Early life and education

Studer was born in Midland, Michigan to Carl W. Studer and Elizabeth (née Smith) Studer, as one of three children.

She studied piano and viola as a child, and began voice lessons at age 12 with Gwendolyn Pike, a local opera singer and voice teacher.

She attended Herbert Henry Dow High School, then transferred to the Interlochen Arts Academy for her junior and senior years and graduated from there in 1974. Following high school, Studer studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music but left the program after a year, deciding to move with her family to Tennessee. She continued her studies at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance in 1979. She won several awards and competitions during this time, including the High Fidelity/Musical America Award in 1977 and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1978.

In the summer of 1979, Studer attended a course for foreign students on the art of the German Lied at the Schubert Institute in Baden bei Wien, Austria. In this program, Studer's teachers included Irmgard Seefried, Brigitte Fassbaender, and Hans Hotter. Hotter convinced Studer to remain in Europe to study further with him at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Vienna. Studer studied with Hotter for one year before launching out on her professional career. In 1979, she won the Franz-Schubert-Institut-Preis for excellence in Lied interpretation.

Vocation

1980s

In 1981, Studer was hired as a permanent member of the Bavarian State Opera by Wolfgang Sawallisch. She remained with the company for two consecutive seasons, singing mostly minor roles in their productions. Her lead roles at the Bavarian State Opera included the title role in Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe and Mařenka The Bartered Bride. It was while working with the Bavarian State Opera that Studer was first encouraged to study the works of Richard Wagner and the dramatic soprano repertoire. Up to this point she had focused mostly on the bel canto repertoire, with her only foray into German repertoire up to that point being through Lieder. She made her professional opera debut with the company as Helmwige in Wagner's Die Walküre.

At the end of the 1981-82 season, she left the Munich ensemble to join the Staatstheater Darmstadt for two seasons. In the spring of 1983, Studer's big breakthrough came when she was cast as Violetta in Verdi's La traviata with the Staatstheater Braunschweig. This was followed by two more important roles the following summer: Irene in Wagner's Rienzi and Drola in Wagner's Die Feen, under the direction of Wolfgang Sawallisch at the Bavarian State Opera's Summer Music Festival. In 1984, Studer left the Staatstheater Darmstadt to become a permanent member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin ensemble. She stayed with the company for two full seasons. She made her US opera debut the same year with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Micaëla in Carmen.

In 1985, Studer garnered international attention with her performance of Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser under the baton of Giuseppe Sinopoli at the Bayreuth Festival. Positive reviews of this performance quickly led Studer to leading roles in the world's most prestigious opera houses.

In 1986, Studer made her debut at the Liceu as Freia in Wagner's Das Rheingold and her debut at Opéra de Paris as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. That same year, she made her debut with the San Francisco Opera as Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger. In 1987, Studer made her debut with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser and her debut at La Scala as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni. In 1988, Studer made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen. That same year she returned to La Scala to perform the role of Mathilde in Rossini's William Tell. She sang Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz at the Théâtre Musical de Paris.

In 1989, she made her Vienna State Opera and Salzburg Festival debuts playing the same role, Chrysothemis in Richard Strauss' Elektra. That same year, Studer received the Grand Prix du Disque - Prix Maria Callas. Also in 1989, she returned to La Scala to perform the role of La Duchesse Hélène in Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani and made her debut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

1990s

In 1990, Studer returned to the Metropolitan Opera to sing the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni. That same year, Studer sang the role of Elsa in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera. In 1991, Studer performed two more roles at the Met, Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo and Violetta in Verdi's La traviata. She sang the role of Gilda in act 3 of Verdi's Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera's 25th Anniversary Gala, opposite Luciano Pavarotti and Leo Nucci. In 1990, she also sang Odabella in Verdi's Attila at La Scala and Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Vienna State Opera. In 1991, she shared the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording with fellow artists for a recording of Wagner's Götterdämmerung. In May 1991, she joined pianist Bruno Canino, conductor Claudio Abbado, and the Berlin Philharmonic for the first Europakonzert held in Prague's Smetana Hall. In 1992, Studer returned to the Salzburg Festival to perform the role of the Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten. That same year, Studer embarked upon her first big European tour, giving recitals of mostly German Lieder. With the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus she sang the title role in Rossini's Semiramide and recorded it, also in 1992.

In 1995, she sang the role of Princess von Werdenberg in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier for the first time at the Salzburg Festival. Also in 1995, Studer appeared in concert with her hometown orchestra, the Midland Symphony Orchestra, in Midland, Michigan, during the orchestra's 60th anniversary season. In 1996, Studer sang the same role at the Vienna State Opera. That same year, Studer returned to the Royal Opera to sing the title role of Richard Strauss' Arabella and revisited the title role in Aïda opposite Waltraud Meier as Amneris in performances at the Bavarian State Opera. She sang Leonore in Beethoven's Fidelio at the Salzburg Festival in 1997 under the baton of Sir Georg Solti.

In 1998, she sang Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Sieglinde in Die Walküre at the Bavarian State Opera. That same year she also sang Primadonna/Ariadne in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos at the Munich Nationaltheater.

In February 1998 she teamed up with Thomas Hampson, Jerry Hadley, and Craig Rutenberg to perform I Hear America Singing at the Barbican Centre in London. In April 1998, Studer sang the Marschallin in a gala performance of the complete opera (Der Rosenkavalier) at the Dresden Semperoper celebrating the 450th anniversary of the orchestra. In July 1998, she sang a Liederabend for the Richard Wagner Society at the Markgräfliches Opernhaus (Margravial or Margrave's Opera House) in Bayreuth celebrating the 250th anniversary of the house. During the late 1990s, Studer had a period of vocal problems that led to the Bavarian State Opera canceling her contracts in 1998, but after a brief time off the stage, her performances indicated a return to form and the Bavarian State Opera renewed her contract for fourteen more performances.

2000s

In 2000 Studer returned to the Metropolitan Opera to sing the role of Princess von Werdenberg (the Marschallin) in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. That same year, Studer sang the title role of Richard Strauss' Arabella at the Zürich Opera. She also filled in as a last minute Sieglinde in Die Walküre at the Bayreuth Festival substituting for an ailing Waltraud Meier. and sang the role of Primadonna/ Ariadne in Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos with the Vienna State Opera in Yokohama, Japan.

In 2000, she also sang Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of David Zinman substituting for an ailing Claudio Abbado. In February 2001, Studer sang the role of the Kaiserin (Empress) in Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Dresden Semperoper under the baton of Giuseppe Sinopoli. She revisited the role at the Vienna State Opera in 2002 in the Robert Carsen production. Around this time, Studer also sang back-to-back performances of the Kaiserin and the Marschallin at the Semperoper under the baton of Dietfried Bernert. In June 2001, Studer sang Elisabeth in performances of Werner Herzog's production of Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser at the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In February 2002 she made a rare U.S. appearance singing Isolde's Liebestod with the Indianapolis Symphony. In September 2002, Studer sang the role of Leonore/Fidelio in staged performances at the Opera Thessaloniki, Greece.

In January 2003, Studer sang the soprano part in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in Berlin during UNESCO's official designation of the symphony's manuscript as Memory of the World. In January 2003, she sang the Marschallin in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier at La Scala in Milan in performances conducted by Jeffrey Tate. In May 2003, she sang her last performances as Senta in Wagner's The Flying Dutchman at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Later that year, in another series of rare U.S. appearances, Studer performed excerpts from Richard Wagner operas with the St. Louis Symphony, tenor Mark Baker and bass Eric Halfvarson under the direction of Asher Fisch.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch music critic Sarah Bryan Miller praised the performances which included Act I of Die Walküre and Isolde's Liebestod. A week after the concerts, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article by Bryan Miller criticizing the management of the St. Louis Symphony for "dropping the baton" in promoting the performances. Also in 2003, she gave a Liederabend "In Memoriam Maria Callas" in Athens, Greece with pianist Charles Spencer, featuring songs and Lieder by Verdi, Wagner, Barber, Richard Strauss, and Copland.

In October 2005, Studer sang the role of Sieglinde in Richard Wagner's first-ever Ring Cycle in China, at Beijing's Poly Theatre. The cycle was produced by Stephen Lawless for the Staatstheater Nürnberg and the performances were conducted by Philippe Auguin. In November 2005 it was reported, but never confirmed, that Studer had suffered a mild heart attack, forcing her to cancel a number of scheduled concerts in Spain.

In June 2007, Studer gave a series of Masterclasses and an all-Richard Strauss Lieder recital with pianist Semyon Skigin in St. Petersburg, Russia. In August 2007, also with pianist Semyon Skigin, she sang an all-Richard Strauss Lieder recital at Villa Wahnfried, Bayreuth. In February 2008, Studer gave a Lieder recital at Teatro Villamarta in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain with pianist Jonathan Alder, featuring Lieder by Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, and Richard Strauss. Later that year in October 2008, Studer gave another Lieder recital at Drake University with pianist Nicholas Roth, featuring songs and Lieder by Rossini, Ravel, Massenet, Albéniz, Brahms, Barber, and Richard Strauss.

In November 2008, she gave another recital in Germany with Dutch pianist Fred Oldenburg featuring Lieder by Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, and Richard Strauss. In August 2009, Studer sang Richard Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder in Berlin, Germany as part of the short-lived Berlin International Music Festival. Michael Wendeberg conducted the Festival orchestra.

2010 - present

On 9 July 2010, Studer made her official directorial debut in a new production of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Bayerische Kammeroper (de) in Würzburg, Germany. Also in 2010, Studer directed a production of Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos at the University for Music in Würzburg, Germany, where she is a professor.

In May 2011, she won the prestigious Terras sam Sombra International Prize. Later that year, in November 2011, she appeared in concert in Nuremberg and Antwerp, Belgium, with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and its Chief Music Director, Alexander Shelley. The all-Wagner concerts, also featuring Belgian bass-baritone Wilfried Van den Brande, were recorded and will be released as part of the orchestra's "Nürnberger Symphoniker Live" series.

Studer has begun a transition into mezzo-soprano/contralto territory. In December 2011 Studer appeared as Gertrud, her role debut, in performances of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel at the Hamburg State Opera. She revisited the role in 2013, also in Hamburg. In 2012 she was a recipient of the Ovation Award by the Interlochen Center for the Arts.

In her 39th year before the public, May 2014 saw her debut as Adelaide in Richard Strauss' Arabella at the Hamburg State Opera. In October 2014, Studer will once again preside over the 38th International Maria Callas Grand Prix for Opera to be held in Athens, Greece. In February 2015 Studer will debut as Madame de Croissy in Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt in Austria. Concert appearances in Denmark and Hong Kong follow in 2015.

In December 2016, Studer will assume the role of Nettie Fowler in Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Carousel in Basel, Switzerland.

Future plans include a collaboration with German composer Stefan Heucke on a new opera composition set to premiere during 2016/17. and Herodias in Strauss' Salome.

Studer has announced that she intends to publish an autobiography.

Concert work

Studer has sung with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the China Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic among many others.

Her concert repertoire includes the great symphonic works and orchestral Lieder by Beethoven, Mozart, Verdi, Bruckner, Rossini, Dvořák and Mahler, Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, Strauss's Vier letzte Lieder and final scenes from Salome and Capriccio, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder, Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Ravel's Shéhérazade. Studer has toured extensively as a recitalist, performing throughout Europe and the United States and parts of Asia and South America. Her current recital repertoire includes art songs by Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, R. Strauss, Mahler, Ravel, Massenet, Albéniz, de Falla, Verdi, Rossini, Copland, and Barber, among others.

Opera roles

• Adelaide, Arabella (Richard Strauss)
• Agathe, Der Freischütz (Carl Maria von Weber)
• Aida, Aida (Verdi)
• Amina, La sonnambula (Vincenzo Bellini)
• Arabella, Arabella (Richard Strauss)
• Ariadne, Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss)
• Brünnhilde, Die Walküre (Wagner)
• Chrysothemis, Elektra (Richard Strauss)
• Circe, Telemaco (Christoph Willibald Gluck)
• Countess Madeleine, Capriccio (Richard Strauss)
• Daphne, Daphne (Richard Strauss)
• Desdemona, Otello (Verdi)
• Donna Anna, Don Giovanni (Mozart)
• Drolla, Die Feen (Wagner)
• Elettra, Idomeneo (Mozart)
• Elisabeth, Tannhäuser (Wagner)
• Elsa, Lohengrin (Wagner)
• Empress (Kaiserin), Die Frau ohne Schatten (Richard Strauss)
• Euryanthe, Euryanthe (Carl Maria von Weber)
• Eva, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner)
• Gertrud, Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck)
• Gilda, Rigoletto (Verdi)
• Giulietta, Les contes d'Hoffmann (Jacques Offenbach)
• Hanna Glawari, Die lustige Witwe (Lehár)
• Helena, Die ägyptische Helena (Richard Strauss)
• Hélène, Les vêpres siciliennes (Verdi)
• Helmwige, Die Walküre (Wagner)
• Irene, Rienzi (Wagner)
• Isolde, Tristan und Isolde (Wagner)
• Jessonda, Jessonda (Spohr)
• Juliette, Roméo et Juliette (Gounod)
• Káťa, Káťa Kabanová (Janáček)
• Konstanze, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart)
• Kundry, Parsifal (Wagner)
• La Contessa, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
• La Duchesse Hélène, Les vêpres siciliennes (Verdi)
• Leonora, Il trovatore (Verdi)
• Leonore/Fidelio, Fidelio (Beethoven)
• Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti)
• Madama Corstese, Il viaggio a Reims (Rossini)
• Mařenka, The Bartered Bride (Smetana)
• Marschallin, Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss)
• Marguerite, Faust (Gounod)
• Mathilde, Guillaume Tell (Rossini)
• Micaëla, Carmen (Bizet)
• Odabella, Attila (Verdi)
• Pamina, The Magic Flute (Mozart)
• Queen of the Night, The Magic Flute (Mozart)
• Rosalinde, Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss II)
• Salome, Hérodiade (Massenet)
• Salome, Salome (Richard Strauss)
• Semiramide, Semiramide (Rossini)
• Sieglinde, Die Walküre (Wagner)
• Senta, Der fliegende Holländer (Wagner)
• Susannah, Susannah (Carlisle Floyd)
• Tatyana, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)
• Violetta, La traviata (Verdi)

Masterclasses, opera workshops, adjudication

Since October 2003, Cheryl Studer has a lifetime professorship from the Bavarian State and teaches at the University of Music in Würzburg. She is also honorary Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Cheryl Studer conducts a yearly series of master classes and opera workshops at her own North Aegean Music Festival in the island of Lesbos, Greece. She conducts Master Classes internationally (USA, Greece, South Korea, China, Spain, Italy and Germany) and is often jury member for voice competitions, including the Concurso Internacional de Canto Julián Gayarre, ARD Wettbewerb, Maria Callas Grand Prix, and Internationale Schubert-Wettbewerb Dortmund.

Personal life

Studer is married to Greek tenor Michalis Doukakis and has lived in Germany for most of her life. From previous marriages, Studer has two daughters, Elsa and Senta, named after characters from Richard Wagner operas. The elder, Senta, is a pop music singer. Her first solo album, Happy, was released in January 2014.

Discography

Complete opera recordings

• Aida in Verdi's Aida, recorded 6/94, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Edward Downes, Pioneer
• Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, recorded 5/91, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Sony
• Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, recorded 1-2/94, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Chrysothemis in Richard Strauss' Elektra, recorded 6/89, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Pioneer
• Chrysothemis in Strauss' Elektra, recorded 1/90, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch, EMI
• Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, recorded 5/93, Opéra Bastille, Myung-whun Chung, Deutsche Grammophon
• Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, recorded 9/90, Wiener Philharmoniker, Riccardo Muti, EMI
• Drolla in Wagner's Die Feen, recorded 7/83, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Orfeo
• Elena in Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani, recorded 12/89-1/90, Teatro alla Scala, Riccardo Muti, Fonit Cetra
• Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, recorded '88, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Deutsche Grammophon
• Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, recorded '89, Bayreuth Festival, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Philips
• Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin, recorded 6/90, Bayreuth Festival, Peter Schneider, Philips
• Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin, recorded '90, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, recorded 4/93, Bavarian State Opera, Wolfgang Sawallisch, EMI
• Florinda in Schubert's Fierrabras, recorded 5/88, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto Act III, recorded 9/91, Metropolitan Opera, James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon
• Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, recorded 6/93, Metropolitan Opera, James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon
• Giulietta in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, recorded 87/88/89, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Jeffrey Tate, Philips
• Gutrune in Wagner's Götterdämmerung, recorded 5/89, Metropolitan Opera, James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon
• Hanna Glawari in Lehár's Die Lustige Witwe, recorded 1/94, Wiener Philharmoniker, John Eliot Gardiner, Deutsche Grammophon
• Irene in Wagner's Rienzi, recorded 7/83, Bavarian State Opera, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Orfeo
• Jessonda in Spohr's Jessonda, recorded '84, Austrian Radio Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht, Voce
• Kaiserin (Empress) in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, recorded 2-12/87, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch, EMI
• Kaiserin (Empress) in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten, recorded '92, Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti, Salzburg Festival, DECCA/London
• Konstanze in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, recorded 4/91, Wiener Symphoniker, Bruno Weil, Sony
• Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, recorded 8/90, London Symphony Orchestra, Ion Marin, Deutsche Grammmophon
• Madama Cortese in Rossini's Il viaggio a Reims, recorded 10/92, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Sony
• Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, recorded 2/91, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson, EMI
• Matilde in Rossini's Guglielmo Tell, recorded 12/88, Teatro alla Scala, Riccardo Muti, EMI
• Odabella in Verdi's Attila, recorded 6-7/89, Teatro alla Scala, Riccardo Muti, EMI
• Odabella in Verdi's Attila, recorded 6/90, Teatro alla Scala, Riccardo Muti, Home Vision
• Ortlinde in Wagner's Die Walküre, recorded 8/81, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Marek Janowski, Eurodisc
• Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, recorded 7/89, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner, Philips
• Salomé in Massenet's Hérodiade, recorded 11-12/94, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson, EMI
• Salome in Strauss' Salome, recorded 12/90, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Deutsche Grammophon
• Semiramide in Rossini's Semiramide, recorded 7/92, London Symphony Orchestra, Ion Marin, Deutsche Grammophon
• Senta in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, recorded 1/91, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Deutsche Grammophon
• Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre, recorded 2-3/88, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, EMI
• Susannah in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, recorded 3/94, Opéra de Lyon, Kent Nagano, Virgin
• Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, recorded 1/91, Metropolitan Opera, James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon
• Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg, recorded 1983, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht, Koch-Schwann

Concert recordings

• Samuel Barber Complete Songs, recorded 9/92, John Browning, Thomas Hampson, Emerson String Quartet, Deutsche Grammophon
• Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, recorded 8/91, Wiener Philharmoniker, Salzburg Festival, James Levine, Deutsche Grammophon
• Beethoven in Berlin ("Ah perfido!"/Choral Fantasy/Egmont), recorded 12/91, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, recorded 4/89, Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti, EMI
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, recorded 1/03, Philharmonie der Nationen, Justus Frantz, private issue
• Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, recorded 10/92, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Bruckner's Mass in F minor/Mozart's Vespers, recorded 3/77, MIT Choral Society, John Oliver, private issue
• Donizetti's Messa da Requiem, recorded 1/84, Bamberger Symphoniker, Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Orfeo
• Mahler's Das klagende Lied, recorded 11/90, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Deutsche Grammophon
• Mahler's Symphony No. 2, recorded 11/92, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Mahler's Symphony No. 8, recorded 11-12/90, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Deutsche Grammophon
• Mahler's Symphony No. 8, recorded 1/94, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Schubert Lieder, recorded 1/90, Irwin Gage, Deutsche Grammophon
• von Schweinitz's Messe, Op. 21, recorded 7/84, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Albrecht, Wergo
• Strauss Choral Works, recorded 9/84, RIAS Kammerchor, Uwe Gronostay, Marcus Creed, Deutsche Schallplatten
• Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder/Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder and Isolde's Liebestod, recorded 1/93, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Deutsche Grammophon
• Verdi's Messa da Requiem, recorded 6/87, Teatro alla Scala, Riccardo Muti, EMI
• Verdi's Messa da Requiem, recorded 11/91, Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Wagner, Isolde's Liebestod, recorded 1/88, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate, EMI
• Wagner Gala (Tannhäuser/Lohengrin/Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg/Die Walküre), recorded 12/93, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Deutsche Grammophon
• Covent Garden Gala (Otello/La traviata/Die Fledermaus), recorded 7/88, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, John Barker, EMI
• First Europakonzert in Prague (Mozart: Non mi dir/Ch'io mi scordi di te? - Non temer, amato bene), recorded 5/91, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Sony
• Salzburg Recital (Strauss/Schubert/Debussy), recorded 8/92, Irwin Gage, Deutsche Grammophon

Solo recordings

• Coloratura Arias by Bellini (La sonnambula/Norma), Verdi (La traviata/Il trovatore), Donizetti (Lucia di Lammermoor/Lucrezia Borgia), Rossini (Il barbiere di Seviglia/Semiramide), recorded 4/89, Munich Radio Orchestra, Gabriele Ferro, EMI
• Sacred Works (J. S. Bach/Schubert/Mendelssohn/Handel/Mozart/Gounod/Fauré/Poulenc/Bernstein/Bruch), recorded 3/91, London Symphony Orchestra, Ion Marin, Deutsche Grammophon
• Mozart Arias (Die Entführung aus dem Serail/Die Zauberflöte/Idomeneo/Le nozze di Figaro/Don Giovanni/La clemenza di Tito/Così fan tutte), recorded 9/89, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner, Philips
• Schubert Lieder, recorded 6/90, Irwin Gage, piano, Deutsche Grammophon

[ Source: Wikipedia ]