Claudia Mahnke

Mezzo-soprano Claudia Mahnke specializes in the heavier roles of later 19th century opera by Wagner and other composers. Her repertory includes German, Italian, and French works. Mahnke scored a breakthrough in 1994 when she won the opera/operetta/concert prize at the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin Competition in 1994, bringing her wider attention in Western Germany. In 1996, she joined the cast of the Staatsoper Stuttgart, where she had major roles, including the title role in Simplicius Simplicissimus by Karl Amadeus Hartmann. She made her recording debut on a recording of Beethoven's Mass in C major, Op. 86, in 2006. By 2024, when Mahnke appeared on a recording of Meyerbeer's L'Africaine, her recording catalog included some 15 items.