Josefine Göhmann

The soprano and concept artist Josefine Göhmann gained international attention in 2022 with her song recital concept réBelles!, which explores themes of female self-determination and representations of women in 20th-century art. Building on this album, a co-production with Deutschlandfunk, and a performative song recital supported by the Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien in cooperation with the Heidelberger Frühling, she developed an ongoing collaboration with major European broadcasters. This led to radio features and artist portraits across Europe on France Musique, ORF Ö1, NDR Kultur, rbbKultur and Deutschlandfunk Kultur, as well as further collaborations in Berlin, including with the KulturBüro Elisabeth and the Neuköllner Oper.

The project received numerous international nominations, including “Media Release of the Year” in the Opernwelt Jahrbuch 2022, a nomination in the “Vocal Music” category at the International Classical Music Awards 2023, and nominations at the Opus Klassik 2023 in the categories “Solo Vocal/Lied” and “Chamber Music Recording of the Year.” Critics praise Göhmann’s warm and powerful soprano, which she guides through all registers with deep expression, elegance, and exceptional musicality. As Opernwelt (7/2022) noted, she is a “courageous rebel,” capable of conveying intense emotional states while displaying a remarkably rich palette of vocal colors.

Among her further artistic concepts are Weib & Wahn (DLF), Maria. Ein Leben—created on the occasion of the centenary of Paul Hindemith’s Marienleben—and Toxic Love Songs. Judith & Bluebeard at the Neuköllner Oper Berlin, inspired by Béla Bartók’s opera Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and complemented by interpolated works by female composers ranging from the early Baroque to the present day.

Josefine Göhmann has appeared at numerous renowned venues and festivals, including the Staatsoper Hannover, the Festwochen Herrenhausen, the Summer Music Days Hitzacker, the Opéra National de Lyon, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles, the TNP Villeurbanne/Lyon, the Opéra de Vichy, the Theater Aachen, the Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, and the Semperoper Dresden, as well as the International May Festival at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden and performances in Vienna with Ensemble Reconsil. Her repertoire includes roles such as Poppea, Drusilla, Virtù, Ännchen, Despina, Ariadne, Bellezza, and Judith, alongside a wide range of chamber music works by composers including Francis Poulenc, Claude Debussy, Manuel de Falla, Astor Piazzolla, Kurt Weill, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Hindemith and Richard Strauss.

She has been artistically shaped by conductors such as Gudrun Schröfel, Gregor Bühl and Alberto Zedda, as well as directors including Richard Brunel. A notable highlight was her appearance in the revival of L'incoronazione di Poppea, directed by Klaus Michael Grüber, at the Opéra National de Lyon.

Göhmann began her musical training at the age of 13 as a soloist with the Mädchenchor Hannover. She later studied voice at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and attended masterclasses with renowned artists such as Thomas Quasthoff. Further studies took her to the Opéra National de Lyon and the Accademia del Belcanto in Martina Franca.

She is a prizewinner of the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg (2016) and was a finalist at the Internationaler Richard-Strauss-Wettbewerb in 2018. In addition to several solo nominations, she was also nominated—together with pianist Mario Häring—for the German Record Critics’ Award in 2024.

Her discography includes réBelles! Portraits Lyriques, an early recording of Dieterich Buxtehude’s Klag-Lied, as well as the albums EXTASE and On The Brink Of Reality.