Vita
Madeleine Merz is a versatile Swiss singer with a focus on full-lyric soprano, who also performs mezzo-soprano and alto repertoire. She appears regularly in Switzerland and internationally, impressing audiences with her expressive stage presence and vocal intensity.
In recent years, she has performed significant works from the concert repertoire, including Rossini’s Stabat Mater (Soprano II), Fauré’s Requiem, and the Stabat Mater of Pergolesi, Scarlatti, and Vivaldi (Alto). In 2022, she participated in the Swiss premiere of Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 5 under the direction of Olga Pavlu. With the ensemble D’Accordo! led by Diemut Poppen, she performed Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder in Switzerland and Italy in 2021/22. She has also sung Bach’s cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen on several occasions. Her concert appearances have included the Mendelssohn Festival in Aarau, the Demenga Festival in the Calanca Valley, and the Schwetzinger Winterspiele in Germany. In 2019, she made her debut at Tonhalle Maag Zürich with arias by Verdi, Bizet, Lehár and Dvořák.
In opera and music theatre, her roles have included Carlotta Santa Croce (Gasparone), Sylva Varescu (Die Csárdásfürstin), Helena Zaremba (Nedbal’s Polenblut), Barbara/Agricola (Strauss’ Eine Nacht in Venedig), Pisana (Verdi’s I due Foscari), Smart (CSI Opera), Hänsel (Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel), Stella (Hoffmann’s Liebe und Eifersucht), and Ottavia (Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea). She has also been involved in world premieres, including as mezzo-soprano in Oehring’s Angelus Novus II (2015) and as 1st Elder/Faunäffin in Martin Derungs’ Lebewohl, Gute Reise (2019).
Madeleine Merz studied at the Bern University of the Arts (HKB) under Christian Hilz and was a member of the Swiss Opera Studio Biel. She continued her studies with Yvonne Naef at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), completing her soloist diploma with Berlioz’ Les nuits d’été with the ZHdK Orchestra conducted by Marc Kissóczy. She graduated with distinction from all her studies.
She has attended masterclasses with Christa Ludwig, Angelika Kirchschlager, Margreet Honig, Helmut Deutsch, and Eric Schneider, and currently studies privately with mezzo-soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner and repetiteur Kelly Thomas.
Madeleine Merz has received scholarships from the Friedl Wald Foundation (2012) and the Swiss Richard Wagner Society (2026), and awards from the Austria Baroque Academy (2014) and the Migros Culture Percentage Study Prize (2014/2015).