Singing from the heart, Melanie Forgeron delights international audiences with her “vocal color changes, fine dynamic accents and the mesmerizing sensuality of her alto register.” (Opera Lounge)
“The mezzo soprano offered her listeners a sophisticated interpretation in every respect. Her vocal culture, from a wonderful timbre to lyrical lightness, even at extreme pitches, all the way to her clear diction and an unobtrusive yet expressive facial expressions removed any mellifluousness or banality.” – Westfalen-Blatt
Today, Athlone Artists announces the addition of Mezzo-Soprano Melanie Forgeron to its roster of opera and concert artists, conductors and stage directors. From her beginnings as a violin student at the Meistersinger-Konservatorium Nürnberg, Melanie Forgeron knew the power of music. But it wasn’t until she performed as a member of the children’s chorus at the Staatstheater Nürnberg in Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel that she discovered the true impact of the solo human voice. Reflecting back now – after having sung the role of Hansel more than 400 times – Melanie looks over the children’s chorus, loving that their young minds are being shaped as hers was.
After completing her violin studies, Melanie decided at the age of 24 that she preferred the freedom and fun of performing on the operatic stage. She pursued a career in vocal performance, studying at the University for Music and Theatre in Hanover and making her professional début as a member of the Theater Aachen ensemble from 2005 to 2010. There, her roles included Annius in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, Nerone in Handel’s Agrippina, Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther, Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Muse/Niklausse in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmannand Olga in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.
At the same time, Melanie appeared as a guest artist at Theater Lüneburg, the Summer Festival in Eutin, Staatsoperette in Dresden and the Landestheater Detmold for performances of Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Mercedes (Carmen), Orlofski (Die Fledermaus) and the title role ofCarmen.
Having enjoyed a successful tenure at Aachen, Melanie was offered a position at the Theater Bielefeld, where she performed Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana), Page/Giovanna/Maddalena (Rigoletto) and leading roles in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Handel’s Xerxes, and Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. Of the latter, Die deutsche Bühne declared, “Melanie Forgeron positions her alto notes so unadornedly statuesque that both Lucretia’s strength and her vulnerability become sensually tangible.”
In 2015 Melanie made her début at the Kioi-Hall in Tokyo singing The Composer (Ariadne on Naxos), Annina (Der Rosenkavalier) and Kundry (Parsifal). She recently was seen as Frau Mary in Der Fliegende Holländer at the opera festivals in Heidenheim and Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera at the Opera Zuid in the Netherlands. Ms. Forgeron has been the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards, including a 3rdprize at the Schlossoper Haldenstein in Switzerland, being named a finalist Bundeswettbewerb für Gesang Berlin, and winning the international singing competition of the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg.
Despite her numerous international successes, Melanie has long dreamed of bringing her career to her birthplace – the United States. It was a dream come true when conductor and friend Kazem Abdullah introduced her to Athlone Artists’ Miguel Rodriguez on his recent trip to Zurich, where Melanie presently resides. “I had nearly given up my American dream,” says Melanie, “and though I was preparing two big concerts at that time, here was this agent coming in from Boston to my hometown. I had to take this opportunity.”
Upon meeting Athlone’s Miguel Rodriguez, Melanie “could feel his warm and good heart” come through. “I could tell that he had respect for my work and my art, it was impressive how much he knew about the voice and repertoire. This is what an agent should be.”
