{\rtf\ansi\deff0\fs20 {\fonttbl{\f0 Times New Roman;}{\f1 Garamond;}} {\colortbl;\red0\green0\blue0;} {\info } \paperw11907 \paperh16840 \deftab1298 \margl1701 \margr1701 \margt567 \margb1134 \pgnstart1\ftnnar \aftnnrlc \ftnstart1 \aftnstart1 \sect\sectd \pard \ql {\fs48 \f1 \b \i Colbert Artists Management\i0 \b0 \line } \sect\sectd \pard \ql {\fs40 \f1 \b Anja Silja\b0 \uc0{\u8212} Biography\line } \sect\sectd \pard \ql {\fs28 \f1 \line \i October 2022. Please discard previously dated materials and contact publicity@colbertartists.com before making any alterations or cuts.\i0 \line ___________________\line \line } \sect\sectd \pard \ql {\fs32 \f1 A native of Berlin,\uc0{\u160}\b Anja Silja\b0 \uc0{\u160}began her vocal studies at the age of six, gave her first performance at the city\uc0{\u8217}s Titania Palace at the age of ten, and made her stage debut at the age of sixteen in Braunschweig as Rosina in\uc0{\u160}\i The Barber of Seville\i0 . It was the beginning of a long and distinguished career both at home and abroad, solidifying in 1960 when she was invited to Bayreuth. She debuted there as Senta in\uc0{\u160}\i The Flying Dutchman\i0 \uc0{\u160}and continued to perform in Wieland Wagner\uc0{\u8217}s productions until 1967, singing Elisabeth, Venus, Eva, Elsa, and Freia \uc0{\u8211} roles which she subsequently performed at major opera houses throughout the world.\line \line Anja Silja\uc0{\u8217}s large and varied repertoire, which includes nearly every major soprano role in opera, has shaped and informed her unique career. She is especially acclaimed for her interpretation of Emilia Marty in Jan\uc0{\u225}cek\uc0{\u8217}s\uc0{\u160}\i The Makropoulos Case\i0 \uc0{\u160}\uc0{\u8211} in Vienna, Z\uc0{\u252}rich, Barcelona, Aix-en-Provence, Hamburg, and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. She sang the role of Elsa in\uc0{\u160}\i Lohengrin\i0 \uc0{\u160}and Kostelnicka in Jan\uc0{\u225}cek\uc0{\u8217}s\uc0{\u160}\i Jenufa\i0 \uc0{\u160}at Glyndebourne and Z\uc0{\u252}rich, at Covent Garden, and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; the role of Amme in Strauss\uc0{\u8217}\uc0{\u160}\i Die Frau ohne Schatten\i0 \uc0{\u160}in Z\uc0{\u252}rich, Vienna, and Paris; and\uc0{\u160}\i Salome\i0 \uc0{\u160}at Covent Garden, Hamburg, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Other performances include Schoenberg\uc0{\u8217}s\uc0{\u160}\i Erwartung\i0 \uc0{\u160}and Kurt Weill\uc0{\u8217}s\uc0{\u160}\i The Seven Deadly Sins\i0 \uc0{\u160}at the New Israeli Opera and Stuttgart State Opera, and Berg\uc0{\u8217}s Lulu at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in D\uc0{\u252}sseldorf. She made guest appearances in New York with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera\uc0{\u8217}s production of\uc0{\u160}\i The Makropoulos Case\i0 , and Act II of\uc0{\u160}\i Jenufa\i0 \uc0{\u160}in a concert version at Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Simon Rattle. She made her debut as an opera producer in Brussels with a production of\uc0{\u160}\i Lohrengrin\i0 .\line \line Ms. Silja has worked with many of the world\uc0{\u8217}s great conductors, including Bruno Bartoletti, Karl B\uc0{\u246}hm, Pierre Boulez, Silvain Cambreling, Andr\uc0{\u233} Cluytens, Andrew Davis, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Otto Klemperer, Hans Knappertsbusch, James Levine, Antonio Pappano, Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Sir Georg Solti and Franz Welser-M\uc0{\u246}st.\line \line In recent seasons, Ms. Silja sang in new productions of\uc0{\u160}\i Pique Dame\i0 \uc0{\u160}at the Vienna Staatsoper and of\uc0{\u160}\i Katya Kabanova\i0 \uc0{\u160}at the Theater an der Wien;\uc0{\u160}\i Pierrot Lunaire\i0 \uc0{\u160}with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and with the Boston Symphony. She sang a highly acclaimed Kostelnicka in\uc0{\u160}\i Jenufa\i0 \uc0{\u160}at The Metropolitan Opera, and concert performances of\uc0{\u160}\i Jenufa\i0 \uc0{\u8216}s Act II with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and of\uc0{\u160}\i Salome\i0 \uc0{\u160}at the newly renovated Salle Pleyel in Paris. Other recent highlights include Janacek\uc0{\u8217}s\uc0{\u160}\i Osud\i0 \uc0{\u160}at the Staatsoper in Vienna,\uc0{\u160}\i The Makropoulos Case\i0 \uc0{\u160}in Berlin,\uc0{\u160}\i Jenufa\i0 \uc0{\u160}in Barcelona,\uc0{\u160}\i Lulu\i0 \uc0{\u160}in Munich, and\uc0{\u160}\i Jenufa\i0 \uc0{\u160}and\uc0{\u160}\i The Makropoulos Case\i0 \uc0{\u160}in Lyon. Ms. Silja sang highly acclaimed performances of\uc0{\u160}\i Erwartung\i0 \uc0{\u160}in New York, Berlin,\uc0{\u160} Madrid, and at the Verbier Festival with Maestro Levine; a concert version of Elektra in London and Berlin;\uc0{\u160} \i Jenufa\i0 \uc0{\u160}at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin; Poulenc\uc0{\u8217}s\uc0{\u160}\i Dialogues des Carm\uc0{\u233}lites\i0 \uc0{\u160}in Hamburg and at La Scala; and the roles of Herodias in\uc0{\u160}\i Salome\i0 \uc0{\u160}and Countess Geschwitz in\uc0{\u160}\i Lulu\i0 \uc0{\u160}at the Op\uc0{\u233}ra Bastille in Paris.\line \line Her extensive discography includes recordings of\uc0{\u160}\i The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, Tannh\uc0{\u228}user\i0 , Fricka in\uc0{\u160}\i Das Ring des Nibelungen, Lulu, Wozzeck, Erwartung, The Makropoulos Case\i0 \uc0{\u160}and the major repertoire of Kurt Weill.\line \line In April 2012, Ms. Silja was honored in New York City with an Opera News Award.\line \line } }