About

Marta Herman's recent critically acclaimed debut as Erda in Das Rheingold and upcoming debut as Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera have poised the Polish-Canadian mezzo-alto for international renown. Her voice has been described as “extraordinarily beautiful and well-managed” (Opernglas) with a “very deep timbre” (OperaPoint), while her Erda with the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal was praised as “vocally lustrous and profound” (Der Opernfreund) and “wonderful” (Opernmagazin), possessing a “sonorous sound, deep and resounding” (Opernglas), and a “rich voice and wonderfully clear diction.” (OMM).

Marta's recent and upcoming engagements include:

Erda / Das Rheingold, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Patrick Hahn, conductor
Mahler's 3rd Symphony, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
Various roles in many Ring cycles:
- Erste Norn / Die Götterdämmerung
- Schwertleite, Waltraute, Grimgerde, and Roßweiße / Die Walküre
- Floßhilde / Das Rheingold, Die Götterdämmerung
- covers of Erda / Das Rheingold, Siegfried
- cover of Waltraute / Die Götterdämmerung,

for theatres including:

Oper Leipzig, ABAO Bilbao, Theater Basel, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Staatstheater Kassel, Tonhalle Zürich

Ulrica / Un ballo in maschera, TBA 2028
Grand Théâtre de Genève debut 2027, opera and role TBA

After her studies at the University of Toronto, Marta joined the Oper Frankfurt Young Artist Program. She then became a house soloist at Staatstheater Kassel, where she was the recipient of the Fördergesellschaft Prize 2019 for outstanding artistic achievement by a young artist. Marta's repertoire at Staatstheater Kassel included Polina in Pique Dame, Suzuki / Madama Butterfly, Brigitta / Die tote Stadt, Bradamante / Alcina, Laura / Luisa Miller, and Dritte Dame / Die Zauberflöte, which she has reprised many times, including at Theater Luzern and Staatstheater Braunschweig. Other past guest engagements have taken Marta to Oper Frankfurt, the Dutch National Opera, and the Salzburger Landestheater.

As well as being noted for her "impressively warm, soulful mezzo sound" (OMM), since her beginnings in lighter repertoire, Marta's multi-faceted voice extends to a “luminous mezzo with an easy top range” (Online Merker), with "beautiful, jubilant high notes" (Oper Aktuell), and “great vocal flexibility and distinctive timbre” (Die deutsche Bühne). Her lyric repertoire at Staatstheater Kassel included Hänsel / Hänsel und Gretel, Cherubino / Le nozze di Figaro and Stéphano / Roméo et Juliette, as well as many roles in baroque operas including the alto solo role in B.A.C.H. - staged Bach cantatas. Marta maintains her affinity for baroque music and in recent seasons debuted as Anastasio in Vivaldi's Il Giustino at Theater Luzern under the baton of Jörg Halubek, reprised Bradamante / Alcina at the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, and has joined several choral and orchestral groups as alto soloist in various oratorio works by Händel, Bach, Telemann, and others.

The music of the 20th and 21st centuries also holds an important place in Marta's repertoire; she has performed contemporary works at renowned venues, including the Darmstadt International New Music Festival, the Tonhalle Zürich, and tonArt Festival Esslingen, The Music Gallery Toronto, Tapestry New Opera Toronto, and has sung with Stuttgart's celebrated ExVoCo Ensemble. Marta has created leading roles in world premieres of operas for the Toronto Luminato Festival and Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg, as well as having the honour of portraying Blanka Zmigrod (the victim of a far-right extremist murder in Frankfurt in 1992) in Operation Abendsonne, an interdisciplinary music/theatre production featuring the music of Mieczyslaw Weinberg and Alban Berg, created with director Christiane Pohle for Staatstheater Kassel.

On the recital stage, Marta has brought Tales of Love, Murder and (other) Nonsense, her unique recital program combining baroque and new music for voice and guitar, to several recital series including Harbourfront Summer Music and Hart House Concerts, both in Toronto. Closer to her current home in Frankfurt am Main, she regularly performs in the new music concert series Neue Musik der Nachkriegszeit in Mainz.