 9th Symphony) and again with the Berlin Philharmonic (Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives). Other recent projects include concerts with the Orquesta Sinfonica Barcelona y Nacional de Catalunya (Verdi’s Requiem at Palau de la Música Catalana), the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Elbphilharmonie), the Kammerakademie Potsdam (Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in Konzerthaus Berlin), the Rundfunksinfonieorchester Berlin (Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Berlin Philharmonie), the Orquesta Simfonica del Madrid (Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Auditorio Nacional), and the MDR Sinfonieorchester (Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and Frauenkirchen Dresden) amongst others.

Her first stage appearances saw her sing Ygraine in Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe-Bleue at the Opéra National de Paris in 2004, a role she later sang on tour during the company’s guest performances in Japan. The following season she returned to Paris as First Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and also made her first appearance with the Polish National Opera in Warsaw as Zuzia in Moniuszko’s Verbum Nobile. She was also invited by Hansjörg Schellenberger to sing the main role, Vespina, in a concert performance of Haydn’s L’infedeltà delusa in Milan and Munich with the Symphonieorchester of Bayerischen Rundfunks. In 2010, she made her debut in the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival in the title role of Moniuszko’s Halka, and continued that association in the summer of 2011 in the role of Liù in Puccini’s Turandot to great critical acclaim. She made her Komische Oper Berlin debut as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute directed by Barrie Kosky and also sang this role for a guest performance by the company at the Budapest Spring Festival, and in Warsaw for National Opera of Poland. Other roles with which she has enjoyed great success have included: Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) under the baton of Teodor Currentzis in Tchaikowsky Perm State Opera; Violetta (La Traviata), Pamina (The Magic flute) and Mimi (La Boheme) in Opera Podlaska in Bialystok; Tatyana (Eugene Oniegin) and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) at the Grand Theater in Łódź; Violetta (La Traviata) at the Grand Theater in Poznań; as well as Micaëla in a concert performance of Bizet’s Carmen with the Cracow Philharmonic.

A frequent concert performer, Iwona has sung Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on tour to Asia with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; and appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, has also worked with many of today’s pre-eminent conductors including Sir Colin Davies, Sir Simon Rattle, Marco Armiliato, Andrey Boreyko, Sylvain Cambreling,Teodor Currentzis, Jesus Lopez Cobos, Aleksandar Markovic,  Juanjo Mena, and Massimo Zanetti.

In 2010, she participated in a ‘Szymanowski Focus’ program curated by the distinguished Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski to promote the music of Karol Szymanowski with concerts in Wigmore Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York. She also contributed to a complete collection of Szymanowski’s songs for Channel Classics alongside Polish tenor Piotr Beczala and was accorded with the distinction of the Fryderyk Award for this recording by the National Academy of Recording Arts in Poland. On a subsequent release for EMI Classics in 2006, she performed Songs of a Fairytale Princess with Sir Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which received five stars in BBC Music Magazine.

Following her graduation from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Iwona continued her studies with renowned artist and pedagogue Tom Krause at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid.