Agnieszka Rehlis graduated from the Academy of Music in Wrocław, Poland, where she studied with Barbara Ewa Werner. She currently works with Dariusz Grabowski.
Between 1996 and 2007 Ms Rehlis was a soloist of the Wrocław Opera, where she sang roles including Laura in a new production of Ponchielli’s La Gioconda staged on the Odra river in Wrocław (TVP, 2003) and Aza in Paderewski’s Manru (DUX, Fryderyk for Best Polish Music Recording, 2004).
In 2007 she became a freelance singer. For many years, she mainly focused on concert work, her repertoire including over 80 pieces ranging from Bach to contemporary composers. She performed at leading concert halls in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Ukraine, Lithuania, Austria, Latvia, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, and such festivals as Wratislavia Cantans, Chopin Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój, Probaltica Music & Art Festival of the Baltic States, Usedomer Music Festival in Peenemunde, Festival Pablo Casals in Prades, Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, festivals of sacred music in Marseille and Nuremberg, George Enescu International Festival in Bucharest, Rheingau Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Contrasts International Music Festival in Lviv, Prague Spring, Bregenzer Festspiele, Beijing Music Festival, Café Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival, and Klarafestival in Brussels. She worked with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR), NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg / Elbphilharmonie, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de la Juventud Venezolana Simón Bolivar, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, London Symphony Orchestra, Israel Camerata under a range of excellent conductors.
Between 1999 and 2017 Ms Rehlis regularly collaborated with Krzysztof Penderecki. In November 2014 she sang in the world premiere of his Dies Illa in Brussels as part of the Thousand Voices for Peace project, a recording of which was included on the album Penderecki conducts Penderecki (Grammy for Best Choral Performance, 2017).
In opera, Agnieszka Rehlis was Hannah in the world premiere of David Poutney’s production of Weinberg’s The Passenger at the Bregenz Festival, later reprising the role at the Houston Grand Opera, Lincoln Center Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Florida Grand Opera. Subsequently, she made a very successful debut as Lisa, the leading role in the same opera, at the Polish National Opera. In Warsaw she could also be heard as Maffio Orsini in a new production of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, Hagar in Knapik’s Moby Dick, Marta in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, or Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco. In 2016 she sang Amneris in Verdi’s Aida at the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn.
Her 2017 performance as Adalhiza in Bellini’s Norma alongside Edita Gruberova at the Polish National Opera proved a turning point in her career that led to major opera debuts. She sang in Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel at the Opernhaus Zürich, Scottish Opera, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Polish National Opera, and was praised as Azucena in Verdi’s Il trovatore at th DomStufen-Festspiele in Erfurt, Konzert Theater Bern, and recently at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Sevilla. She was Amneris and Carmen at the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen and National Theatre in Prague, Anna in Berlioz’s Les Troyens at the Semperoper Dresden, Fenena at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Khivrya in Mussorgsky’s The Fair at Sorochyntsi at the Komische Oper Berlin, and Waltraute in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo. In 2021 she triumphed as Azucena in Verdi’s Il trovatore at the Zürich Opernhaus opposite Piotr Beczała. In 2022 she made a debut at the Teatro San Carlo in Napels and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Amneris in Aida under Antonio Pappano, which earned her glowing reviews.
On 15 October 2021 she was awarded the Silver Gloria Artis Medal for Services to Culture by the Polish culture minister.
Future plans include major appearances at the Teatro alla Scala, Dutch National Opera Amsterdam, Sydney Opera House, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Zurich Opernhaus, Berlin Staatsoper, Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia among others.
