Richard Wagner at Baur au Lac

Siena Licht Miller, a German-American mezzo-soprano, studied voice at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She completed her training with courses at Opera Philadelphia, the Santa Fe Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Aspen Music Festival. She is a fellow of the Bagby Foundation and a prizewinner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Marilyn Horne Rubin Foundation, and the Gerda Lissner Foundation. Highlights of her career so far include role debuts as Hermia in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Second Lady in “Die Zauberflöte,” and one of the two solo parts in the world premiere of Philip Venables’ “Denis and Katya” at Opera Philadelphia. At the Aspen Opera Center, she sang the title role in Ravel’s “L’Enfant et les sortilèges” under the direction of Robert Spano. She regularly devotes herself to art song, performing in the “The Song Continues” series at Carnegie Hall in honor of her mentor Marilyn Horne and touring the U.S. with a recital alongside pianist Kevin Murphy. In the 2020/21 season, she was a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zurich Opera House, performing in productions such as “Maria Stuarda,” “Simon Boccanegra,” “Viva la mamma,” “Salome,” “Odyssey,” the ballet “Monteverdi,” “L’italiana in Algeri,” and as Flosshilde in “Das Rheingold.” Since the 2022/23 season, she has been a member of the Zurich Opera House ensemble and has recently appeared in “Barkouf,” “Salome,” “Anna Karenina,” “Lakmé,” “La rondine,” “Die Walküre,” and “Götterdämmerung,” as well as in the title role of Handel’s “Serse” at Theater Winterthur.

Ann-Katrin Stöcker studied piano, vocal coaching, and conducting in Frankfurt, as well as accompaniment, song interpretation, and chamber music at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome. She is a multiple national prizewinner of the “Jugend musiziert” competition, was a scholarship holder of the Richard Wagner Association, and received support from Yehudi Menuhin’s “Live Music Now” foundation. In addition to an active concert career as a soloist and chamber musician, she was engaged as a répétiteur at Theater Augsburg, the Staatstheater Braunschweig, and Oper Frankfurt while still a student. From 2012 to 2014, she worked at the Staatstheater Braunschweig as a répétiteur with conducting duties and as assistant to the General Music Director; in 2013, she made her conducting debut there with Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” Since 2014, she has been a répétiteur and deputy head of musical studies at Zurich Opera House, where she has conducted productions such as “Gold!”, “Konrad or the Child out of the Tin Can,” “Coraline,” “Odyssey,” “Jim Knopf and Lukas the Engine Driver,” and “The Land of Smiles.” In 2020, she served as Assistant Conductor at the Bayreuth Festival, and in 2022, she conducted “Così fan tutte” at the Jerusalem Lyric Opera Festival. She collaborates regularly with Simone Young on projects with the Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne and the Orchestre de Paris and remains active as a pianist and chamber music partner.

Xiaoming Wang wurde 1982 in China geboren. Er studierte Violine bei Xu Lu am Zentral-Konservatorium Peking und bei Gerhard Schulz in Wien. Erste Preise erhielt er bei der «MIDO International Violin Competition» und beim «Stephanie Hohl Wettbewerb» sowie den Sonderpreis beim «Leopold Mozart Wettbewerb» in Augsburg.

Als Solist trat Xiaoming mit bedeutenden Orchestern auf, u.a. mit dem Poznan Phiharmonic, dem Wiener Webern Symphonie Orchester, dem China NCPA Orchester, dem Ensemble Chaarts und dem China Philharmonic Orchestra. Konzerttourneen führten ihn durch ganz Europa, nach Asien, USA und Südamerika. Unter den internationalen Festivals sind zu nennen: Schleswig-Holstein-Musikfestival, Rheingau Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Verbier Festival, Lucerne Festival sowie NCPA Beijing und Shanghai Summer Music Festival.
Seit 2008 ist Xiaoming Wang Konzertmeister 1b bei der Philharmonia Zürich. Als Konzertmeister wirkte er auch beim Verbier Festival Orchester und als regelmässiger Gastkonzertmeister in Deutschland, China und der Schweiz.

Xiaoming ist Primarius des Stradivari Quartetts, welches jährlich 40 Konzerte spielt. CDs mit Quartetten von Mozart, Schumann und Schubert sind bisher erschienen.
Leidenschaftlich fördert Xiaoming  junge Talente, seit September 2016 als Dozent an der Kalaidos Musik Hochschule. Als Gastdozent wirkt er am Central Conservatory of Music Bejing und an Meisterkursen in Pila (Polen) und in Seoul.

Xiaoming Wang spielt eine Violine von Alessandro Gagliano 1706, eine Leihgabe des Kantons Zürich.

Mitglied der Philharmonia Zürich seit 2024

Lev Sivkov, 1990 in Russland geboren, begann seine musikalische Ausbildung in der frühen Kindheit mit seinen Eltern. Im Alter von fünf Jahren besuchte er die Musikschule in Nowosibirsk. Von 2006 bis 2009 studierte er an der Musikakademie Basel bei Ivan Monighetti. 2009-2013 setzte er sein Studium fort an der Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart bei Conradin Brotbek. Im Sommer 2010 hat er an der ‘‘Summer Music Academy‘‘ bei Janos Starker, Indiana University, USA, teilgenommen.

Er studiert zurzeit bei Jean-Guihen Queyras an der Musikhochschule in Freiburg.

2016 wirkte er al Solocellist der Dänischen Königlichen Oper in Kopenhagen.

Seit Saison 2017 ist Lev Solocellist der Philharmonia Zürich.

Lev Sivkov ist Preisträger zahlreicher Wettbewerbe: Erste Preise gewann er an der "W. Naumburg International Music Competition 2015" in New York, am "Concours International des Cordes 2015" in Gerardmer, Frankreich, am "Julio Cardona International String Instruments Competition 2015" in Covilha, Portugal (auch zwei Publikumspreise), am „Cello Domnick Preis 2009“ in Stuttgart und an der „International Valery Gavrilin International Competition 2005“ in Vologda, Russland.

Zahlreich sind auch seine zweiten Preise an Wettbewerben in Russland, Tschechien, Polen, Schweden, Portugal und Südkorea.

Lev Sivkov spielt ein Cello von Vincenzo Postiglione (1894) gestiftet von der Landessammlung für Streichinstrumente Baden Württemberg.

The Polish double bassist Dariusz Mizera is principal double bassist of the Zurich Opera Orchestra. He received his musical education in Poland and participated in masterclasses with François Rabbath, Yevgeniy Kolossov, and Franco Petracchi. Early in his career, he was invited to perform with various European ensembles and appeared on international stages under the baton of renowned conductors. He is a two-time ECHO Klassik Award winner and has made numerous recordings for European broadcasting stations. His discography includes, among others, a solo CD featuring works by Giovanni Bottesini and a recording for Danish Radio of his own chamber orchestra arrangement of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” As a soloist, he has performed with various orchestras and is a regular faculty member at international masterclasses. His extensive orchestral experience includes positions as principal double bassist with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, the Chamber Ensemble of the Warsaw Opera, and the Danish Radio Orchestra in Copenhagen — altogether representing more than 35 years of orchestral practice. In addition, he is deeply engaged in chamber music and has been a longtime member of La Scintilla. He also serves as a mentor and coach for young musicians. In 2025, he was awarded the Platinum Medal of the Académie des Arts, Sciences et Lettres in Paris.