Simone Kermes is a German coloratura soprano, especially known for her virt… Read Full Bio ↴Simone Kermes is a German coloratura soprano, especially known for her virtuoso voice, suited to the opera seria genre, of the Baroque and early Classical repertoires.
Born in Leipzig, Kermes studied with Helga Forner at the Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre in her home city. She also attended master classes of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer Dieskau. In 1993 she won first prize in the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Competition in Berlin, and in 1996 she was awarded second prize in the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig.
Kermes has performed at many important theatres, festivals and concert halls internationally, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Staatsoper Stuttgart, the Bonn Opera House, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Schwetzingen Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Rheingau Musik Festival, Festa de musica Lisbona, the Ruhr Triennale arts festival, Triennale di Colonia, Dresda MDR, Figures sacrées Paris, Autumn of Praga, Bach festival Leipzig , and Bonn e Resonanzen Vienna. She has also performed with many notable orchestras, including Gewandhaus Lipsia, Symphonic Orchestra of Prague, Venice Baroque Orchestra, Classical Orchestra of Madrid, Staatskapelle of Dresden, Orchestra of the Comunale of Bologna, Orchestra regionale Toscana, Complesso Barocco, Orchestra of the Fiandre.
On the opera stage she has performed many roles, including Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and the title role in Euridice. She has also portrayed numerous Händel heroines, including Adelaide in Lotario, Asteria in Tamerlano, Laodice in Mitridate Eupatore, Merab in Saul, and the title roles in Alcina, Deidamia, and Rodelinda.

An die Einsamkeit
Simone Kermes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Einsamkeit
Einsamkeit
Du Qual der Hertzen
Du Qual
Du Qual der Hertzen
Du verderbst mir
Du verderbst mir alle
Alle Lust

Will ich nur ein wenig schertzen
Will ich nur ein wenig schertzen
Finden sich die größten Schmertzen
In der abgezehrten Brust
In der abgezehrten Brust
Einsamkeit
Du Qual der Hertzen
Du Qual der Hertzen
Du verderbst mir
Du verderbst mir alle Lust

Du verderbst mir
Du verderbst mir alle Lust

Overall Meaning

The song "An die Einsamkeit" by Simone Kermes is about loneliness and the pain it causes. The lyrics repeat the word "Einsamkeit," which means "solitude" or "loneliness," emphasizing the theme throughout the song. The singer expresses the torment that loneliness brings, calling it the "Qual der Hertzen" (the torment of the heart). Despite wanting to experience a little pleasure, even that is ruined by the presence of loneliness. The lyrics suggest that the greatest pains are found in the "abgezehrten Brust" (emaciated chest), or the emptiness felt inside when one is truly alone.

The song's dreary melody fits the desolation that loneliness brings, and the lyrics express the desperate struggle to find relief from it. The repetition of "Einsamkeit" builds a sense of hopelessness and despair that is felt throughout the song. It is a powerful expression of the emotional weight that comes with loneliness.

Line by Line Meaning

Einsamkeit
Loneliness

Du Qual der Herzen
You torment of the heart

Du Qual
You suffering

Du Qual der Herzen
You torment of the heart

Du verderbst mir
You spoil for me

Du verderbst mir alle
You spoil for me all

Alle Lust
All joy

Will ich nur ein wenig scherzen
If I just want to jest a little

Finden sich die größten Schmerzen
The greatest pains are found

In der abgezehrten Brust
In the wasted/skeletal chest

Einsamkeit
Loneliness