Keren Motseri - NOSPR

Soprano Keren Motseri first studied cello and completed a B.Sc. in biology summa cum laude, before graduating with a Master’s degree from the Dutch National Opera Academy.  Keren has since established herself as a versatile and highly sought after soprano, with repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century in both concert and opera.

Last seasons featured the soprano solo part in Mahler’s 4th Symphony at the Mahler Festival of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Boulez’ Pli selon pli at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, the European premiere of Chaya Czernowin’s NO! with the WDR Symphony Orchestra and conductor Maxime Pascal in Cologne, a tour with Ensemble Modern and conductor Enno Poppe (singing Wolfgang Rihm’s Abschiedsstücke), returning to the Pierre Boulez Saal to sing a Bach Cantata for soprano solo with conductor Matthias Pintscher, George Benjamin’s opera Into the Little Hill conducted by the composer, Bach’s B minor mass with conductor Peter Whelan and the St. Matthew Passion with conductor Philippe Pierlot (both performed one per part).

Other recent highlights include the performance of ‘Yitzhak Rabin: Chronicle of an Assassination’ by director Amos Gitai at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York; ‘Beyond the Score: A Portrait of Pierre Boulez’ at the Holland Festival, with Asko|Schönberg conducted by Etienne Siebens; a concert and CD recording of Passionby Pascal Dusapin with Ensemble Modern under Franck Ollu; the world premiere of the complete Pessoa Cycle by Jan van de Putte with Asko|Schönberg under Reinbert de Leeuw, in the ZaterdagMatinee at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw; Bach’s St. John Passion conducted by Joshua Rifkin, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio conducted by Andrew Parrott, at the International Bach in Jerusalem Festival.

In 2019, Keren sang her debut at the Dutch National Opera (in co-production with the Holland Festival), in a unique production of extensive excerpts from Stockhausen’s Licht. Among her other performances on the opera stage, Keren appeared at La Monnaie in Brussels, the Aix-en-Provence Opera Festival and the Nationale Reisopera. Her opera performances include works by Handel, Mozart, Offenbach and Smetana, and extend into the contemporary repertoire of Pascal Dusapin, George Benjamin, Oscar Bianchi and Klaas de Vries. Keren’s appearances include her debut at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Lei in the opera Passion(Dusapin, with Ensemble Modern and conductor Franck Ollu), Vita in the world premiere of Wake (Klaas de Vries, libretto David Mitchell), A Young Woman in the Night in the world premiere of Thanks to my Eyes(Bianchi, libretto and direction Joël Pommerat) and Evelyn Piper in the world premiere of Cut Glass (Hana Ajiashvili). Some of these roles were specifically composed for her voice.

Notable concert performances were with the Nederlandse Bach Vereniging (with conductors Richard Egarr and Jos van Veldhoven), the Residentie Orkest (Jaap van Zweden), Asko|Schönberg (Reinbert de Leeuw and Etienne Siebens), the Dutch Radio Philharmonic (Peter Eötvös) and MusikFabrik (Daniel Reuss). She is regularly invited by international festivals such as Holland Festival in Amsterdam, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Sacrum Profanum Festival in Krakow, the Utrecht Early Music Festival and Festival de Musica Antiga in Barcelona. As a specialist interpreter of contemporary music, Keren has also worked all over Europe with such composers as Kaija Saariaho, Steve Reich and Louis Andriessen.

Upcoming engagements include performances with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Motseri worked with the composer György Kurtág on his piece Kafka-Fragmente, and for Kurtág’s 100th birthday in 2026 she is invited by Maestro Daniel Barenboim to perform it in the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin.

In 2029, she will sing in Chaya Czernowin’s new opera at the Opéra Bastille in Paris.