The American soprano Robin Johannsen came to Europe as a scholarship holder of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and soon became a permanent member of the company. After three years she moved to the Leipzig Opera, and since 2008 she has been working as a freelance artist.
Her engagements have taken her to the Theater an der Wien, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Megaron in Athens, the Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper Berlin, the Hamburgische Staatsoper, the Teatro Regio Torino, the opera houses of Stuttgart and Frankfurt, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and the Bayreuth Festival. Her roles included Susanna in Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro", Norina in Donizetti's "Don Pasquale", Oscar in Verdi's "Un ballo in maschera", the title role in Handel's "Almira", Soeur Constance in Poulenc's "Les dialogues des Carm élites», Marzelline in Beethoven's «Leonore», Konstanze in Mozart's «Die Entführung aus dem Serail», Fiordiligi in «Così fan tutte», the title role in Telemann's «Emma und Eginhard» and Adina in Donizetti's «L'elisir d'amore».
As a concert singer, she has performed with orchestras such as the Dresden Philharmonic, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music, the RIAS Chamber Choir, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and the symphony orchestras of Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Dallas and Cincinnati. She works closely with René Jacobs and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. She regularly appears as a guest with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, La Cetra Basel, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, Concerto Köln, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the La Folia Barockorchester and the B'Rock Orchestra. She has worked with conductors such as Jonathan Cohen, Marin Alsop, Teodor Currentzis, Ottavio Dantone, Antonello Manacorda, Andrea Marcon, Raphaël Pichon, Jérémie Rhorer, Thomas Hengelbrock, Philippe Herreweghe, Christian Thielemann, Manfred Honeck, Ton Koopman, Nicholas McGegan, Mirga Grazinyté-Tyla and Philippe Jordan.
Her CD recordings include: "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" under René Jacobs (harmonia mundi), the solo CD "In dolce amore" – Arias and Cantatas by Antonio Caldara with Alessandro De Marchi and Academia Montis Regalis (dhm/Sony Music); "Parnasso in festa" with Andrea Marcon and La Cetra (Pentatone); the title role in "Didone abbandonata, with music by Vinci and Handel, with Wolfgang Katschner and the Lautten Compagney (dhm/Sony Music); Telemann: "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" with Concerto Melante (dhm/Sony Music); "Napoli galante" – Neapolitan Arien with Andreas Küppers and Teatro del Mondo (Perfect Noise/Harmonia Mundi).