The fetching Czech mezzo soprano Magdalena Koženį is sitting in the New York offices of Deutsche Grammophon talking passionately about a man she loves: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As well as appearing in Idomeneo at the Metropolitan Opera this season, Koženį has recently released a CD of Mozart arias with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, who also happens to be her partner in life. This soulful album demonstrates her quicksilver phrasing, distinctive timbre, and remarkable high tessitura, which allow her to render some of Mozart's soprano arias—Fiordiligi's "Per pietą" from Cosģ Fan Tutte, and Ilia's "Padre, germani, addio!" from Idomeneo—with ease.
"It feels like Mozart is my destiny," says Koženį, who favors high heels despite being five foot ten. Her international career was launched in 1995 when she won the prestigious Mozart Competition in Salzburg, and it was thanks to Mozart that she met Rattle four years ago, while he was conducting and she singing in Idomeneo at Glyndebourne in England. Both were married at the time, and their relationship eventually hit the headlines with a double forte, pushing her into the celebrity spotlight. "The Maestro, the Opera Babe and a Note of Marital Discord" ran the headline in one notorious British tabloid that had hitherto never paid attention to classical music.
These days, along with their two-year-old son, Jonas, the couple live in Berlin, where Rattle is the music director of the illustrious Berlin Philharmonic. They're back in the news, but this time because of their collaboration on the Mozart arias and a string of eye-opening performances for Koženį in America, Japan, and Europe, including Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. —DAMIAN FOWLER
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