Aga Mikolaj
Agnieszka Beata Mikołajczyk (7 March 1971 – 11 November 2021), better known by her stage name Aga Mikolaj, was a Polish operatic soprano who made an international career.
Aga Mikolaj
11 November 2021 (aged 50)
- Poznań Academy of Music
- University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
- Classical soprano
She was a member of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich from 2002 to 2007, focusing on Mozart roles, especially Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and performed from San Francisco to Tokyo. She performed and recorded Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss, Penderecki's The Seven Gates of Jerusalem, and Detlev Glanert's Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch, live in Rotterdam in 2016 in its first recording.
Death[edit]
Mikolaj died on 11 November 2021, from complications of COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. She was 50 years old.[10][7]
Recordings[edit]
Mikolaj recorded Penderecki's The Seven Gates of Jerusalem released by Naxos records, which was nominated for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. She recorded Schubert's Der vierjährige Posten and Die Zwillingsbrüder, released by Phoenix Edition. In 2009, she recorded her first solo CD, including the Four Last Songs by Strauss, with the WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, Cologne, conducted by Karl Sollak. A reviewer noted her "marvellous intonation, a mellow-roasted, lyrical voice, generally exquisite phrasing and a well-trained 'squilla' over the orchestra".[11][12] She was the soprano soloist in the first recording of Detlev Glanert's Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch, live in Rotterdam in 2016, conducted by Markus Stenz.[13]