Esther Kretzinger was born in the central European region of former Partium and grew up in Germany. She studied vocal & opera at the Mozarteum University Salzburg in Austria where she graduated with honors in 2008 and was awarded the Lilli Lehman Medal by the international Mozarteum foundation. Now she is working as an independent singer and artist. Esther is not only active as a soprano, she sees herself as an up-to-date artist who creatively works in different areas and who extensively follows an artistic approach in whatever she is doing. She sees her creative potential not only in her singing voice, she is also highly active as a festival curator and producer. Since 2014 she has been carrying out various cultural projects as the Weissenhorn Klassik Festival, the Kulturhaltestelle Berlin, and since 2021 also the Giacinto Scelsi Festival Basel. Both as a singer and a producer she dedicates herself to specific topics and narratives and creatively works them up. Her records with Gramola Vienna “Lieder im Volkston” (2011, juxtaposition of german, bohemian and hungarian folk songs) and “Sound of a poem” (2017, jazz arrangements of late-romantic and impressionistic songs) are significant examples of this work. Her objective is to redefine today’s appearance of an artist with multilayered activities and make it fit for the 21st century. She lives and works as a singer and cultural entrepreneur in Berlin, Germany. 

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As a singer she has been distinguished with many significant awards, among them the first prize at the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin and other awards at international competitions in Vienna, Graz and Hamburg. These competition successes were followed by extensive international concert touring and opera productions at the Salzburg State Theatre, Festspielhaus Salzburg, Mainfranken Theater Würzburg and the Norwegian National Opera, collaborating with conductors as Ivor Bolton, Peter Gülke, Markus Poschner, Ola Rudner, Sebastian Weigle among others. Throughout many years of an intense and versatile career, she has gained a high level of experience, which she is happy to share with future singers and music students. She is subsequently active as a guest teacher in Europe and Asia (China Conservatory of Music in Beijing among others).

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Esther’s early career had been shaped by classical repertoire mainly around Mozart and the First Viennese School. Quickly she also turned her attention to 20th and 21st century music that were offering artistic freedom through unusual casts, connection to other art forms and direct contact with present time. Her curiosity led her also to deal with Jazz and free improvising. Meanwhile, Esther’s repertoire choice is stylistically broad, but focuses mainly on pieces for small ensemble or solo pieces that make a special sense when matched together.