Austrian mezzo soprano Daniela Lehner studied in Vienna, Salzburg and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She received scholarships to study on the Ravinia Festival Young Artists Programme, Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme and the Music Academy of the West. Prizes include a Georg Solti Scholarship, Rotary Prize, Prize of the Académie Musicale de Villecroze, and First Prize in the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition. She received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2008 and is currently a member of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme. A committed recitalist, Daniela has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Wigmore Hall, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, De Singel Antwerp, the Klavier Festival Ruhr, Kölner Philharmonie, as well as the Aldeburgh Festival, Cheltenham Festival, Chichester Festival and Oxford Lieder Festival. She has worked with leading pianists such as Mitsuko Uchida, Graham Johnson and Roger Vignoles. Since 2005 Daniela works closely with pianist José Luis Gayo. Apart from conventional repertoire, the duo also enjoys exploring lesser known German, Spanish and Latin-American works. Also passionate in community projects, the Lehner/Gayo duo participates in "Live Music Now" (founded by Yehudi Menuhin and Ian Stoutzker with the support of Musicians Benevolent Fund) and has given workshops and performances to UK’s welfare, educational, justice and health sectors who have limited access to classical music-making. In 2008, Daniela made her Royal Opera House Covent Garden debut, singing the role of Hermia in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In recording, she has recently participated in Graham Johnson's complete Schumann song recordings for Hyperion Records. Daniela recently made her debut at Wiener Konzerthaus with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra singing Handel and Mozart. Future engagements include concerts with Ulster Orchestra, Mozart Requiem with Sir Colin Davis in Barcelona, recordings with the BBCSSO and BBCSO, recital with Roger Vignoles in Atzenbrugg, Villa-Lobos with Tai Murray and a solo recital at the City of London Festival, and appearances at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Austrian Cultural Forum in London.
Photograph taken by Elisabeth Blanchet
I cannot thank the Borletti-Buitoni Trust enough for giving me this award and all the support that goes with it. It came to me at a very crucial moment and has made a big difference to my life. I would like to thank all the people involved in this Trust for their dedication and enthusiasm. Your support and your belief in my talent has been second to none, and I will always be deeply grateful for the help I received.