Portrait Gerhild Romberger

Gerhild Romberger

Contralto
© Rosa FRank
General Management

The alto Gerhild Romberger is one of the most internationally acclaimed and sought-after concert and oratorio singers of our time. Her exceptional expressive power, vocal depth, and profoundly intimate approach to text are highly valued by critics and audiences alike. Her wide-ranging repertoire encompasses all major alto and mezzo-soprano roles in the concert repertoire, from the Baroque and Classical periods through Romanticism to 20th-century and contemporary music. A central focus of her artistic work is the great vocal-symphonic repertoire of Gustav Mahler.

Born and raised in the Emsland region of Germany, Gerhild Romberger initially studied music education at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold before completing her vocal studies with Heiner Eckels, earning both her artistic diploma and concert examination. Masterclasses with Mitsuko Shirai, Hartmut Höll, and Annie Schoonus provided important artistic impulses during her training.

From the beginning of her career, Gerhild Romberger has focused almost exclusively on concert and Lied repertoire. On major international stages, she regularly performs with leading orchestras including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Boston and Los Angeles Symphony Orchestras. She has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Herbert Blomstedt, Manfred Honeck, Andris Nelsons, Iván Fischer, and Philippe Herreweghe.

In the 2026/27 season, the artist continues her international success with a series of major projects. Following acclaimed recent performances, including spectacular Mahler interpretations on tours through North America and Asia with, among others, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, her concert activities once again focus on great choral-symphonic works and the late Romantic repertoire. Highlights include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Gewandhaus Leipzig under Andris Nelsons as part of the opening of the Beethoven anniversary year, Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder with Hartmut Haenchen at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Wagner’s Erda in Das Rheingold and Siegfried as part of The Wagner Cycles at the Wiener Konzerthaus, conducted by Kent Nagano with the Dresden Festival Orchestra and Concerto Köln in historically informed performance practice.

Her artistic versatility is reflected not only in her interpretations of monumental works by Mahler and Anton Bruckner, but also in finely crafted recitals and her dedicated engagement with contemporary music.

Her distinguished artistic career is documented in numerous award-winning recordings. In 2015, she received the ECHO Klassik Award for the chamber music version of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Her recording of Mahler’s Third Symphony with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Haitink was honoured with the prestigious BBC Music Magazine Award as “Recording of the Year.”

Alongside her international concert career, Gerhild Romberger is deeply committed to teaching and nurturing young artists. Since 2003, she has held a professorship in voice at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, where she is based and is regarded as one of the most influential and successful voice teachers of her generation.



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  • Wie nun Sängerin Gerhild Romberger die innigen, ins Deutsche übertragenen Gesänge zum Leuchten brachte, war betörend. Als sensible, samtige Gestalterin erwies sie sich vor 1200 Zuhörerinnen und Zuhörern;
  • „O Röschen roth“ singt Gerhild Romberger in den Saal, in dem die Stille von den Wänden widerhallt. […] Ganz natürlich singt sie das, wie Mahler es in seine Partitur schrieb: „Sehr feierlich, aber schlicht“. Dazu „durchaus zart“. Romberger […] trägt mit ihrem warmen, makellosen, vorbildlich artikulierten Wunder-Alt Ruhe und Licht in den Saal.
    Leipziger Volkszeitung
    Peter Korfmacher: „Menschliches Drama jenseits der Worte“, in: Leipziger Volkszeitung, 20.5.2023 - Mahler 2 mit dem Gewandhausorchester unter Andris Nelsons
  • "Stimme aus Gold: Doch zurück zum Mittwochabend in den großen Konzerthaussaal, in dem ein exzellentes Solistenquartett für kurze Zeit die Welt und ihr erschreckendes Getriebe vergessen machte. (...) Gerhild Romberger, deren Alt in ihrem Wohlfühloktavraum an edler, klarer Kraft kaum zu überbieten war."
    DerStandard
    Stefan Ender, "Töne für die Toten im Wiener Konzerthaus", in: DerStandard, 24.02.22
  • "Bei Antonín Dvořáks "Biblischen Liedern" kommt die Altistin Gerhild Romberger ohne dramatische Ausbrüche aus und deutet die Psalmvertonungen gänzlich verinnerlicht aus dem tschechischen Text. Dabei lotet sie ein breites Spektrum von Pianofarben aus und liebkost melodische Wendungen geradezu mit ihrer bestechenden Legatokultur."
    Süddeutsche Zeitung
    SZ, "Freundschaftsdienst - das BRSO meldet sich live zurück. Ganz behutsam", Michael Stallknecht, 16.05.2021



Verena Vetter

Verena Vetter

Director
e-mail
+49 89 44488792
Anne Bilodeau

Anne Bilodeau

e-mail
Associate Artist Manager
+49 89 44488797

  HIGHLIGHTS 2023/2024