Vita (english)

Marlen Herzog, born in Dresden, received her first piano lessons at the age of six, and discovered her affection for music and all its virtuosity at this early age. In 1999, she be­gan her vocal studies at the Dresden College of Music "Carl Maria von Weber" under the tuition of Professor Hartmut Zabel.

Her degree in Vocal Pedagogy was upgraded by a post-graduate study in the Opera Class under the tuition of Professor Andreas Baumann, which she completed with a so­loist degree in 2006. The mezzo-soprano received further valuable experience through master classes with Britta Schwarz, Chamber Singer Andreas Schmidt and Chamber Singer Olaf Bär.

At the 40th International Antonin-Dvoräk Competition in Carlsbad / Czech Republic, Marlen received two special prizes in the category "opera''.

Already during the course of her studies, Marlen became a member of the renowned "Dresden Chamber Choir" under Hans-Christoph Rademann, where she learnt the ba­sics of choir singing and gathered considerable experience in the field of historic concert practice. Her expertise and competency in adapting to various encounters have made her a welcome guest singer in ensembles, such as the MDR broadcast choir, the Colle­gium Vocale Gent under Phillip Herreweghe, the Vocal Ensemble of the Lauttencom­pagney Berlin " Cappella Angelica'' and the Thomaner-Quintett "Amarcord''. Numerous recordings and broadcasts with these and further ensembles emphasise an important part of her artistic work.

After her graduation, the singer Marlen Herzog received a grant of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation and became a member of the ensemble of the Halle Opera House. Linder the tuition of the experienced chamber singers Romelia Lichtenstein and Axel Köhler, she was able to optimise her vocal skills and enlarge her repertoire within the field of opera. Following smaller parts such as Fjodor in "Boris Godunow" or the Second Lady in "The Magie Flute".

Marlen also gave her debut as Annio in Mozart's "Titus·: as Hansel in Humperdinck's "Hänsel and Gretel" and as Floßhilde in the concert performance of Richard Wagner's "Rheingold''.

Following her engagement in Halle, Marlen took up the challenge to work as a freelancer to accomplish her desire for artistic versatility. The staging of the opera "Argenore" by Wilhelmine from Bayreuth took her to the electoral opera house Bayreuth. As a guest singer at the State Operetta Dresden, she also appears in the current season as the Second Lady in the "Magie Flute'' and as Czipra in the operetta "The Gipsy Baron" by Johann Strauss.

Thanks to Marlen's musicianship and her vocal mutability, she is able to interpret varia­tions of genres and styles. Therefore she is engaged with more and more performances as a concert- and oratorio singer in Germany and abroad. She appears, amongst others, with the Dresdner Kreuzchor and the Dresdner Philharmony under Roderich Kreile, with the Dresden Chamber Choir and the Dresden Baroque Orchestra led by Hans-Christoph Rademann, the Virtuosi Saxoniae under Professor Ludwig Güttler, the Cappella Sagitta­riana, with the Vocal Concert Dresden under Peter Kopp, with Wolfgang Katschner and the musicians of the Lauttencompagney and also with the Collegium Marianum Prague. She sings as a soloist at various festivals, such as the Bach Festival Leipzig, the Handel Festival in Halle and the Swiss Music Festival "Boswiler Sommer''. Tours have taken Mar­len throughout Europe, to China, the USA, Oatar, South Korea and Japan.

In 2012, the mezzo-soprano was awarded the Richard-Wagner-Scholarship from the Dresdner Richard-Wagner-Association.