The German mezzo-soprano Stefanie Irányi grew up in the Chiemgau area of Bavaria. She studied at the University of Music in Munich and has been a prize-winner at several music competitions, including the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau and the National Song Competition in Berlin.
In 2006, still during her studies, she made a successful debut at the opera house in Turin, Italy, in a new production of Giancarlo Menotti’s "The Consul". This was followed by engagements in leading Italian and European opera houses and concert venues. She has performed with conductors Asher Fisch, Jakub Hrůša, Philippe Herreweghe, Thomas Hengelbrock, Manfred Honeck, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano, Simon Rattle, among others.
In 2024, she already appeared as Herodias in concert performances of Strauss' "Salome" in Barcelona and toured Taiwan alongside the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Omer Meir Wellber with Beethoven's 9th Symphony. In April 2025, she will sing the role of Lucretia in Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari.
In the 2020/21 season, Stefanie Irányi made her critically acclaimed debuts in the role of Brangäne in a new production of Wagner‘s opera "Tristan und Isolde" at the Bari Opera House. "Splendid voice and phrasing", "solid, precise, deeply immersed in the character", "beauty of timbre, abundance of colors and important volume over the entire range as well as an irresistible stage presence”, were some of the press reactions to this performance.
She also sang the role of Fricka in "Das Rheingold" in a concert performance under the baton of Kent Nagano, and Luciano Berio‘s "Folk Songs" in the chamber music series of the Bavarian State Orchestra.
Other highlights included a concert performance of the first act of Wagner‘s "Die Walküre" with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Alexander Liebreich, where she made her debut in the role of Sieglinde, which she also sang with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Furthermore, she performed the role of Octavian in "Der Rosenkavalier" in Bologna, a Verdi Requiem in Basel, Mahler‘s Second Symphony with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler‘s Third Symphony with the Madrid OSRTVE Orchestra. She also could be heard in Nicola Campogrande‘s Second Symphony "Un mondo nuovo" (2022) in Alicante and Turin.
The mezzo-soprano has a special love for German art songs. Mostly accompanied by Helmut Deutsch, she has given song recitals at various festivals in Austria and Germany, for example at the Art Song Festival in Sindelfingen and at the Brucknerhaus in Linz.
About a performance of Wagner’s "Wesendonck-Lieder", which are seldomly heard in Israel, the newspaper "Haaretz" wrote: "Stefanie Irányi is a wonderful singer. It was pure pleasure to listen to her. Her charming sounding voice and her natural musicality give expression to every syllable.”
The artistic output of Stefanie Irányi is documented on several CD’s, such as a live recording of "Das Rheingold" with Simon Rattle and the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, a duet-CD with Michael Volle produced by Brillant Classics, and a recordings of Simon Mayr’s operas, including "Ginevra di Scozia", recorded by the Bavarian Radio in 2013. Also in 2013, she recorded Verdi’s "Rigoletto" with Leo Nucci for a DVD produced by the Festival Verdi Parma. Her first solo CD is called "Lamenti" and contains arias from operas by Hasse, Haydn and Händel, recorded with the Hofkapelle München. This recording was highly praised in the magazine "Opernglas".