Marina Viotti

Mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti mixes classical vocal material with the music of other genres in her concerts. She made her solo recording debut in 2022 with the album A Tribute to Pauline Viardot. Viotti was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1986 but grew up mostly in France. There were several musicians in her family, and when she was eight, she began studying the flute. She also sang in choirs. As a teen, she explored music of genres other than classical, singing jazz, gospel music, and even death metal. Her concerts have continued to include some of these genres, as well as American singer-songwriter music. Viotti studied philosophy and literature as well as flute as an undergraduate, taking music classes at the Luxembourg International Conservatory. At 22, she earned a master's degree in philosophy and literature. Only then did Viotti take her first voice lessons, also studying choral conducting. She moved to Vienna for voice studies with Heidi Brunner in 2011, joining the Vienna Singverein and Gustav Mahler Chorus and making a living as a French teacher. In that year, she made her stage debut in the Agnus Dei from Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle. Viotti returned to Lausanne and earned a soloist diploma there in 2013 after studies with Brigitte Balleys. Viotti had further instruction from Raul Gimenez and Alessandra Rossi. She appeared in small parts on several opera recordings in the middle and late 2010s, including one of Rossini's Aureliano in Palmira on the Decca label in 2018. Viotti made her operatic debut as Isabella in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri at the Rossini Festival in Bad Wildbad, Germany, in 2015, and she has several Rossini mezzo-soprano roles in her repertory. She is comfortable in French, Italian, and German works, and her large repertory extends back to Mozart and as far forward as Mahler (the Kindertotenlieder) and Falla. During the 2021-2022 season, she appeared at the Staatsoper Berlin as Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte under conductor Daniel Barenboim. Viotti is in demand for concert works and at festivals, including the Lavaux Classics, Solothurn Classics, and Label Suisse events, often performing recitals entitled Love Has No Borders and De Bach à Piaf: Chansons d'amour. In 2020, she joined soprano Rachel Harnisch, baritone Yannick Debus, and fortepianist Jan Schultsz on the album Johannes Brahms: Lieder & Duette on the Pan Classics label. Two years later, she released A Tribute to Pauline Viardot on the Aparte label, exploring the repertory of one of the 19th century's most famous operatic sopranos.
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