A global star and the undisputed prima donna at the Court of Bonn: with her enchanting voice, Magdalena Willmann captivated everyone around her, including the young Beethoven, who fell head over heels in love with her. In this third volume of the acclaimed Edition Hofkapelle series, soprano Chen Reiss brings this remarkable artistic personality vividly to life with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn under the baton of Dirk Kaftan.

Magdalena’s ability to unite luminous high registers with a rich, expressive lower range reflects the very qualities that set her apart from other sopranos at the time. From the dramatic intensity of Romberg’s Con questo ferro, indegno! to the lyrical introspection of Beethoven’s Erste Liebe, Himmelslust, the programme highlights the emotional and technical extremes that defined her art. This unique portrait demands both virtuosity and dramatic insight which is masterfully embodied by Chen Reiss whose refined tone and stylistic versatility make her the ideal interpreter of this repertoire.

Highlights include Waldstein’s elegant Il primo amore, whose poignant concluding rondò captures the sorrow of lost love with remarkable sensitivity, the overture to Haydn’s opera L’isola disabitata, as well as Reicha’s La Primavera where the soloist shines with rapid passages using elaborate pencilled ornamentation from the original manuscript offering a rare glimpse into details of Magdalena’s interpretation.

The historic roots of today’s Beethoven Orchester Bonn lie in the original Hofkapelle Bonn, where Beethoven, Reicha, and Romberg themselves were active. By performing this repertoire, the orchestra reconnects with its own artistic lineage, lending the recording a rare authenticity. This portrait of a forgotten diva thus becomes not only a musical reconstruction, but a living continuation of Bonn’s unique musical tradition."