Valerie Eickhoff & Eric Schneider
Biography Valerie Eickhoff & Eric Schneider
Valerie Eickhoff
Winner of the 2022 Südwestrundfunk Junge Opernstars competition, mezzo soprano Valerie Eickhoff is quickly establishing herself as an artist of intense musicality and brilliant vocalism. The 2023 – 2024 season sees several important house and role debuts for Ms. Eickhoff including as Ramiro in La finta giardiniera with Theater an der Wien and as Driade in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Bayerische Staatsoper on tour in Hong Kong. She will also return to Deutsche Oper am Rhein as a guest artist to debut the roles of Angelina in Cenerentola and Marylou in Märchen im Grand Hotel. Concert work includes Poem de l’amour et de mer with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the Orchestra della Toscana Italy, and a concert of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder and Respighi’s Il Tramonto with the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchestra in Mannheim, Germany. Ms. Eickhoff also records the complete Hans Eisler Hollywood Songbook with pianist Eric Schneider this season, which is released on the Ars Production label.
The 2022 – 2023 season saw Ms. Eickhoff’s house debut with Royal Danish Opera as Mercédès in Barrie Kosky’s production of Carmen. She also returned to Deutsche Oper am Rhein to sing Cherubino in Le nozze Figaro, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Uli in the world premiere of Das fliegende Klassenszimmer, and Lucienne in Die tote Stadt. Ms. Eickhoff also appeared with the Adelphi Quartet for an evening of chamber music as part of the Klassicher Herbst series at Insel Mainau.
Operatic highlights include her house debut at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl as Die Stallmagd in Humperdinck’s Königskinder, her role debuts as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, Ronja in Ronja Räubertochter, and Diane in Barrie Kosky’s production of Offenbach’s Orphee aux Enfers at Deutsche Oper am Rhein, as well as appearanes as Annina in La Traviata, Sandman in Hansel und Gretel, a shepherd in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. As a member of the Niederrhein Opera Studio her roles included Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Fjodor in Boris Godunov, and Cupido Orpheus in der Unterwelt. Additional operatic highlights include Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, Lisetta in Haydn's Il mondo della luna, Angelina in Rossini's La Cenerentola. On the conert and recital stages Ms. Eickhoff has been presented in recital by Schumannfest Düsseldorf, and in a benefit concert with the Sinfonieorchester der Camerata Louis Spohr.
Honors and awards include appearing as a semifinalist at the 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup and in the 2019 Neue Stimmen Competition, as well as receiving scholarships from the Wagner Association Düsseldorf, Yehudi Menuhin Foundation “Live Music Now”, Horst and Gretl Will Foundation, and the Werner Richard Dr Carl Dörken Foundation.
Ms. Eickhoff holds degrees from Robert Schumann University where she graduated with honors and participated in masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Bernarda Fink, Eric Schneider, Hans Eijsackers and Luca Quintavalle. She currently resides in Düsseldorf, Germany.
