Draft:Diana Syrse

Mexican composer and singer (born 1984) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diana Syrse (born Diana Syrse Valdés Rosado, 1984, Mexico City) is a Mexican composer and singer based in Paris. Her work spans opera, music theatre, orchestral, choral, chamber, and electroacoustic music, as well as song, and is characterized by the central role of the voice as an expressive medium and by an interdisciplinary practice linked to theatre and text. She is recognized as one of the first Latin American composers to receive commissions from major German opera houses, including the Bavarian State Opera and the Hamburg State Opera. Her catalogue comprises more than 115 works spanning opera, music theatre, orchestral, choral, chamber, electroacoustic music, and song. Her music is published by Ricordi[1] in Berlin, Éditions Lacroch'[2] in Paris, and Sur Editions.[3]

Early life and education

Syrse was born in Mexico City in 1984. She began musical studies at the National School of Music (Mexico City) in 1992. She studied composition at the Faculty of Music of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) with Gabriela Ortiz, graduating summa cum laude.

She subsequently obtained a Master of Arts in Composition (Composer-Performer Program) at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Los Angeles, studying composition with Wolfgang von Schweinitz and Marc Lowenstein and voice with Jacqueline Bobak. After a year at Indiana University Bloomington, she completed a second Master’s degree in Composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München (score: 1.0), studying with Moritz Eggert. In 2023 she completed a PhD in Composition at the University of Birmingham (UK), under the supervision of Daria Kwiatkowska and Scott Wilson.

She holds Mexican and German nationality and currently resides in Paris.[4]

Career

Early work and Munich years

During her studies in Munich, Syrse founded and led the Breakout Ensemble (2014–2015), an interdisciplinary group based in Munich. In 2013 she was commissioned by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste to compose Ventanas (for string quartet, soprano, and crystal cups), premiered at the Residenz München. In 2014 she received the Music Prize of the City of Munich (Musikpreis der Landeshauptstadt München).[5]

Between 2016 and 2019 she served as composer-in-residence for multiple productions directed by Ersan Mondtag: at Schauspiel Frankfurt (2016), the Berliner Ensemble (2017), and the Münchner Kammerspiele (2018).

Opera and music theatre

Syrse has been involved in more than fifteen opera and music theatre productions. In 2018–2019 she was composer-in-residence at the Staatsoper Hamburg, where the collaborative opera Die Nacht der Seeigel [6] (co-composed with Huihui Cheng and Mischa Tangian) premiered in May 2019. In 2021 the opera Der Kiosk [7] (commissioned by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein) had its premiere in Düsseldorf.

She is the first Latin American composer commissioned by the Bayerische Staatsoper. Her opera Liberty [8] is scheduled for world premiere on April 30, 2027, in Munich, with further performances in May 2027. Her opera Hotel Moctezuma,[9] commissioned by the Opéra Orchestre national Montpellier, is scheduled to premiere on April 15, 2027.

Orchestral and choral works

Key orchestral works include Connected Identities Part I (2017, voice, orchestra and electronics, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel; premiered at Walt Disney Concert Hall),[10] The Invention of Sex – Connected Identities Part II (2020, commissioned by the New Juilliard Ensemble; premiered at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center), [11] Géante rouge (2021, commissioned by the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France for the Festival Présences; premiered at the Philharmonie de Paris),[12] Ciudad de México (2023, commissioned by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería), [13] Quetzalcóatl (2023, commissioned by the Musikkollegium Winterthur),[14] and Multiplicidad (2025, commissioned by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen).[15]

Choral works include Alas de noche (2023, commissioned by the Los Angeles Master Chorale; premiered at Walt Disney Concert Hall).[16]

Her music has been performed by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, Ensemble Modern, Via Nova Ensemble, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, among other ensembles and choirs internationally.

As performer

Syrse is also an active performer of her own works, having studied bel canto, extended vocal techniques, jazz, and improvisation. Syrse's compositional practice is developed from the perspective of the composer-performer. Many of her works are written for her own voice, either as a soloist or in combination with other instruments, and she frequently authors her own lyrics.

She has performed at venues including the Musée du Quai Branly (Paris), Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center (New York), the Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), and the Humboldt Forum (Berlin), where she sang the leading role in her own opera Mexico Aura. She was also one of the vocal soloists in the premiere of her opera Arsenikblüten (2015), performed with the Isura Madrigal Chor under the musical direction of Johannes Buxbaum. In parallel, she has collaborated with the French Trio d'argent [fr] (the ensemble of flautists Michel Boizot, François Daudin Clavaud, and Xavier Saint-Bonnet, founded in 1984 and dedicated to contemporary music) performing with live electronics as both a singer and composer, and interpreting works by other contemporary composers.

Teaching and jury work

She has been invited as guest artist and lecturer at the Juilliard School (New York, 2022), Yale University, and the Tanglewood Festival. She has served as a juror at the Carmen Mateu European Opera Award (Barcelona, 2021) and for the selection of the anthem of the State of Guanajuato (Mexico, 2024).

Awards and recognition

  • Counterpoint of Tolerance Project, Los Angeles, 2008–2009
  • Music Prize of the City of Munich (Musikpreis der Landeshauptstadt München), 2014
  • Finalist, International Opera Composition Competition NTM, 2021
  • Una Vita nella Musica Giovani Prize, Teatro La Fenice, Venice, 2022 [17]
  • Ricordilab Competition Winner, 2022 (leading to publication by Ricordi Berlin) [18]
  • FEDORA Audience Prize, 2024 (for Hotel Moctezuma) [19]
  • Grant from Mexico’s Sistema Nacional de Creadores (FONCA)

Residencies and fellowships

  • Banff Centre (2012, Canada)
  • Akademie Musiktheater heute, Deutsche Bank Stiftung (2016–2018)
  • Académie d’Aix-en-Provence (2018)
  • Ricordilab program (2021)
  • Cité internationale des arts (2021–2022, Paris, funded by the Bayerisches Staatsministerium)
  • Deutsches Studienzentrum in Venice (2022, funded by the Bayerisches Staatsministerium)
  • Civitella Ranieri Foundation (2026, Italy)

Major works

Opera

  • La Tortura (2008), chamber opera
  • Arsenikblüten (2014), opera in six movements
  • Marea Roja (2016), opera for six female voices and chamber orchestra
  • Die Nacht der Seeigel (2019), co-composed with Huihui Cheng and Mischa Tangian; Staatsoper Hamburg
  • Der Kiosk (2020), Deutsche Oper am Rhein
  • Hotel Moctezuma (in progress), Opéra national de Montpellier — world premiere 2027
  • Liberty (in progress), Bayerische Staatsoper — world premiere 2027

Orchestra

  • Connected Identities Part I (2017), voice, orchestra and electronics; Los Angeles Philharmonic
  • The Invention of Sex – Connected Identities Part II (2020), New Juilliard Ensemble
  • Géante rouge (2021), Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
  • Ciudad de México (2023), Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería
  • Quetzalcóatl (2023), Musikkollegium Winterthur
  • Multiplicidad (2025), Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
  • Ancient Cyberpunk (2025), symphonic orchestra and electronics

Choral

  • Alas de noche (2023), Los Angeles Master Chorale

References

External links

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