Career
She made her operatic debut at the Staatstheater in Nuremberg as Ännchen in Der Freischütz which led to a contract with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where she primarily sang in operas by Mozart and Strauss. On 6 September 2007, Petersen sang the role of Aphrodite in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze"s Phaedra at the Berlin State Opera. Another world premiere came in May 2008, when she sang the role of Marta in Manfred Trojahn"s Louisiana Grande Magia at the Dresden Semperoper.
Petersen has also appeared on the stages of Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, London, Paris, Geneva, and Monte Carlo.
In addition to her operatic roles, Petersen is known for her performances in works by Johann Sebastian Bach with conductors Ton Koopman and Helmuth Rilling and for her Lieder recitals with pianist Jendrik Springer. She sang the title role in the premiere of the opera Medea by Aribert Reimann at the Vienna State Opera in 2010.
Petersen made an exceptionally strong impression in her unexpected assumption of the role of Ophélie in Ambroise Thomas"s Hamlet at the New York Metropolitan Opera in March 2010. She spent less than four days preparing for the role, which, a reviewer remarked, "to judge from her beautiful and emotionally vulnerable singing, she clearly relishes.".