Maria Forsström moves naturally between the opera stage, symphonic repertoire, and intimate Lieder recitals. With a background in church music, piano, and conducting, she studied in Stockholm, London, and St. Petersburg before deciding to make her own voice the instrument— embarking on a singing career at the age of 33. Her musical interests span a wide range, from early Baroque to the expressive landscapes of the late Romantics, such as Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, which she performed in Sweden last season, as well as newly commissioned works.
She has collaborated with ensembles such as Musica Aeterna, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Malmö Opera, Perm Opera House, Novaya Opera in Moscow, and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Over the years, she has worked with conductors including Teodor Currentzis, Christoph Eschenbach, Masaaki Suzuki, Thomas Dausgaard, Edward Gardner, Joachim Gustafsson and Jacek Kaspszyk.
In 2019, she was awarded First Prize for Best Musician at the Varaždin Baroque Festival in Croatia for her interpretations of Caccini, Frescobaldi, Monteverdi, and others. Her recordings include releases on Musica Rediviva, Sony Classical, Chandos Records, and BIS. In 2021, she appeared as La Messaggera in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo on BIS Records, receiving critical acclaim.
Since 2014, she has been a frequent guest at The Oxford Lieder Festival and currently tours with Winterreise alongside pianist Bengt Forsberg. During the pandemic, she developed projects that combined chamber music with visual and theatrical elements, including a Winterreise with video scenography by Danish artist Lene Juhl. She has also commissioned new works for voice, marimba, organ, and piano, and collaborated with Nobel laureate Louise Glück on newly composed music. In Norway, she performed in newly commissioned opera at the Winter Festival of Røros.
Outside of music, she has a deep interest in languages, small-scale winemaking, and helicopters.
Find more information about Maria on her homepage mariaforsstrom.com
Video/Audio
Maria sings Marcellina from Le nozze di Figaro / T. Currentzis
"Via, resti servita, madama brillante"
Susanna: Fanie Antonelou
Marcellina: Maria Forsström
Oratory "Vid källan" (At the well)
A glimpse from a movement from the new oratory by composer and organist Mattias Eklund. Full orchestra, percussion, choir SSATB, and soli. This movement is in a twelve-tone technique, composed just for alto flute and mezzo-soprano.
"Höre mit Sinn", Waltraute's Narration, in Götterdämmerung
Maria Forsström sings Richard Wagner, March 2022
Waltraute has just arrived in haste on horseback through the storm to her sister Brünnhilde to give the news of their father Wotan. The time for the gods' downfall is near. Waltraute asks Brünnhilde to give the Ring back to Rhine from where it came.
Piano: Martin Andersson
Camera and sound: Jonas Franke-Blom
"Erbarme dich", alto aria from St. Matthew Passion by J. S. Bach.
Maria Forsström, mezzo-soprano, Andreas Edlund, melodica and pipe organ.
No concerts or orchestras allowed this period in churches.
Recorded by Jonas Franke Blom at the Gothenburg Cathedral, Palm Sunday 5 April 2020
