Deborah Polaski

Deborah Polaski made her operatic debut in 1976 as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer in Gelsenkirchen. Her career soon centered on Wagner’s demanding soprano roles—Isolde, Brünnhilde, Kundry and Ortrud. Polaski’s international breakthrough came at the Bayreuth Festival in 1988, when Daniel Barenboim conducted her as Brünnhilde in Harry Kupfer’s grounbreaking production. She returned in 1991 and sang Brünnhilde under James Levine for five consecutive Bayreuth seasons from 1994 (Kirchner/Rosalie Ring). Her Bayreuth triumphs established her as one of the leading Wagnerian sopranos of her generation, admired for her dramatic power and intensity in the festival’s most iconic roles.

Deborah Polaski at Bayreuth

1988

Die Walküre (Brünnhilde)
Siegfried (Brünnhilde)
Götterdämmerung (Brünnhilde)

Stage director: Harry Kupfer. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim
All Ring productions at Bayreuth

1992

Die Walküre (Brünnhilde)
Siegfried (Brünnhilde)
Götterdämmerung (Brünnhilde)

1993

Parsifal (Kundry)

1994

Die Walküre (Brünnhilde)
Siegfried (Brünnhilde)
Götterdämmerung (Brünnhilde)

Stage director: Alfred Kirchner. Conductor: James Levine
All Ring productions at Bayreuth

1995

Die Walküre (Brünnhilde)
Siegfried (Brünnhilde)
Götterdämmerung (Brünnhilde)

1996

Die Walküre (Brünnhilde)
Siegfried (Brünnhilde)
Götterdämmerung (Brünnhilde)

1997

Die Walküre (Brünnhilde)
Siegfried (Brünnhilde)
Götterdämmerung (Brünnhilde)

1998

Die Walküre (Brünnhilde)
Siegfried (Brünnhilde)
Götterdämmerung (Brünnhilde)

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Selected Biographies

One of the finest monuments in sound ever to have been raised to the everlasting glory of music. (Claude Debussy on Parsifal)

"The thing about Wagner is that there can be no true success in any production of his operas, only degrees of failure. There is so much in these bloody pieces, all you can do is try to live up to them." (Keith Warner, The Guardian)

"I have never come across an audience with so much hatred, so much anger, such a thirst for revenge. They take everything personally. It makes you a little bit scared, and it's really quite terrifying." (Lance Ryan on the audiences at Bayreuth)

"People sometimes complain that Wagner operas are too long, that they get stiff and sore about 10.30 because they have rushed in to hear one of his works straight from work and are not properly prepared for listening to his music. The audience, as much as the artists, must be prepared for a performance."
(Benjamin Britten to Alan Blyth, Gramophone)

"I was bowled over. It was the year after Wieland Wagner had died; to be able to see his productions was a total knock-out. These bare stagings, where everything was done with lighting. The light changed with the music, and the shadows and patterns seemed as archetypal as the music itself. Nobody had done that on the stage before. I thought it was extraordinary and wonderful."
(Patrick Carnegy to The Guardian)

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