for special projects
Sibylla Rubens enchants with her ability to tell stories through her singing, bringing her songs and arias to life. Her heartfelt voice and extensive repertoire make her an internationally sought-after authority. This is evidenced by numerous concerts with renowned orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe, concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York, with Christian Thielemann and the Munich Philharmonic, as well as in Montreal and Hamburg under the baton of Kent Nagano. She went on a European tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under the baton of Ivan Fischer and an Asian tour with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Thomanerchor Leipzig under the baton of Gotthold Schwarz. The soprano has also performed on concert stages in Baden-Baden, Barcelona, Dresden, Leipzig, Milan, Madrid, Mulhouse, and Saarbrücken.
Further conductors she has worked with include Helmuth Rilling, Jun Märkl, Hartmut Haenchen, Manfred Honeck, Roger Norrington, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Gielen, Marek Janowski, and Riccardo Chailly. Sibylla Rubens studied concert and opera singing at the State University of Music in Trossingen and at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. She was a member of the master class for song interpretation under Irwin Gage in Zurich and completed her training in numerous master classes, including with Edith Mathis and Elsa Cavelti in Basel.
As a dedicated teacher and mentor for young singers, she gives master classes and, alongside her concert commitments, is a sought-after private lecturer for numerous international professional singers. Sibylla Rubens served on the board of the Leipzig Bach Society for ten years and led the oratorio class at the Leopold-Mozart Center at the University of Augsburg from 2014 to 2016. She is regularly active as a juror at international singing competitions, including the International Bach Competition in Leipzig, the Schubert Lied-Duo Competition in Dortmund, and currently as chair of the jury of the Josephine Lang Lied-Duo Competition in Tübingen.
Since 2020, she has supported the National Youth Choir of the German Music Council as a vocal coach. Lieder evenings are especially close to Sibylla Rubens's heart. She had an intensive collaboration with Irwin Gage. Her current programs of Lieder and chamber music feature collaborations with Gerold Huber, Götz Payer, Doriana Tschakarova, and Carl-Martin Buttgereit, and are performed at venues such as the Gustav Jenner Festival in Sylt, Stralsund, Münster, Freiburg, and the 50th Reutlingen Chamber Music Cycle.
With nearly 100 CD recordings for various labels, including hänssler, Carus, and harmonia mundi (featuring J.S. Bach's Passions and cantatas, the complete song works of Humperdinck, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Hymn of Praise), her artistic versatility is evident. Recordings for Deutsche Grammophon include Mozart's Requiem (under the baton of Christian Thielemann), and for Naxos, song recordings (Schumann: Lieder and Songs op. 42, and Schubert: Shepherd on the Rock and Romantic Poets). For the Rondeau label, she released the world premiere recording of the newly discovered "Sacred Works" by Luigi Cherubini with the Chamber Choir/Ensemble Frauenkirche Dresden under the baton of Matthias Grünert.
Together with Carl Martin Buttgereit, she recently produced the CD "Erwartung," featuring songs by Anton Urspruch and Franz Liszt (Kaleidos). In Christian Gerhaher's extensive Sony complete recording of all Schumann songs, all accompanied by Gerold Huber—a co-production with Bayerischer Rundfunk and the Heidelberg Lied Center—Sibylla Rubens sings songs, duets, and ensembles.
For recent projects please see www.sibyllarubens.de
