Wiens, Edith
Wiens, Edith
Wiens, Edith, Canadian soprano; b. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, June 9, 1950. She studied on scholarship at the Hannover Hochschule für Musik (concert performance dipiloma, 1974), she continued her training at the Oberlin (Ohio) Coll.-Cons. of Music (M.A. in music theater, 1976). In 1979 she went to Munich to complete her vocal training with Ernst Haefliger and Erik Werba, taking the gold medal at the Schumann Competition in Zwickau that same year. In 1981 she made her first appearance as a soloist with the Berlin Phil., and thereafter was engaged to sing with principal orchs. of Europe and North America. As a recitalist, she sang in various Canadian cities as well as in N.Y., Paris, Berlin, Leipzig, Munich, and Vienna. In 1986 she made her operatic debut as Donna Anna with the Glyndebourne Opera; subsequently sang at the Amsterdam Opera, Milan’s La Scala, Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón, and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Her concert repertoire extends from Bach to Richard Strauss.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire