Imogen Thirlwall is a lyric coloratura soprano from Aotearoa New Zealand working full-time as an opera singer in Germany. Imogen cares about creating accessible and meaningful experiences for audiences across genres and performances spaces. Beyond singing a tune, Imogen is the author and illustrator of a children’s book, dabbles in dance and jazz trumpet playing, and enjoys forest hiking.
Chasing the dream in Europe
Imogen Thirlwall has performed in concert halls and theaters in Austria and Germany, including the Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal. In her career to date, Imogen has performed in more than 50 different professional musical theater and opera productions.
In March 2022, Imogen joined the second sopranos in the award-winning Staatsopernchor at Staatsoper Stuttgart, voted ‘opera chorus of the year’ thirteen times by Opernwelt. From mid season 2017/2018 to 2021/22, Imogen held a soprano chorus position with soloist commitments at Meininger Staatstheater in Thüringen, Germany, performing in more than 180 shows across opera, operette, musical theater and in concert.
In 2021, Imogen returned to Aotearoa New Zealand to cover the principal role of Susanna and perform Barbarina in New Zealand Opera’s new production of Le Nozze di Figaro as the inaugural 2021 Freemasons Guest Artist.
Imogen is alumna of the prestigious lied programme Kunst der Interpretation ‘Das Lied von Beethoven bis Berg’ at the Franz Schubert Institut in Austria (2019), and a Masterclass Artist for the 2018 Berlin Art Song Festival.
Imogen is author and illustrator of the children’s book Butterfly & Snail Chase The Sun, available on Amazon Kindle. In addition to donating eBook sales revenue to Shakti Community Council, Imogen ran a fundraising project in 2020 to encourage visibility of their work within the context of COVID-19 and increased domestic violence globally. Shakti is a non-profit organisation working with ethnic families to end discrimination and violence against women and children.
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aus dem Gespann der Freundinnen sticht die Neuseeländerin Imogen Thirlwall mit klarem Sopran heraus, der feinste Lyrik verströmt.
and from the team of girlfriends stands out the clear soprano of New Zealander Imogen Thirlwall, which exudes the finest lyricism.
/ der opern freunD, yVETTE IN la rondine /
Roots in Aotearoa New Zealand
Imogen relocated to Europe in late 2017 with a Young Artist Scholarship to study at the Goethe-Institut in Berlin, Germany.
Imogen was a 2017 Resident Artist with New Zealand Opera, understudied roles in Die Zauberflöte and Carmen, and performed in their opera chorus for five years. Imogen performed regularly with regional opera companies and as a soprano soloist with orchestra.
The intersection of community outreach, audience accessibility and performances of opera in unusual spaces is a passion for Imogen. She was involved in six outdoor productions for Days Bay Opera, sung opera from the rooftops in Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest free access performance festival CubaDupa, and joined touring companies such as Wanderlust Opera and Operatunity who bring affordable and accessible performances to smaller and geographically isolated communities. Imogen also performed as Lieschen in Bachs Coffee Cantata for the Wanaka Arts Festival with the New Zealand Trio, offering a first traditional staging against a second shot of after hours burlesque.
Imogen was a finalist in singing competitions throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, a semi-finalist in the prestigious Lexus Song Quest and a finalist in the New Zealand Aria. She is alumna of the New Zealand Opera School and winner of a Dame Malvina Major Foundation High Achievers Award.
Imogen holds a Master of Music in Classical Performance Voice from Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music, winning a full scholarship for academic excellence. She was invited to present papers on her research for national Musicological Society Conferences in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Imogen’s academic research explores a curious connection of freedoms: performing atonal music, experiences of disciplining bodies, and feminist critical theory. Imogen also presented a music education paper at the 2022 South East Asia Music Academy Online Conference on ‘Cultivating Stage Presence’.
