Biography

Gesine Heinrich, born in Lemgo, grew up in Bad Salzuflen, North Rhine-Westphalia.

She holds a master’s degree in philosophy and German studies from the University of Freiburg. While earning her M.A. degree, which culminated in a thesis on Immanuel Kant’s “Critique of Judgement”, she studied voice and drama in Freiburg (Robert Linz), Berlin (Janet Williams) and New York City (David L. Jones).

Since 1999, Gesine Heinrich has been working as a writer, presenter and actress for ARD – the German Radio & Television Network.

Since 2001, she has been performing internationally as a singer, actress and multilingual songwriter with a variety of solo shows, among them 5 x LOVE, a solo show with original songs in five languages (German, English, French, Italian, Spanish).

In 2007 and 2009 Gesine Heinrich accompanied the Austrian author Daniel Glattauer on his reading tours as the voice of Emmi Rothner, portrayed in his international bestselling novels “Love virtually” (“Gut gegen Nordwind”) and “Every seventh wave” (“Alle sieben Wellen”).

In 2011 she gave her New York debut at the Cabaret-Club Don’t Tell Mama.

In 2012 she was sponsored artist of the German Forum New York.

From January 2013 to March 2014 Gesine lived in Chelsea, New York City. During this time she performed at such important music and jazz clubs as Birdland, Feinstein‘s/54 Below, The Metropolitan Room, The Kitano, Lenox Lounge Harlem, Village Underground and Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar.

Gesine Heinrich was invited by the German Consulate General, New York City, for a concert on September 11 2013 celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty between France and Germany and the Franco-German Partnership.

On September 16, 2013 Gesine Heinrich was the support act for German rock star Herbert Groenemeyer at Irving Plaza, New York.

In 2016 she was invited by Freiburg Grenzenlos Festival to perform her solo show 5 x LIEBE! at SWR Studio Freiburg.

During a stay in Pompeii, Italy, in May 2017 Gesine wrote Gaia: a cycle of 12 poems about Gods and Goddesses from Greek mythology which she set to music and made it a song cycle in 2022 and January/February 2024.

Since 2018 Gesine has released 6 albums and 6 singles.

Beneath her original songs in five languages, she has set Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno” and William Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets to music.

With her release “Sirenenzaubertränen - Shakespeare Sonette” in April 2019 she has presented her settings of 22 Shakespeare Sonnets in Gesine’s new German translation.

In July 2019 her Rose Ausländer-Songs – settings of a selection of 13 English poems the Jiddish poet wrote in New York City (1946-56) – world premiered at Gerhart-Hauptmann-Haus, Duesseldorf.

For the 700th death anniversary of Dante Alighieri she released her first album with her settings of tercets of Dante’s “Inferno”, the first part of his “Divine Comedy”. Followed by her second album in March 2022 with more key elements from the “Inferno”.

In 2022 Gesine set to music 17 sonnets by Francesco Petrarca from his “Canzoniere” in preparation for the 650th death anniversary of Petrarca 2024.

In March/April 2023 she set to music 15 sonnets by the French poet Pierre de Ronsard from his collection “Sonnets pour Hélène” having in mind Ronsard’s 500th birthday 2024.

With her settings of the “Holy Sonnets” by the English poet and cleric John Donne (1572-1631) Gesine Heinrich in autumn 2023 is the first composer to present a complete musical rendering of all 19 “Divine Meditations” by Donne.

In December 2023 she set to music the poems from the classic children’s books “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass” by Lewis Carroll.

At the end of December 2023 and the beginning of March 2024 she chose 13 sonnets from Michelangelo Buonarroti’s “Rime” and set them to music. Among them the two poems which are dedicated to Dante whom Michelangelo greatly admired.

In June/July 2024 Gesine Heinrich wrote her Psalm Songs: 19 Psalms from the Old Testament, of which she composed 14 in the English translation of the Bible (King James Version) und 5 in Martin Luther’s German translation.

In September 2024 she set to music the prayer of abandonment “Rien que pour aujourd’hui” by St. Thérèse de Lisieux.

Gesine Heinrich is a musical ambassador between nations and cultures. Besides singing and writing songs in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish she so far also sings in Arabic, Armenian, Greek, Jiddish, Corsican, Portuguese, Russian, Sardic, Sicilian, Slovak and Hungarian.