ABOUT MONIKA
"The soprano raises hopes for her further development with her fresh lyrical voice, which already shows some potential for expansion."
Ekkehard Pluta, klassik-heute.de
The extremely versatile soprano's great passion lies in lieder singing. She and pianist Kathrin Isabelle Klein were one of three selected duos to perform at the Lied Academy at the 77th Hitzacker Summer Music Festival. Their work as a lied duo has drawn inspiration from artists such as Ian Bostridge, Jan Philip Schulze, Anne Le Bozec, Ulrich Eisenlohr, and Charles Spencer. They received scholarships from the 2022 German Music Competition and were also awarded a special prize. A joint radio recording was made for Deutschlandfunk.
In chamber music concerts and recitals, she creates individual programs juxtaposing repertoire from the Romantic and classical modern periods with contemporary music. Monika Abel has performed in South America and Australia with the Munich Philharmonic String Quartet and members of the Munich Philharmonic.
Her debut album “Between Heaven and Earth,” featuring songs by Strauss, Messiaen, Webern, and Finzi, released in February 2025, underlines her predilection for 20th-century music.
AGENDA
25 • 26
September
Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major
Gustav Mahler
September 25th & 26th / 7:30 PM
Berlin Radio Choir
Berlin Tempelhof Airport
Berlin
September
Reverberation
Evening music at the Moritzkirche
Works by Gustav Mahler, Francis Poulenc,
Benjamin Britten and Mátyás Seiber
September 28th / 7:15 p.m.
Monika Abel, soprano
Susanne Geuer, clarinet
Kathrin Isabelle Klein, piano
augsburg
Reverberation
Evening music at the Moritzkirche
Works by Gustav Mahler, Francis Poulenc,
Benjamin Britten and Mátyás Seiber
September 28th / 7:15 p.m.
Monika Abel, soprano
Susanne Geuer, clarinet
Kathrin Isabelle Klein, piano
augsburg
MEDIA
Bach, Matthäus-Passion - Blute nur, Du liebes Herz
"Their musical familiarity can be felt in every moment."
klassikhören.de
"A fine album with many shades."
Opera world
LIEDDUO
Monika Abel and Kathrin Isabelle Klein met during their first year of study together at the Freiburg University of Music and Performing Arts, where they attended the Lied class with Hans-Peter Müller. After that year, they moved to other places, but during the first months of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, they decided, now both in Munich, to revive their former duo work and have since developed a constantly
growing repertoire.
They focus on French song, modern music, and German Romanticism. They have received inspiration from Jan Philip Schulze, Pauliina Tukiainen, Ian Bostridge, Céline Dutilly, Gerold Huber, Ulrich Eisenlohr, and Charles Spencer, among others, and have participated in master classes for song duos in Trossingen and Husum. In summer 2022, they were invited to the Lied Academy of the 77th Hitzacker Summer Music Festival. They were finalists in the German Music Competition that same year and were awarded a scholarship from the German Music Competition Concert Fund as well as a special prize.
Her first CD, Between Heaven and Earth, featuring songs by Messiaen, Webern, Finzi, and Strauss, was released by Hänssler Classic in February 2025 and received unanimous critical acclaim. The album was included in the longlist for the German Record Critics' Award and thus nominated for the Best of German Albums list.
REPERTOIRE
SONG
Various songs by Alban Berg, Hector Berlioz, Ludwig van Beethoven, Leonard
Bernstein, Lili Boulanger, Nadia Boulanger, Johannes Brahms, Benjamin Britten,
Marguerite Canal, Ernest Chausson, Claude Debussy, Henri Duparc, Hanns Eisler, Gabriel
Fauré, Graciane Finzi, Edvard Grieg, among others
ORATORIO • CONCERT
Works by Bach, Brahms, Fauré, Handel, Haydn, Mahler, among others
OPERA
Beethoven, Derungs, Gluck, Handel, Mozart, among others
VOICE LESSONS
In addition to my artistic work as a soloist and in professional ensembles, I offer private singing lessons for beginners and advanced students. Lessons are available in-person in Munich or online. Feel free to contact me!