“For me, being a singer is not only a profession; it is the most human way of life. Our body is our instrument, and our sound mirrors our soul. A singer’s existence depends on both body and soul, so we must take constant care of both. It is a journey of getting to know and love ourselves, and of giving love to others. I believe that love is the only reason for our existence, and therefore music keeps our minds awake and our souls harmonious and happy.
As a singer, I travel around the world, which means I must make many sacrifices, but it also allows me to learn about different cultures and languages, each of which opens up a new world to me. For this, I am very grateful.”
One of Hungary’s most outstanding sopranos. She is a two-time Hattyú Award-winning chamber singer of the Hungarian State Opera, recipient of the Mária Sudlik and Bertalan Székely Awards, and a holder of the Hungarian Silver Cross of Merit.
The beginning of her international career was marked by her overwhelming victory at the 2009 Geneva International Singing Competition. Since then, she has appeared on the most significant national and international stages in opera roles, concerts, and song recitals alike.
Her most important roles include the Italian Puccini and Verdi heroines: Mimì, Liù, Magda, Desdemona, Violetta, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, as well as Leoncavallo’s Nedda. She is equally recognized for Mozart’s Countess, Ilia, Donna Anna, and Pamina, as well as Wagner and Strauss heroines such as Arabella, Marschallin, Daphne, Eva, Gutrune, Dritte Norn, Woglinde, Weber’s Agathe, and Gänsemagd in Humperdinck’s Königskinder. She has also performed with great success as Debussy’s Mélisande, Bizet’s Micaëla, Dorotka in Weinberger’s Schwanda, Gluck’s Euridice, Handel’s Partenope, and Purcell’s Dido.
At the heart of bel canto, in Modena at the Pavarotti Theater, she made her debut in 2007 as one of Mirella Freni’s most cherished students. She later refined her vocal technique in Hanover with Carol Richardson-Smith and Jeffrey Smith, expanding her German repertoire. Júlia Bikfalvy remains her mentor, coach, and spiritual support to this day, having launched her singing career in 2001.
She made her debut at La Scala in Milan in 2023 in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, followed by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under Riccardo Chailly. In 2026, she returned as Woglinde in David McVicar’s Ring production with Alexander Soddy and Simone Young. She made a successful debut as Desdemona at the Semperoper Dresden in 2024. She is a regular performer at the Budapest Wagner Days under the musical direction of Ádám Fischer, where she has been heard in roles such as Gutrune and Eva. She considers both the Hungarian State Opera and the Graz Opera houses her artistic homes, where she has debuted her most significant roles and worked with directors such as Georges Delnon, Kirsten Dehlholm, Miklós Szinetár, Frank Hilbrich, Dirk Schmeding, and Philipp Krenn. With the Freiburger Barockorchester and René Jacobs, she has sung Donna Anna, Ilia, Euridice, and Agathe on numerous European tours.
Her concert repertoire has expanded through numerous performances of symphonic and chamber works, including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Ádám Fischer and Riccardo Chailly, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Gergely Madaras, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Henrik Nánási and Clemens Schuldt, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Ádám Fischer and Riccardo Chailly, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 with Michael Sanderling, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 “Lobgesang” with Thomas Dausgaard, and Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 with Gergely Vajda.
She has also performed Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with René Jacobs and András Keller, Beethoven’s Egmont with Nikolai Alexeev, Dvořák’s Te Deum and Stabat Mater with Florian Helgath, Fauré’s Requiem at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass in St. Michael’s Church in Hamburg, Bruckner’s Te Deum with János Kovács, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater with Riccardo Frizza, Vivaldi’s Gloria with Manfred Huss, Haydn’s Die sieben letzten Worte unsers Erlösers with Gergely Dubóczky, José Cura’s Te Deum conducted by the composer at the Enescu Festival, Bach’s Johannes Passion with Tibor Bogányi, Mendelssohn’s Paulus and Elijah with György Vashegyi, as well as Psalm 42 with János Kovács, Verdi’s Requiem with Francesco Angelico, Donizetti’s Messa di Requiem with Speranza Scappucci, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Péter Dobszay, Handel’s Brockes Passion with Howard Arman, Liszt’s Missa Solemnis with Róbert Farkas, and Arvo Pärt’s Como cierva sedienta, performed in the presence of the composer on the occasion of his 80th birthday at the Manchester Chamber Festival with Gábor Takács-Nagy.
Her vocal symphonic concert experiences includes Debussy’s Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien with Csaba Somos and La voix humaine with Máté Szabó-Sípos Ravel’s Shéhérazade with Vasily Sinaisky, Britten’s Les Illuminations with Budapest String Orchestra, Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été with Francesco Angelico, Gyöngyösi Levente’s Istenkép and Illés szekerén with Gergely Kesselyák, Mahler songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Gergely Dubóczky, Strauss’ Four Last Songs with János Kovács and Alejo Perez, Mosolov’s Four Newspaper Announcments and Three Children Pieces with Francesco Bossaglia, and Shostakovich’s Seven Romances on poems of A. Blok at Festival Academy.
Her song recitals with pianist Jan Philip Schulze include programs such as “Orient Express,” “Songs from the Red October Revolution to Perestroika,” “Flower Power,” and “Dans le salon de Pauline Viardot,” performed at venues including Teatro Bibiena in Mantua, Radio France, Davos Festival, Tonhalle Zurich, the Louvre Museum in Paris, Budapest Music Center, the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, the Capitole de Toulouse, and the Budapest Spring Festival.
The Hungarian Radio among others preserves her recordings of Mussorgsky’s song cycle “Detskaya”, as well as Purcell and Dowland songs.
She is also devoted to operetta, a genre in which she has performed in productions with the WDR Cologne and Helmuth Froschauer, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with Marc Albrecht, with the Tatarstan Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Sladkovsky, at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, and in the “Salute to Vienna” concert series in Toronto.
She has appeared in gala concerts alongside star partners such as Elīna Garanča at Müpa Budapest, José Carreras and Plácido Domingo at the Papp László Budapest Sport Arena, José Cura at the VeszprémFest, and Erwin Schrott at the Margaret Island Open-Air Stage.
Recordings:
Polina Pastirchak – Strauss, Shostakovich, Bartók, Kodály. Musikkollegium Winterthur, Alexander Rahbari – 2010, La Dolce Volta
Mozart Arias with Sabine Meyer. Basel Chamber Orchestra, Andreas Spering – 2013, Sony Classical
Mahler: Symphony No. 8. Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Ádám Fischer – 2018, Deutschlandfunk
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14. Dresden Philharmonic, Michael Sanderling – 2019, Sony Classical
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis. Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, René Jacobs – 2021, Harmonia Mundi
Weber: Der Freischütz. Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, René Jacobs – 2022, Harmonia Mundi
Dvořák: Stabat Mater. Bochum Symphony Orchestra, Florian Helgath – 2024, Coviello Classics