Kismara Pezzati is known for the tenderness and powerfulness of her mezzo-soprano voice. With a solid career in the opera business, she has performed under the baton of great conductors and stage directors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Lorin Maazel, Nello Santi, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Marek Janowski, Vladimir Jurowski, Kirill Petrenko, François Xavier Roth, Markus Stenz and Helmuth Rilling, Calixto Bieito, La Fura dels Baus and Peter Konvitchny, having shared the stage with colleagues such as Leo Nucci, Jonas Kaufmann, Piotr Beczała, Klaus Florian Vogt, Nina Stemme and Vesselina Kasarova, to name a few.

The mezzo-soprano’s expansive repertoire includes the roles of Amneris in Verdi’s Aida, Laura in La Gioconda, as well Dalila in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, having played Carmen in Germany, Neris in Cherubini’s Médée in Rio de Janeiro and Maffio Orsini in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia in Switzerland (St. Gallen). With a formidable warm low range, she has also sung many contralto parts such as Erda (Wagner’s Rheingold and Siegfried) in Essen, Gluck’s Orfeo and Britten’s Oberon (Midsummer Night’s Dream) in São Paulo, Mary (Flying Dutchman) in Luxembourg, Geneva, Bari, Caen and Zurich, Annina (Rosenkavalier) in Tokyo, Wesener’s Mutter (Die Soldaten by Zimmermann) and Contralto Solo (Die Eroberung von Mexiko by Rihm) in Cologne, Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto in Saint-Etienne, and Ms. Quickly (Falstaff) in Bogotá. 

Throughout her well-established career, Ms. Pezzati has collaborated with world-renown orchestras such as Berliner Philharmoniker, Geneva Chamber Orchestra, The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, OSESP (São Paulo Symphony Orchestra), and Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, having performed in some of the most important stages in Europe featuring Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall in London, Opera House Cologne, Opera House Zurich, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Solis in Montevideo, OSESP (Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo), and Teatro del Liceu de Barcelona.

The strong collaboration with Helmuth Rilling at the International Bach Academy comprises St. John’s Passion in Moscow and Christmas Oratorio by J. S. Bach at Liederhalle Stuttgart, Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au Bûcher in Caracas, Handel’s Messiah in Essen, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in Prague and Elijah by Mendelssohn in Milan with LaVerdi Orchestra.

On the concert stage, she gained recognition after her debut at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, singing El Amor Brujo by Falla, followed by the live CD recording of Hartmann’s 1st. Symphony. In Geneva, she sang Wesendonck Lieder in Henze’s version with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, in Hamburg, Rossini’s Stabat Mater at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival and, in Bogotá, Berio‘s Folksongs, Mahler‘s Symphony No. 2, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, having also presented this masterpiece in Germany (Duisburg) under Lorin Maazel. At Teatro Solis in Montevideo (Uruguay), she sang Heléne in Faust et Heléne by Lili Boulanger, Rückert Lieder by Mahler and the first recording of Carlos Estrada’s song cycle Robaiyat. She returned to Sala São Paulo in March 2020 as the soloist mezzo-soprano of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, accompanied by OSESP, days before the pandemic took over the world.

After that, she performed as Brigitta (Die Tote Stadt by Korngold) at the prestigious George Enescu Festival in Bucharest. In 2023, she was the mezzo soloist in Requiem by Verdi at the Theatro Amazonas under the baton of Marcelo de Jesus, and interpreted Azucena’s scenes (Il Trovatore) at the Opera Day’s Gala in concert at the Theatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro, among others. In the 2024 season, she was Wesenersmutter in Die Soldaten by Zimmermann on tour with the Gürzenich Orchester under the musical direction of François-Xavier Roth and stage direction of Calixto Bieito at the Cologne Philharmonic, at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and the Paris Philharmonie. Furthermore, she sang in São Paulo the Old Woman, the main female role of this world première The Young King by Lucas Galón, an opera inspired by the homonymous short story by Oscar Wilde. Soon she will be Zita in Gianni Schicchi, when she returns to the Solís Theater in Montevideo.

Her career and voice development are framed by several recordings, including Der Ring des Nibelungen under Janowski, Hartmann’s Symphony No.1 under Stenz, among some DVDs for the Zürich Opera House (Rigoletto and Tiefland). The latest one is the solo album Hildegard Now and Then, which is dedicated to Hildegard von Bingen’s music and her texts, with compositions by Silvia Berg.

This Brazilian-born singer is widely recognized by the last name “Pessatti”, but in 2020 she learned that the original spelling was “Pezzati” and has adopted it as a way to honour her Italian heritage.

But Kismara Pezzati goes beyond her career as an operatic singer.

She is, for instance, the idealizer of FEMINA, a staged recital with compositions by Silvia Berg and texts by Hildegard von Bingen and by Kismara herself. Besides creation and direction, she is also responsible for the script, translations and texts of the show, in which she interprets together with the maestro and pianist André dos Santos. 

Writing, which has accompanied her since childhood, only came to light on stage in her first solo a capella show a few years ago. In Feminino Céu e Terra, she took on the script, direction and interpretation of this one-woman show, which is about the life and work of Hildegard von Bingen in correlation with Brazilian work songs. A few years later, Kismara recorded her first solo CD, Hildegard Now & Then, on the Drama Musica label in London. As well as performing, she was also responsible for the musicological research and for choosing, supervising and translating the texts into the seven languages of the songs recorded: Latin, German, French, Portuguese, English, Italian and Spanish. 

These experiences encouraged her to continue experimenting and developing her role as an artist. So, in recent years, the artist has combined her extensive operatic know-how with her interest in writing. Hundreds of poems and several short stories are part of her authorial works. Recently, Kismara began writing librettos, the perfect blend of musical theater, literature and dramaturgy. The experience resulted in her first libretto, As Mortes de Arthur, commissioned by composer Elodie Bouny. Her second commission is underway, this time for composer Silvia Berg.

As Kismara has maintained her dedication to teaching alongside her career, she will be based in her home country again from March 2024, to lead the Opera Academy of the Theatro São Pedro at EMESP in São Paulo, the most traditional Opera studio in the country.

In other words, transdisciplinarity has always been her calling. She began her studies in acting and singing in Brazil, graduating from the School of Music and Fine Arts in Paraná (EMBAP). She then completed her master’s degree at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, with Prof. Norma Sharp and Julia Varady. Invited to integrate the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House, she later joined the ensemble of that theatre for three seasons. Already a high-level professional, she has further enhanced her technical skills and repertoire over the years, most recently working under the guidance of Dr. Grace Bumbry, KS until her death. From 2024 onwards she is also a PhD student in musicology at the USP (São Paulo University), where she will continue her research on Hildegard von Bingen.

Fluent in five languages (German, Portuguese, Spanish, English and Italian), Kismara Pezzati was based in Zürich for over 20 years and is also a Swiss citizen, now with current residence in São Paulo, Brazil.