Christine Schäfer is a graduate of the Berlin Conservatory, where she studied with Professor Ingrid Figur, the late Arleen Augér, Aribert Reimann, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Sena Jurinac and enjoys one of the most successful international opera, concert, recital and recording careers of her generation.

Christine Schäfer’s diverse opera credits include the roles of Konstanze Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Cherubino Le Nozze di Figaro and Donna Anna Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival; Konstanze, Gilda Rigoletto, Sophie Werther and Asteria Tamerlano at Covent Garden; Lulu, Gretel Hänsel und Grete, Sophie and Gilda at the Metropolitan Opera; Messiaen’s St Francois d’Assise, Donna Anna, Cherubino and La Traviata at the Opera National de Paris; Pamina Die Zauberflöte, Cleopatra Giulio Cesare and Alcina for De Nederlandse Opera, Sophie in San Francisco and Lulu at the Glyndebourne Festival. Christine Schäfer is now a regular guest at the Staatsoper Berlin, where her roles there include La Traviata, Konstanze, Adele Die Fledermaus and Cherubino.

In an impressively diverse concert repertoire, Christine Schäfer enjoys a flourishing career with regular appearances on the major stages of Europe and America and collaborations with many of today’s pre-eminent conductors including Abbado, Levine, Harnoncourt, Boulez, Eschenbach, Haitink, Harding, Gatti, Mehta, Metzmacher, Thielemann and Rattle. Her 2011 concert schedule was particularly impressive and inclusded: Brahms - Requiem: Vienna Philharmonic, Daniele Gatti, Vienna and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, Los Angeles; Britten – Illuminations: Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Paris, Jukka-Pekka Saraste; Händel – La Resurrezione: Concentus Musicus, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Vienna; Messiah: Lautten Compagney Berlin, Erwin Ortner, Vienna; Mahler - 4. Symphonie: Berlin Philharmonic, Simon Rattle; Mahler - das klagende Lied: Berlin Philharmonic, Vladimir Jurowski; Mozart – concert arias: Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado; Schönberg – Pierrot Lunaire: Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim and Klangforum Wien, Michael Boder; Strauss – orchestral songs: Munich Philharmonic, Christian Thielemann; Zemlinsky - lyric symphonie: Vienna Philharmonic, Franz Welser-Möst, Salzburg.

After a successful 1988 recital début at the Berlin Festival singing Aribert Reimann's Nachträume, Christine Schäfer has gone on to develop an international recital career, making regular tours of North America and Japan, and frequent appearances at such renowned venues as London’s Wigmore Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein.  As part of the inaugural Ruhr Triennale in 2002, Christine Schäfer presented an acclaimed interpretation of Schubert’s Die Winterreise in a staging by Oliver Hermann and accompanied by Irwin Gage.

A much-recorded artist, Christine Schäfer's discography includes Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Les Arts Florissants/Christie (Erato); Mozart and Strauss arias with the Berlin Philharmonic/Abbado, Bach’s Wedding Cantatas with MAK/Goebel, Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Boulez’ Pli selon Pli with the Ensemble Intercontemporain/Boulez and a recital disc of Debussy and Chausson, accompanied by Irwin Gage, all for Deutsche Grammophon.  Together with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christine Schaefer has recorded for Teldec, Bach St Matthew Passion and Mozart Missa Breves, and for BMG Mozart Requiem and Handel Messiah. Christine Schaefer is also featured on Graham Johnson's acclaimed series of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms Lieder for Hyperion. Sony will present her first opera album “Christine Schäfer ARIAS” in autumn 2011.

On the Capriccio label, Christine Schaefer performs on the multi award-winning Zemlinsky Lyrische Sinfonie (Eschenbach/Orchestre de Paris) and together with the Petersen Quartet, in an Aribert Reimann collection of Mendelssohn/Schumann song transcriptions, ”…. oder soll es Tod bedeuten?”, winner of the 2007 ECHO Klassik Award for Best Lied recording.  A more recent collaboration with  Onyx Classics has earned her outstanding reviews for Schubert’s Die Winterreise and her highly-personalised collection of  Purcell and Georg Crumb, both accompanied by Eric Schneider.

Operatic highlights of Christine Schaefer’s recent seasons have included Violetta in Marthaler’s controversial new production of La Traviata at Paris’ Palais Garnier, her return to the Met for a new production of Hänsel und Gretel, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, a first foray into Rossini in David Alden’s new Il Turco in Italia as well as Konstanze in a new Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, conducted by Philippe Jordan, both at Berliner Staatsoper. Her Vienna operatic debut as Handel’s Partenope in a new production at the city’s historic Theater an der Wien, conducted by Christoph Rousset was conducted in 2009, she returns there for Orphelia from Hamlet in 2012. At Munich State Opera she opened the 2011 summer festival with Angel/St. Francois d´Assise by Messiaen. She´ll return there in summer 2014 as Cherubino.

Christine Schaefer’s appearance at the 2009 Salzburg Festival the title role in Handel’s Theodora was highly acclaimed. The year ended with Adele/Die Fledermaus, conducted by Zubin Mehta, at the Berliner Staatsoper. 2010 began with a return to the Met in Der Rosenkavalier with James Levine and to Covent Garden with Asteria in Handel’s Tamerlano. The 2011/12 season saw her perform La Traviata, Konstanze and Cherubino in Berlin State Opera. In October 2012 returned to the Met to sing Cherubino and in December 2012 Vienna State Opera hosts her debut as Komponist in Strauss´ Ariadne. 

Recent Concert appearances took her to Berlin with Metzmacher, London with Haitink, Vienna with Jurowski, San Francisco with Eschenbach and Paris with Gatti.  Recitals venues include Istanbul, Cologne, Frankfurt, Barcelona, New York and Vienna.

The immediate future will include opera productions in Munich, Vienna, Berlin and New York; concerts in Berlin (Rattle), Los Angeles (Dudamel), Vienna (Harnoncourt) and Munich (Thielemann). Recitals will include Munich, Berlin, Brussels, Lisbon and Luxembourg.

Since autumn 2011 Christine Schäfer is a guest professor at Berlin Music University “Hanns Eisler”.