Draft:Ariadne Greif

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Ariadne Greif at Symphony Space October 21, 2023.

Ariadne Greif is an American soprano known best for 20th and 21st century music, but also for traditional repertoire, chamber music, and opera.

Greif notably performed Ursonate with William Kentridge, Voiceless Mass, a 2025 album with Raven Chacon, We Need to Talk with Opera Philadelphia, by Anne Carson and Caroline Shaw, and sang many performances of Schoenberg String Quartet No. 2 and Chalk and Soot with Brooklyn Rider.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Biography

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Greif performed in Los Angeles as a child, studying voice with Kyra Humphrey and singing with the Los Angeles Children's Chorus and the Los Angeles Opera.[11][12][13] She was also a student of Dawn Upshaw.[10][14] Greif was the first soprano young artist at Yellow Barn Young Artist Program.[15][16]

2009-2015

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Greif performed as Lady Madeline in the 2009 American premiere of Claude Debussy's unfinished operas The Fall of the House of Usher and The Devil in the Belfry at L'Opera Français de New York.[17] In 2010 she premiered Songs at the Well by Elena Langer at Carnegie Hall.[14] She performed music by Georges Aperghis and other avant-garde music at the 2011 Ojai Music Festival.[10] She sang a recital with George Crumb's Apparition and her own compositions at the 2013 Resonant Bodies Festival and a performance called Dreams and Nightmares at the 2014 Resonant Bodies Festival and the 2015 Ferus Festival.[18][19][20]

She performed as the title role in a version of Les Mamelles de Tirésias created by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in a historical performance in Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, for Aldeburgh Music, where the edition had originally been performed in 1958, for a special presentation in honor of the Britten Centenary in 2012.[21]

In 2014 she notably performed the stage premiere of the monodrama Atthis, by Georg Friedrich Haas.[22][23]

In 2015 she gave a rare remaining premiere of a piece by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji in 2015, KSS52 Vocalise Mouvement, composed in 1927.[9]

2016-2025

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Greif filled in at the last minute at the Meidän Festival in Helsinki at the Finnish National Theater, singing with Gabriel Kahane and Pekka Kuusisto in Kahane's The Fiction Issue and in Death Speaks by David Lang.[24]

Greif performed several times with Eric Jacobsen and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra both as Adina in The Elixir of Love, directed by Mary Birnbaum, and as Papagena in The Magic Flute, and performed a recital on the OPO's concert series Women in Song.[25][26][27]

Greif also performed as Musetta in La Bohème and Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea and Three in the premiere of Six. Twenty. Outrageous.[28][7][29][30][31]

She founded a Baroque ensemble called Uncommon Temperament.[32][16][33][34]

She performed several concerts with Festival Daniou in France in 2017.[35][36]

She performed a staged recital for Sydney Chamber Opera and Resonant Bodies Australia in 2018 with Alessandro Pittorino, featuring music by Ryan Chase and Kaija Saariaho.[37]

In 2020 Caroline Shaw wrote a monodrama for Greif called We Need to Talk, commissioned by Opera Philadelphia, with a text by Anne Carson. It was made into a film.[4][38]

Greif was the featured artist for an episode of the Young Artist Showcase on WQXR in 2024, interviewed by Simone Dinnerstein, and singing a program of contemporary music and and songs of Sergei Rachmaninoff with pianist Vladimir Rumyantsev.[13]

She also was featured on the Young Artist Showcase on WQXR in the Milestone Show/2000th episode in 2016, moderated by Robert Sherman, as the vocalist of the group SHUFFLE Concert, now known as Ensemble Mélange, with whom she performed for more than ten years. Greif made an eponymous album with the group (as SHUFFLE Concert) in 2013.[39][40][8][41][42][43]

She sang frequently with Present Music, in programs that included John Harbison's Mirabai Songs and The Secret Diary of Nora Plain by Morris Kliphuis, Simple Songs by Aaron Jay Kernis, Music for People Who Like Art by Andrew Hamilton, and Owl Song, by Raven Chacon.[44][45][46][47][48] She also recorded an album called Voiceless Mass with Present Music and Raven Chacon, released in 2025.[8][3]

Greif performed Schoenberg's String Quartet No. 2 with the string quartet Brooklyn Rider in 2024 and 2025 in many locations including Washington Performing Arts, Santa Fe Pro Musica, and Tonhalle, Zurich, but also with other groups in previous years, including The International Street Cannibals and JACK Quartet.[49][50][51][5][6][7] Ariadne collaborated frequently with Momenta Quartet as well.[52][53][54]

She premiered Alyssa Weinberg's monodrama Isola with Long Beach Opera in 2024.[31] She performed as Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls at Opera Saratoga in 2024, directed by Mary Birnbaum.[55][56]

Greif wrote a piece, Bird Party, an "ecological dream" in the form of a long-form music video with a live performance score for ensemble at the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival at Norwegian National Opera in 2020. She performed Dreams of Our Future, a piece written by Sofia Jernberg. This was a multi-stage project with a second set of pieces written and performed by Jernberg and Greif, with an ensemble of instrumentalists and children at the Norwegian National Opera in 2022, including Greif's large-form theatrical piece Sixteen Wild Geese.[57][58]

Greif premiered in Rome is Falling with AMOC* at Lincoln Center at the Running AMOC* Festival at Summer for the City in 2025, as well as in a workshop at The Clark in 2023 and at The Ojai Music Festival in 2021, where she stepped in at the last minute for several concerts.[59][60][61][62]

Starting at the project's premiere in 2017 at Performa17 in New York, she performed many times with William Kentridge in his interpretation of Ursonate, the 1932 Dada sound poem by Kurt Schwitters, including at the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival at Norwegian National Opera and in Luxembourg at a show presented by the Luxembourg Philharmonie.[2][1][63][64][65]

She has often referenced Diamanda Galás and Marina Abramović as her idols and referenced a theatrical performance of music by Georges Aperghis she created during her undergraduate studies as her first moment of interest in performance art.[23][26]

Discography

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  • 2025 Raven Chacon: Voiceless Mass (David Bloom / Ariadne Greif / Present Music)
  • 2024 Kate Soper: The Romance of the Rose (Wet Ink / Wet Ink Large Ensemble / Eric Wubbels)
  • 2021 Michael's Songbook, Vol. I, Ariadne Greif, soprano, Michael Shapiro, piano
  • 2019 WTF Bach: V!va (Evan Shinners ft. Ariadne Greif)
  • 2013 SHUFFLE Concert (SHUFFLE Concert)
  • 2014 Merima Ključo: Couperin Visiting the Balkans (Merima Ključo / Danny Holt / Miroslav Tadić / Ariadne Greif)[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Nancy Princenthal (9 November 2017). "Performa 17: Absurd Times, Absurd Acts". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b Douwe Miedema (16 November 2021). "Convincing gibberish opens modern music festival". Luxembourg Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b Brendan Fox (21 November 2023). "Present Music's Thanksgiving Program of Soul-Stirring Music". Shepherd Express. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  4. ^ a b David Patrick Stearns (15 April 2021). "Opera Philadelphia's Unsettling "We Need To Talk" Captures the Conflicted Strangeness of Who We Are Now". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b Seth Arenstein (2 March 2025). "Brooklyn Rider triumphs in a program of Schoenberg and surprises". Washington Classical Review. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b Brian C. Nixon (28 May 2025). "ARTS & CULTURE: BROOKLYN RIDER'S BRILLIANCE". New Mexico Sun. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  7. ^ a b c "Ariadne Greif Performances". Operabase. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d James Manheim. "Ariadne Greif's Discography". Allmusc. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Performers: Ariadne Greif". The Sorabji Archive. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Mark Swed (10 June 2011). "Ojai Festival Opens with New Shell". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  11. ^ John Henken (26 June 2000). "'Fludde' Awash in Bright, Young Voices". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  12. ^ Joan Worley (25 August 2024). "Making sweet, sweet music at home, in their hearts". Sequim Gazette. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  13. ^ a b Simone Dinnerstein (7 February 2024). "Young Artists Showcase In-Studio with Ariadne Greif". WQXR. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  14. ^ a b Alan Kozinn (11 May 2009). "Composers and Performers, Together as Creators". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  15. ^ Jon Potter (30 June 2011). "Yellow Barn begins its 42nd adventurous summer". Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  16. ^ a b Sierra, Gabrielle. "LA Children's Chorus Salon Plays A Holiday Salon At Dorothy Chandler Pavilion". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  17. ^ Anthony Tommasini (25 November 2009). "Debussy's Homage to Poe, With the Blanks Filled In". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  18. ^ By Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim (6 September 2013). "Playing With Acoustic Tension at Entertaining Frequencies". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  19. ^ "Listen: Dreams, Nightmares and Folktales by Gity Razaz and Ariadne Greif | New Sounds Live". WQXR. 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  20. ^ Hodges, Bruce (11 September 2014). "Provocative Vocals, Signaling the Future". Seen and Heard International. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  21. ^ Tony Cooper (1 November 2012). "Review: Les mamelles de Tirésias (The Breasts of Tirésias), Aldeburgh Music". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  22. ^ Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim (13 June 2014). "Revealing Art, Bursting at the Seams of Control". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  23. ^ a b Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim (17 June 2014). "Ariadne Greif's Searing Moment in Opera Cabal's Atthis". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  24. ^ "Pekka Kuusiston johtama Meidän Festivaali + Kansallisteatteri 11.-12.3. täydentyy Lavaklubin monipuolisella keskustelu-, dj- ja klubivetoisella ohjelmalla". Festivals Finland. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  25. ^ Kimberly Moy (6 February 2017). "Review: Taking an Elixir of Love with Orlando Philharmonic". Broadway World. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  26. ^ a b Matthew Moyer (21 March 2018). "Avant Soprano Ariadne Greif Returns to Orlando". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  27. ^ Young, Jessica Bryce (2016-11-28). "Star soprano Ariadne Greif opens Orlando Phil's 'Women in Song' series at the Plaza Live". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  28. ^ Phyllis A.S. Boros (9 December 2016). "Bridgeport orchestra celebrates 'Christmas Eve in Paris"". Connecticut Post. CTPost. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  29. ^ Nast, Condé. ""Six.Twenty.Outrageous"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  30. ^ Peacocke, Gemma (2018-03-06). "SIX.TWENTY.OUTRAGEOUS Transforms Gertrude Stein Plays into Opera". I CARE IF YOU LISTEN. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  31. ^ a b Tamzin Elliott (6 February 2024). "Isola is a Monodrama for our Self-Conscious Age". San Francisco Classical Voice. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  32. ^ James R. Oestrich (2 October 2009). "Who Needs Carnegie Hall? Early Music in a Greenwich Village Club". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  33. ^ "Debuts, Makeovers and Milestones (Published 2009)". 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  34. ^ "Uncommon Temperament performs works by Vivaldi and others". Club Free Time. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  35. ^ "Festival Daniou. Un concert enchanteur". Le Telegramme. 16 August 2017.
  36. ^ Sacha Rosset (11 August 2017). "Les Galeries en fete pour le soir du Zoute". Ouest-France. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  37. ^ Mark Pigott (4 September 2018). "Resonant Bodies Festival at Carriageworks". Sydney Arts Guide. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  38. ^ "Opera Philadelphia presents Caroline Shaw and Anne Carson's 'We Need…". Broad Street Review. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  39. ^ Robert Sherman (8 June 2016). "SHUFFLE Concert Celebrates Milestone Show". WQXR Young Artists Showcase. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  40. ^ report, Vail Daily staff (2024-03-03). "Shake up the classical concert experience with Ensemble Mélange at VPAC in Beaver Creek". Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  41. ^ "Stravinsky or Ska? You Call the Shots (Published 2014)". 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  42. ^ "CD Review: SHUFFLE Concert - An Inspired Experiment in "Musical Democracy" - The Arts Fuse". 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  43. ^ "SHUFFLE Concert Celebrates Milestone Show | Young Artists Showcase". WQXR. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  44. ^ Luhrssen, David (2023-02-10). "Present Music's 'Future Folk Machine'". Shepherd Express. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  45. ^ Brendan Fox (20 February 2023). "Present Music Whisks Audience to Many Worlds". Shepherd Express. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  46. ^ Barndt, Michael. "Classical: Present Music Opening Concert Examines The Nature of Time". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  47. ^ Barndt, Michael. "Classical: Present Music Goes Expressionist". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  48. ^ Luhrssen, David (2021-10-11). "Present Music 'Keeping Time' in its 40th Season". Shepherd Express. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  49. ^ Corinna da Fonseca Wollheim (15 March 2017). "International Street Cannibals Feasting on Schoenberg". New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  50. ^ "The International Street Cannibals Ensemble Tackles Schoenberg's Tortured Quartet". The Forward. 2017-03-25. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  51. ^ Gerlach, John (2019-05-31). "Jack Quartet and Ariadne Greif, Soprano". Tri-Institutional Noon Recitals.
  52. ^ Anne E. Johnson (15 February 2018). "Unparsable Lines + Beautiful Music = '6. 20. Outrageous.'". Classical Voice America. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  53. ^ Alyssa Kayser-Hirsh (30 October 2018). "Momenta Festival IV: "Ocean Breakup" Curated by Stephanie Griffin". I Care if You Listen. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  54. ^ "Classical Fall Preview: Debuts, Premieres, a New Philharmonic Maestro (Published 2018)". 2018-09-12. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  55. ^ Geraldine Freedman (30 June 2024). "Review: Opera Saratoga's Guys and Dolls is a Smash Hit". The Daily Gazette.
  56. ^ Bob Goepfert (3 July 2024). "A Terrific Guys and Dolls at Opera Saratoga is Fresh and Fun". WAMC Northeast Public Radio Midday Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  57. ^ Embret Rognerød (16 September 2020). "Barnas Ultima-dag: Åj, et ønsketre!". Periskop. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  58. ^ Bjørnersen, Martin. "Tre drømmer". klassekampen.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  59. ^ Evan Berkowitz (12 August 2024). "At the Clark, Joy, Loud and Rocking, from 'Rome is Falling"". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  60. ^ Natan Zamansky (7 July 2025). "Sylvia's Wrath: What's Happening in Classic Arts This Week". Playbill. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  61. ^ Alex Ross (27 June 2022). "Anything Goes at the Ojai Festival". The New Yorker. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  62. ^ "The Artists Run Wild at This Year's Ojai Festival". www.sfcv.org. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
  63. ^ Caryn Havlik. "#4179: William Kentridge Performs Schwitters' Ursonate, from Ultima Fest 2018". WNYC New Sounds. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  64. ^ Meghan Forbes (6 November 2017). "William Kentridge Incants Kurt Schwitters's Iconic Dada Sound Poem". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  65. ^ Heldt, Katja (2018). "Grenzgänge". Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (1991-). 179 (6): 19. ISSN 0945-6945. JSTOR 45222879.
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