Ciesinski, Kristine
Ciesinski, Kristine
Ciesinski, Kristine, American soprano, sister of Katherine Ciesinski; b. Wilmington, Del., July 5, 1952. She studied at Temple Univ. (1970–71), the Univ. of Del. (1971–72), and Boston Univ. (1973–74; B.A., 1974); in 1977 she won the Gold Medal in the Geneva International Competition and first prize in the Salzburg International Competition. She made her N.Y. concert debut as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah (1977) and her European operatic debut as Baroness Freimann in Lortzing’s Der Wildschütz at the Salzburg Landestheater (1979), remaining on its roster until 1981; was subsequently a member of the Bremen State Opera (1985–88). She made guest appearances with the Cleveland Opera (1985), Glasgow’s Scottish National Opera (1985), Toronto’s Canadian Opera Co. (1986), Leeds’s Opera North (1986), the Augsburg Opera (1986), Cardiff’s Welsh National Opera (1986), Munich’s Bavarian State Opera (1989), London’s English National Opera (1989–93), and Milan’s La Scala (1992). In 1996 she appeared as Salome at the English National Opera. She also sang extensively in concerts, often appearing with her sister. Her finest roles include Iphigénie, Medea, Beethoven’s Leonora, Cassandra, La Wally, Eva, Elisabeth in Tannhauser, Chrysothemis, Ariadne, Salome, and Tosca. She married Norman Bailey in 1985.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire