THE SONGBIRD: German soprano Marlis Peterson was born in 1968. She initially studied piano and won several competitions before studying dance, flute, and voice in Stuttgart. Her operatic debut came as Ännchen in Nuremberg, which led to a contract with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Berlin. She has sung in Dresden, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, London, Paris, Geneva, and Monte Carlo. Her repertoire includes several contemporary works, among the most prolific being Berg's "Lulu" with at least ten productions to her credit around the world. Petersen made her debut at The Met in 2005 as Adele, but then in 2010 Petersen flew to New York from Vienna to step into the role of Ophelie on only four days notice, after Natalie Dessay suddenly bowed out when she hurt her back. Other Met roles were Lulu and Susanna.

THE MUSIC: "The Magic Flute" ("Die Zauberflöte") K.620 premiered on September 30, 1791 in Vienna, just two months before Mozart's death. It was a success right out of the gate and has consistently been one of the most popular and produced operas in the world. The iconic role of the Queen of the Night was composed specifically for Josepha Hofer, Mozart's sister-in-law and a vocal virtuosa. It's a short role with only two arias and one ensemble, but the extreme vocal demands of the music have made it a defining role in the coloratura soprano repertoire. The Queen's second aria is the well known "Der hölle rache kocht in meinem Herzen" where the character's extreme rage is uniquely expressed in the music, including a sequence of furious staccato figures topped with four High Fs.

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