Maria Polanska

Polish mezzo-soprano Maria Polańska joined the ensemble of Deutsche Oper am Rhein in the 2024/25 season. Her repertoire in Düsseldorf and Duisburg includes Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, alongside Olga in Eugene Onegin, Sonjetka in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Mercédès in Carmen. Her Wagner and Strauss roles include Flosshilde in Das Rheingold, Grimgerde in Die Walküre and the First Maid in Elektra.

The company’s announced plans for 2026/27 include Barena in Jenůfa, Un musico in Manon Lescaut and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, as well as Flosshilde in Götterdämmerung and returns as Cherubino and Hänsel.

From 2021 to 2024, Ms. Polańska was a member of the International Opera Studio at Nationaltheater Mannheim. There she sang the Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Fyodor in Boris Godunov, Flosshilde in both Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung, Grimgerde and Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos. Her work with the company also included Wolfgang Rihm’s Jakob Lenz and Sidney Corbett’s Keine Stille außer der des Windes. In 2022, she travelled with the Mannheim company to the Daegu International Opera Festival in South Korea. In 2024, she appeared as Schwertleite in Die Walküre at Saarländisches Staatstheater and in its concert performance at the Opéra Royal de Versailles.

Early music is a particular interest. At the Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele, Ms. Polańska sang Lesbia in Grétry’s Zemira e Azor with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin under Bernhard Forck. In Mannheim, she performed Cleofe in Handel’s La resurrezione under Wolfgang Katschner.

Born in Tarnów, Ms. Polańska began her vocal studies with Katarzyna Oleś-Blacha at the Music Academy in Kraków and completed her master’s degree in opera performance with Teru Yoshihara at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart in 2021. She has continued her artistic development with Matthias Rexroth and Eytan Pessen. Her distinctions include third prize at the Ada Sari International Vocal Art Competition in Nowy Sącz in 2021, a place in the final of the 51st Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin in 2022 and a Richard Wagner scholarship in 2023.