For me being a singer is not only a profession, it is the most human lifestyle. Your body is your instrument, your sound mirrors your soul. Your existence depends on your body and soul, so you have to take constant care of both. It’s a journey of getting to know yourself, to love yourself and to give love for others. I believe that love is the only reason for our existence. Music keeps your mind awake and your soul harmonious and happy. As a singer you travel around the world, which means you must make many sacrifices. But it makes you learn different cultures and languages, each of which opens a world for you. For this I am very grateful.

I was born in 1982 in Budapest as a daughter of a Russian mother and a Hungarian father, the fruit of the great socialistic friendship. My parents are both designer artists, so they sent me to a  school of economics, hoping to have at least one member in the family with a solid income. But fortunately, as a teenager a certain vocal talent showed itself, as well as a deep need to express myself through singing. My father, wanting to help his beloved daughter, happened to find the most ambitious singing teacher in Hungary, Julia Bikfalvy, when I was 19, and she turned my life upside down. After studying for four years with her, I achieved a national success winning the Simándy Singing Competition in Szeged. I couldn’t stop following my curiosity and travelled to Italy to see the world of belcanto. In 2005 I became a pupil of Mirella Freni, and spent five hard and most exciting years at her school. As a result, in 2007 I made my operatic debut with Micaela on the same stage of Teatro di Modena where she made her own debut in the same role. 

In 2010 I married Francesco Angelico, a Sicilian conductor with whom I was married for a short but beautiful time. This period of my life brought me also the precious possibility to get to know my present teacher, Carol Richardson-Smith and her opera coach husband Jeff Smith in Hannover. 

In 2009 I felt ready to challenge myself with the Geneva International Music Competition where I won all the prizes: first prize, audience prize and the sponsors prize which allowed me to record my first portrait album with music by R. Strauss, D. Shostakovich, B. Bartók and Z. Kodály. This was the beginning of my international career. The Grand Theatre Geneve invited me to sing Woglinde in their new Ring production, conducted by Ingo Metzmacher. After a successful audition for the Handel Festival in Karlsruhe in 2011, I sang the titelrole of Partenope conducted by Michael Hofstetter. The same year brought me the debut in my hometown Budapest, where I regularly guest as Mimi, Traviata, Nedda, Micaela, Donna Anna, Desdemona, Contessa, Amelia, Melisande.

2016 was an important year, when I received a Silver Cross of Merit  award from the Hungarian Government and I became Kammersängerin of the Hungarian State Opera.
This was the year when at Schwetzinger Festspiele in Cavalli’s Veremonda “stage love” came true, and I met tenor Johannes Mayer, with whom we have a beautiful daughter named Dafne.

Year 2017 brought me two productions of Mimi, first in the Theater of St Gallen then in The Graz Opera, where I was later invited to sing the Gansemagd in Humperdinck’s Königskinder (2019/20) and Dorotka in Weinberger’s Schwanda (2021/22) as well as for their Neujarskonzert in 2023. 

Since 2014 I have regularly appeared at the Budapest Wagner Festival with Adam Fischer in the roles of Gutrune, Woglinde and Dritte Norne. In 2014 Zoltán Kocsis gave me the chance to sing Strauss’s Daphne, which was the most beautiful and fitting role I have ever sung. Verdi’s Traviata in 2018 brought me great success as well in Toulouse, conducted by George Petrou (staged by Pierre Rambert).

Since 2019 I have been working regularly with René Jacobs and the Freiburger barockorchester, with whom I have done Donna Anna in Don Giovianni, tours and CD recordings by Harmonia Mundi of Missa Solemnis and Freischütz. 

As a concert soloist I have often sung Beethoven’s IX. Symphony (Ádám Fischer, Christian Arming) and Mahler’s IV. Symphony (Henrik Nánási, Clemens Schuldt). Being one of my beloved composers, I have sung Mahler’s Rückert Lieder and some of the Knaben Wunderhorn songs. I was most happy to take part in his VIII. Symphony as Una poenitentium conducted by Ádám Fischer (CD recording by Tonhalle Dusseldorf).
One of my dreams came true when we did a CD recording by Sony of Shostakowich’s XIV. Symphony with Michael Sanderling and the Dresdner Philharmonic in 2019.
Such unforgettable moments were in my life when I sang Arvo Part’s Como cierva sedienta with the Manchester Chamber Orchestra in the presence of the composer on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
Other wonderful projects were: Mozart CD recording by Sony with Sabine Meyer, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with Thomas Dausgaard, Elias with György Vashegyi, Verdi’s Requiem with Francesco Angelico, Vier letzte Lieder with Alejo Perez, Sheherazade with Vassily Sinaisky, Brockes Passion (Tochter Zion) with Howard Arman.  

In 2018 I was a guest of the traditional Nordrhein-Westfalen Advent Concert broadcast in german television from the beautiful Aachener Dom. Usually, Christmas time and New Years Eve bring me the wonderful festive occasion to sing some of my secret passion, the Operetta: in Menuhin Festival Gstaad, in Concertgebouw with Marc Albrecht, in Vicenza and Palermo with Gábor Takács-Nagy, in Köln with Helmut Froschauer, in Kazan with Aleksander Sladkovsky.
Such festive galas gave me the chance to share the stage with operatic superstars as Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Elina Garanca, Jose Cura, Erwin Schrott. In 2021 I was honoured to sing in memorial Mirella Freni in Teatro Comunale di Modena.   

Singing Lieder is a special experience, and for me is the most intimate and honest musical and acting phenomenon on stage. I have always loved this genre especially since Jan Philip Schulze has become my esteemed Lieder partner. We have done many exciting recitals, for example Radio France, Amici della Musica di Padova, Züricher Tonhalle, Capitole Toulouse, Marburger Konzertverein, Budapest Spring Festival, Louvre Paris.   

January 2023

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Curriculum vitae