T11. DEUTCHE RADIO/PONS/TEIGE “Elektra”

The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie (DRP) is one of Germany's leading radio symphony orchestras. Jointly funded by Saarländischer Rundfunk and Südwestrundfunk, it is based in Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern.

Its work focuses on the classical-romantic repertoire, as well as curiosities from the repertoire, early works, contemporary music, jazz, and film music.

The Chief and Artistic Director of the DRP is Josep Pons. Under the title "Visions of Europe", Pons has developed a multi-year artistic programme that explores European identity from different perspectives.

Since 2025, Michael Schønwandt holds the position of Chief Guest Conductor. This season, under his baton, the DRP explores the Nordic soundscape. After collaborating with Jörg Widmann and Brett Dean, the orchestra is now working with George Benjamin.

One of the highlights of the season is the concert version of his opera Written on Skin, conducted by Benjamin himself.

Performances as a guest in both broadcasting regions, as well as in Germany and abroad, including a concert tour in Spain with Josep Pons and appearances at prestigious festivals, complete the artistic programme.

With concerts aimed at new audiences, families, and educational centres, the DRP reaches a very wide audience.

Other highlights include the "Moments musicaux" in art galleries, as well as concerts in pubs and with chamber music ensembles. This season, concerts specifically designed for people with dementia are being added.

The DRP is also distinguished by its discographic productions, radio recordings, and projects such as the recording of film music for the documentary series Travellers of the Oceans.

The promotion of young talent is an essential part of the orchestra's work: the Skrowaczewski Academy, founded in 2024, is currently preparing its second cohort for careers in top-tier orchestras.

Composition and conducting workshop projects, as well as an annual singing competition, provide further platforms for exceptional talent and new works.

The DRP was created in 2007 from the merger of the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony and the SWR Radio Orchestra of Kaiserslautern.

Elisabeth Teige has established herself as one of the most convincing young dramatic sopranos of her generation, admired for her warm timbre, musical sensitivity, and powerful stage presence.

An emblematic role in her repertoire is Senta in Wagner's The Flying Dutchman, which she sang for the first time at the National Opera and Ballet of Oslo. Since then, she has performed this role in major theatres such as the Frankfurt Opera, the National Opera of Bergen, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the National Theatre in Prague, and the Bayreuth Festival, where she participated in Dmitri Tcherniakov's production under Oksana Lyniv's direction in 2022.

At Bayreuth, she also sang Gutrune (Götterdämmerung) and Freia (The Ring of the Nibelung), returning in subsequent seasons as Sieglinde (The Valkyrie), Elisabeth (Tannhäuser), and again as Senta.

In the 2025/26 season, Teige made her debut as Isolda in a new production of Tristan and Isolde at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and repeated the role in Leipzig. Additionally, she appears as Sieglinde and Brünnhilde (Siegfried) in Berlin, performs with top-tier orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic and TrondheimSolistene, and sings Chrysothemis in a concert version of Elektra with the Dresden Philharmonic under the direction of Sir Donald Runnicles.

Among recent milestones are her debuts at the Teatro di San Carlo as Chrysothemis and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu as Elsa in Lohengrin.

She has also performed Elisabeth and Venus (Tannhäuser) in Berlin, Leonore (Fidelio) in Wiesbaden, Tosca in Oslo, and Turandot in Dresden.

In the symphonic sphere, she has performed with the Wiener Symphoniker, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Luxembourg Philharmonic, and at the Opera of Toulon.

Born in Ålesund, Norway, she studied singing in Trondheim and at the National Opera Academy in Oslo.

She has been the Music Director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu since 2012, and her last renewal keeps her in the post until 2026.

She has conducted forty titles, including Wagner's Ring Cycle, Tristan and Isolde, Parsifal, or Lohengrin; Richard Strauss's Elektra; Berg's Wozzeck; or Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, and Mozart's Da Ponte trilogy or Haendel's Rodelinda.

She is an Honorary Conductor of the Orquesta Nacional de España, where she was Principal and Artistic Director (2003-2012), and of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada (1993-2003).

She was the founder of the Teatre Lliure Chamber Orchestra, of which she was Principal from 1985 to 1997, and of the JONC (Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya), of which she is the Founding Director.

She was recently elected Principal and Artistic Director of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie starting from the 2025-26 season.

Her discography, with more than 50 CDs and DVDs, mostly released by Harmonia Mundi France and Deutsche Grammophon, includes recordings of Falla and French repertoire considered reference interpretations and that have received numerous awards, such as the Charles Cros Prize, the Cannes Classical Awards, or the Grammys.

Her recording of Nights in the Gardens of Spain with Javier Perianes won a Choc de la Musique; Melancolía with Patricia Petibon received a Gramophone Editor's Choice, and her collaboration with Tomatito earned him a Latin Grammy.

Her recording of Berio's Symphony and 10 Frühe Lieder by Mahler/Berio with the BBC Symphony and Matthias Goerne won the BBC Music Award, Choc de la Musique, ECHO Klassik Awards, and the Télérama Prize.

Her latest releases with Harmonia Mundi have been the recordings of Granados's opera Goyescas with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Le Tombeau de Couperin – Alborada del gracioso by Ravel with the Orchestre de Paris and Javier Perianes.

She has been distinguished, among others, with the National Music Prize awarded by the Ministry of Culture, for her outstanding work in 20th-century music.

In 2019, she was invested as Doctor Honoris Causa by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and received the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.

She is an Extraordinary Academician of the Real Academia Catalana de Bellas Artes de San Jorge.