Magdalena Kožená
Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, or Lady Rattle if you are so inclined, became a popular and critically celebrated figure in Europe before the age of 30. She was touted as the chief competitor to Cecilia Bartoli (although there is no evidence of a personal rivalry between the two). Her area of primary expertise is 18th century music, particularly Bach, but she has also had success in more Romantic opera and song repertory. Kožená's voice has been variously described as "sweet" and "fiery and melting," depending on her repertory; more constant attributes include her vocal agility and sense of drama, which are both highly regarded.
Kožená was born on May 26, 1973, in Brno, in the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia). She initially studied at the Brno Conservatory, then with Eva Blahová at the College of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Even before her graduation in 1995, she was winning major prizes in the Czech Republic and internationally, the most significant being top honors at the sixth International Mozart Competition in Salzburg in 1995. She spent the 1996-1997 season as a member of the Vienna Volksoper. In 1997, Kožená made her recording debut with an album of Bach Arias on the Archiv Produktion label. In 1998, she made her debut at the Drottningholm Festival as Paride in Gluck's Paride ed Elena. Her Bach recording caught the attention of the Deutsche Grammophon label, which signed her to an exclusive recording contract in 1999 that resulted in annual releases. In 2000, she debuted at the Châtelet in Paris as Gluck's Orpheus and at the Vienna Festival as Nero in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. She appeared as Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2001. During this time, Kožená was also an active recitalist throughout Europe but was less known in the U.S., despite performances in San Francisco and at Carnegie Hall. Participation in Metropolitan Opera productions of Mozart and Janácek operas boosted her American reputation.
Kožená has been featured mainly in Baroque and Classical music, although she has also ventured into the Romantic era and 20th century Czech songs. As a recitalist, she has performed and recorded Britten, which has endeared her to the nationalistic British press. An even greater honor came to Kožená in 2003 with the success of her recording of Romantic French opera arias, not to mention her presence in the 2002 centenary production of Pelléas et Mélisande at the Opéra Comique: she was awarded the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. In 2004, she was named the Gramophone Awards "Artist of the Year." Kožená married conductor Sir Simon Rattle in 2008, and they have three children together. Since her marriage, she has also been known as Lady Rattle. In 2009, Kožená's recording of Julietta fragments by Martinu won a Gramophone Award. The following season, she toured with the ensemble Private Musicke in a program based on her album Lettere Amorose. Kožená began a fruitful relationship with the PentaTone Classics label in 2017, which quickly resulted in several albums, including Il Giardino dei sospiri and Soirée: Magdalena Kožená & Friends in 2019. Her 2023-2024 season included recitals, concerts, and operatic appearances in countries around the world, and saw her release the album Folk Songs (with Rattle conducting the Czech Philharmonic) in 2023, followed by a recording of Handel's Alcina (with Marc Minkowski leading Les Musiciens du Louvre) in 2024.
© James Reel & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Folk Songs
Magdalena Kožená, Czech Philharmonic, Sir Simon Rattle
Mélodies - Released by PENTATONE on 13 Oct 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Live)
Stuart Skelton, Magdalena Kožená, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by BR-Klassik on 31 Aug 2018
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
London Symphony Orchestra, Christian Gerhaher, London Symphony Chorus, Magdalena Kožená, Sir Simon Rattle
Opera - Released by LSO Live on 6 Oct 2017
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi
Magdalena Kožená, La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Andrea Marcon
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 19 Feb 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
'Ah! mio cor' Handel: Arias
Magdalena Kožená, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Andrea Marcon
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nostalgia
Magdalena Kožená, Yefim Bronfman
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 9 Oct 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Il giardino dei sospiri (Marcello, Gasparini, Leo, Handel, Sarro)
Collegium 1704, Magdalena Kožená, Václav Luks
Secular Vocal Music - Released by PENTATONE on 3 May 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concert Arias
Magdalena Kožená, Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 25 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: Nocturnes – Duruflé: Requiem
Robin Ticciati, Magdalena Kožená, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Linn Records on 13 Sep 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Magdalena Kozená - Mozart / Gluck / Myslivecek Arias
Magdalena Kožená, Prague Philharmoniker, Michel Swierczewski
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lettere amorose
Magdalena Kožená, Private Musicke, Pierre Pitzl
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel & Duparc: Aimer et mourir – Danses et mélodies
Robin Ticciati, Magdalena Kožená, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Linn Records on 28 Sep 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ondřej Adámek: Follow Me & Where Are You?
Isabelle Faust, Magdalena Kožená, Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Peter Rundel, Sir Simon Rattle
Classical - Released by BR-Klassik on 21 Jan 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Soirée
Magdalena Kožená, Sir Simon Rattle
Mélodies - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Sep 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Enchantment
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 15 Mar 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art Of Magdalena Kozená
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
French Arias - Magdalena Kozena / Mahler Chamber Orchestra / Marc Minkowski
Magdalena Kožená, Marc Minkowski
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Dixit Dominus; Salve Regina; Laudate Pueri; Saeviat Tellus
Annick Massis, Magdalena Kožená, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski, Chorus Of Les Musiciens Du Louvre
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lamento - Bachiana III
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on 22 Nov 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prayer - Voice & Organ
Magdalena Kožená, Christian Schmitt
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo