The German mezzo-soprano, Ursula Hesse von den Steinen, started her career at opera houses in Hamburg, Dresden and at the Komische Oper Berlin. Later engagements brought her to Brussels, Antwerp, Paris, Amsterdam and to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.

Among her roles are Fricka (Das Rheingold and Die Walküre), Eboli (Don Carlo), Venus (Tannhäuser), Clairon (Capriccio), Dalila (Samson and Dalila), the title role in Carmen, and Strange Princess (Rusalka). She made her debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam under the direction of Markus Stenz with Requiem for Hieronymus Bosch by Detlev Glanert.

Von den Steinen has collaborated with conductors including Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly and Sebastian Weigle. Among other engagements, there are projects in Basle, Berlin and the Göttingen Handel Festival, as well as Dutch National Opera productions of Die Zauberflöte, Lulu and Arabella.