Edith Wiens

Canadian soprano Edith Wiens’ illustrious career spans the fields of Lied, concert, and opera. She has performed in Mozart’s operas at Glyndebourne under Bernard Haitink, in Tokyo with Seiji Ozawa, at La Scala with Sir Georg Solti, and in Amsterdam with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Under the direction of conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Sir Colin Davis, Charles Dutoit, and – most notably – Kurt Masur, she has appeared in concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, and the New York Philharmonic, as well as numerous other orchestras worldwide, including those in Paris, Philadelphia, Chicago, London, Munich, Buenos Aires, and Vienna. Highly regarded as a Lied singer, Edith Wiens has performed at London’s Wigmore Hall, in Moscow (at the personal invitation of Sviatoslav Richter), and at the Musikverein in Vienna.

Her discography includes recordings for labels such as EMI, Erato, Teldec, Philips, and Sony. Edith Wiens has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada and has received several honorary doctorates.

Most recently, Professor Wiens spent 12 years teaching at The Juilliard School in New York, where she also served as Chair of the Vocal Arts Department. Beyond that, she is the founder and director of the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie, a highly successful program for emerging singers. Edith Wiens served as director of the Vocal Academy at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; she regularly conducts masterclasses at the Royal College of Music in London and holds a position as a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She is invited annually to lead the Operncampus3033 course in Silvaplana, Switzerland. A significant aspect of her pedagogical work involves coaching young artist ensembles at opera houses in Munich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Dresden Semperopera, Essen, Dortmund, and Düsseldorf. She also taught with great success as part of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She is frequently invited to serve as a jury member for international competitions.

Her students perform at major opera houses worldwide, including Covent Garden in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as well as in Munich, Frankfurt, Zurich, Hamburg, and Vienna, among many others. They also appear on international concert stages, such as Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, and at the BBC Proms in London. Furthermore, they are recipients of numerous international awards, including those from the Glyndebourne Cup, the Metropolitan Opera National Council (New York), the Viñas Competition, the ARD International Music Competition, the George London Foundation, Das Lied, the Mirjam Helin Competition, the Bilbao and Savonlinna competitions, and the Rising Stars series.

Edith Wiens lives in Munich with her husband, Kai Moser. Her two sons are also musicians: cellist Johannes Moser and pianist Benjamin Moser.