Genia Kühmeier was born in Salzburg and initially studied music and vocal teaching at the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg before continuing her studies for solo voice at the University for Music in Vienna as a student of Margarita Lilova and Marjana Lipovsek. Further coaching with both continues to take place on a regular basis.
In January 2002, Genia Kühmeier was awarded the first prize at the Eighth International Mozart Competition in Salzburg which was the beginning of an international career in which she has already worked with such conductors as William Christie, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Colin Davis, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniel Harding, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Fabio Luisi, Kent Nagano, Sir Roger Norrington, Mark Minkowski, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle, Franz Welser-Möst and Christian Thielemann.
From 2003-2006 Genia Kühmeier was a member of the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera, where she received the "Eberhard Waechter Medaille" for her interpretation of Inès in La Favorite. She further appeared in such roles as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, First Flower Maiden in Parsifal, Adina in L'eliser d'amore, First Maid in Daphine, Marzelline in Fidelio, Zdenka in Arabella, Micaela in Carmen and her highly acclaimed Ilia in Domeneo in a new production of the Vienna State Opera at the Theater an der Wien where she will return for future engagements.
Genia Kühmeier made her long awaited debut as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte in 2003, a role she also performed with great success in a new production at the Ruhr-Triennale, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden and at her highly acclaimed opera debut at the Salzburg Festival under the artistic direction of Riccardo Muti in 2005, and in a new production by Pierre Audi in 2006. In 2008 she returned to Salzburg with this role as well as concerts of Brahms' Requiem, both led by Riccardo Muti.
Further highlights of her young career include her debut at La Scala in Milan in December 2002 in the role of Diane in Iphigénie en Aulide under the baton of Riccardo Muti. She returned to La Scala for the its reopening in December 2004 as Asterio in Salieri's L'Europa Riconosciuta under the artistic direction of Riccardo Muti. In January 2005 she sang the role of Ilia in a concert performance of Mozart's Idomeneo under the baton of Daniel Harding with the Mozart Festival in Salzburg.
During the last seasons Genia Kühmeier had several debuts such as at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Mozart's Finta Giardiniera and at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in Bizet's Carmen as well as the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Genia Kühmeier is also a frequent guest of renowned concert halls and festivals such as the Vienna Musikverein, Salzburg Summer and Easter Festival, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Ruhr Triennale, Styriarte, Rheingaufestival and Lucerne. She has performed with orchestras such as the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, Bavarian Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestre National de France, Concentus Musicus Wien and Camerata Salzburg.
Recent engagements have included concerts of Brahms' Requiem with the Vienna Philharmonic under Nikolaus Harnoncourt and with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Sir Colin Davis as well as with Sir Charles Mackerras. In addition, she has sung Haydn's Creation with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle at the Easter Festival in Salzburg as well as with the Concentus Musicus, and Haydn's Seasons under Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Styriarte Festival Graz.
Future concert engagements include Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with Bernarda Fink and the Berliner Barock Solisten in Paris, Berlin and Luzern, the final terzett of Strauss’ Rosenkavalier with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Fabio Luisi and Haydn's Creation with Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Styriarte Festival in Graz.
In recital Genia Kühmeier appeared at the Salzburg Mozarteum, Vienna Musikverein, as well as in Innsbruck and at the Schubertiade Festival in Schwarzenberg. Next season she can be heard in duo-recitals together with Bernarda Fink at Wigmore Hall in London, in Madrid and Brussels.
The 2008-09 season included such engagements as Davidde Penitente with Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Salzburg Mozartwoche and Haydn's Paukenmesse at Vienna's Musikverein. Further, she had concerts of Schumann's Paradies und die Peri with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, Schubert's E-flat-Major Mass with the Vienna Philharmonic and Franz Welser-Möst. On the opera stage she debuted in San Francisco as Ilia, as well as in the role of Micaela in Los Angeles and under Marc Albrecht at the De Nederlandse Opera in addition to her performances at the Vienna State Opera with Carmen and Arabella and at the Bavarian State Opera as Pamina and Micaela.
Her discography includes Mozart's Zauberflöte with Riccardo Muti (on DVD from the Salzburg Festival, released by Decca), Haydn's Creation with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants (EMI) as well as a solo recital album of lieder by Mozart, Schubert, Dvorák and Strauss (ORF). Haydn's The Seasons with Concentus Musicus and Nikolaus Harnoncourt as well as Brahm's Requiem with Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Nikolaus Harnoncourt were released in early 2009.
This is Genia Kuhmeier's International Artist Series and Twin Cities debut.