MEZZO SOPRANO
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Artistic Director & Luxury Brand Ambassador
Friederike Krum is an award-winning German mezzo-soprano based in London, internationally acclaimed for her vocal versatility, emotional depth, and captivating stage presence. Celebrated for effortlessly crossing genres—from operatic classics to jazz, musical theatre, and crossover—her performances resonate with audiences across the globe, whether in prestigious concert halls, royal ceremonies, or broadcast to millions on television.
Her expansive career includes collaborations with some of the world’s most iconic musical figures, including Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, Neil Shicoff, Agnes Baltsa, Russell Watson, and Sir Rod Stewart. In 2020, she was personally invited by music legend Nile Rodgers to perform at a globally streamed Christmas concert alongside Robbie Williams, Tony Bennett, and Katherine Jenkins.
A frequent headliner at world-renowned venues, Friederike made her debut at the Royal Albert Hall in 2018 with Russell Watson, receiving standing ovations. She returned to this iconic stage in subsequent years, including performances with the BBC & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and starred at Cadogan Hall under the baton of Cristian Mandeal, performing works by Rachmaninoff and Górecki. Trained at the prestigious Hamburg College of Music under Professor Ingrid Kremling, Friederike later refined her artistry with the legendary Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Her exceptional career has been portrayed in several television documentaries, and she has won several awards.
Friederike is widely recognised for her role as a cultural ambassador between nations. She has been a featured soloist at high-profile royal, diplomatic and military events, singing for dignitaries such as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and HM King Charles III. She was chosen by the German Ministry of Defence to perform at the official WWI Centenary Remembrance Concert at Berlin Cathedral in 2018, and in 2014, she travelled to Afghanistan at the request of the German Forces to perform for the NATO troops. With Prince Alexander zu Schaumburg-Lippe she did a "Classic meets Jazz' concert tour through Germany.
Dedicated to charitable causes, Friederike was appointed the first-ever Ambassador of the Chelsea Pensioners’ Scarlets Appeal in 2018 and named Ambassador of the Irish Guards Charity in 2023. She also supports the José Carreras Leukaemia Foundation, performing at its prestigious TV Gala alongside Plácido Domingo Jr., and was recently named an official Ambassador for Grange Park Opera in Surrey (2024). Her Christmas duet "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", with Italian actor Bruno Maccallini, reached No.1 in the German Classical Charts.
Equally at home on the jazz stage, Friederike collaborated in 2020 with James Pearson, Artistic Director of Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, on her Gershwin tribute album Somebody Loves Me – The Songs of Gershwin, receiving critical acclaim and personal praise from the late HM Queen Elizabeth II. Her passion for cultural dialogue was also spotlighted during a live interview on GB News with Nigel Farage during the Vigil of the Princes, where she discussed royal music and Anglo-German relations. On the day of King Charles III’s Coronation, she was honoured to perform the UK National Anthem live on national television. In addition to her busy performance schedule, Friederike is developing A Night at the Opera, a new touring production celebrating operatic highlights, designed to make the art form more accessible to wider audiences. She is also creating an educational television concept aimed at inspiring a love for classical music in younger generations.
Whether performing for royalty, dignitaries, or private audiences, Friederike Krum continues to enchant the world with her rich mezzo voice, artistry, and genuine passion for music.
THE STORY OF MY GERSHWIN ALBUM
It’s been quite a journey. During a career that has lasted over three decades and taken her from her native Germany to London, Friederike Krum has learned from the best, sang with the best and deployed her extraordinary mezzo-soprano in the service of Opera, Jazz, classical Lied and Musicals.
Now, on her 2nd Gerswhin album 'Somebody Loves Me', with her own unique and experienced vocals she explores the timeless music of George and Ira Gershwin, stripped back to just her voice and the piano of Ronnie Scott’s Artistic Director, James Pearson.
“Why Gershwin?” she smiles. “Why not? George and Ira Gershwin’s music has followed me all my life since I heard the song 'Somebody Loves Me' at school when I was 11 - it was love at first listen. Gershwin has the same effect on people like ABBA: everybody loves the songs from young to old. Gershwin’s music reflects the desire for romance and the understanding that all we really want to do is to love and be loved.
For Friederike, the improv aspect of Jazz as a contrast to the more structured nature of classical music has always been vitally important, allowing her to feel and interpret the songs. Without sheet music, but with Friederike co-producing, arrangements were worked out as she and James Pearson recorded.
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On the album, Friederike strips down the best loved Gershwin love songs to just voice and piano plus the occasional clarinet, played by Ed Barker and those songs soar in the purest and most intimate of settings. “All we really worked on was finding a suitable key and I explained to James the feel I wanted for the songs and album overall and after that we made it up from there,” she purrs. “It was a magical process.” “I had a clear vision of how the album should sound which was smooth, mellow and intimate, which is why I chose not to use my classical voice but a more mellow, warmer register. Luckily with James at my side it was easy as we understand each other when it comes to music almost without words and feel the music of Gershwin in the same way”
”With its smoothness, its unified feel and those spectacular, emotion-drenched vocals, the album nods to Friederike’s heroes: Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and the deeper side of Doris Day, but it shines new light through an old window. It is unmistakeable, uniquely Friederike Krum.
But to understand her musical destination now, you need to take a step back. Proficient on piano and cello as a child, the daughter of a Hamburg pharmaceutical factory director and music loving mother, she studied singing under Prof Ingrid Kremling and later worked privately with the legendary and legendarily fierce Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, widely regarded as the greatest soprano of the 20th Century.
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After a successful career in Germany, where she sang alongside Plácido Domingo, Agnes Baltsa and Neil Shicoff, she moved to London in 1999 and got married.
In Britain, she enjoyed motherhood while continuing her career in a new country.
“I’ve enjoyed being a mum from the first moment but I would lie if I said it wasn’t at times a tough change from feeling the thrill and joy of singing for a sold out concert hall, to tidying up playrooms that seemed messy again fifteen minutes later. “Before my kids were born, I had been singing, performing and travelling extensively but I never had the desire to be famous and known everywhere by everyone. It was always about the music.” "I willingly made the transition from being on stage myself to watching my kids on stage instead in school plays. They actually performed in the Royal Albert Hall first and trust me, they still enjoy rubbing that one in.
