Mata Katsouli

The soprano Mata Katsouli belongs to the new generation of lyrical singers who, going beyond mere identification with their voice, bring a broader musical education to their interpretations, approaching opera, oratorio, chamber music, lieder, and contemporary repertoire with equal passion. In 1993, Mata Katsouli won the “Maria Callas” scholarship, and after graduating in 1994 from the Athens Conservatoire with a diploma in singing and special awards for her vocal and musical abilities (under the instruction of K. Morfonios), she continued her studies in Italy with the soprano G. Ravazzi.

She has also studied opera technique and interpretation in seminars with K. Paschalis, Z. Pilou, A. Christofellis, I. Cotrubas, N. Zachariou, S. Papoulka, F. Voutsinos, D. Kalafatis, and G. Metternich. Her opera debut took place in March 1993 with her appearance as Nannetta/Falstaff by G. Verdi, alongside the renowned baritone R. Panerai and under the baton of L. Karytinos, in a production by the Greek National Opera. By the end of 1994, she had already performed Adele/Die Fledermaus by J. Strauss, Oscar/Un ballo in maschera by G. Verdi, Blonde/Die Entführung aus dem Serail by W. A. Mozart for the Greek National Opera, and Barbarina/Le nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart in her first collaboration with the Athens Concert Hall.

Since then, she has worked with the Greek National Opera, the Athens Concert Hall, the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (where she was a permanent member from 1999 to 2003), the “Maggio Musicale Fiorentino” Festival, the Montpellier Festival, and various other institutions, performing roles such as Adina/Ľ elisir ď amore, Rosina/Il barbiere di Siviglia, Mimi and Musetta/La Bohème, Olympia/Les contes ď Hoffmann, Micaëla/Carmen, Lucia/Lucia di Lammermoor, Gilda/Rigoletto, Carolina/Il matrimonio segreto, Woglinde/Das Rheingold, Angelica/Orlando furioso, Fanny/La cambiale di matrimonio, Isifile/Giasone by Cavalli, Aristea/Ľ Olimpiade by Paisiello, Amanda/Le grand Macabre by Ligeti, White Queen/Chessboard Escapees by G. Kouroupos, Helen of Troy/The Return of Helen by T. Mikroutsikos, Myrrhine/Lysistrata by M. Theodorakis.

Particularly prominent in her career are roles in operas by W. A. Mozart (Pamina/Die Zauberflöte, Fiordiligi and Despina/Così fan tutte, Contessa and Susanna/Le nozze di Figaro) and G. F. Handel (Alcina in Alcina, Romilda/Serse, Arianna/Arianna in Creta, and Ifigenia/Oreste). She has participated in chamber music concerts and oratorios (Handel’s Der Messias, Mozart’s Requiem, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Orff’s Carmina Burana, R. Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Ravel’s Cinq mélodies populaires Grecque, Riadis’s Nine Greek Songs, I Love You, Politeia, and Loneliness by M. Kalomoiris, Schoenberg’s String Quartet No.2 for strings and voice, Wellesz’s Sonnets of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, Koumendakis’s It Shall Be Day, Liturgy of the Word’s Harmony, Theonoe’s Concerto, and Requiem for the End of Love, Mikroutsikos’s Varna, and Koumendakis’s Haikus and Eleven and One Nights, Kritsotakis’s Eldorado).

She has collaborated as a soloist with major and smaller ensembles (The Orchestra of Colours, Camerata, Athens State Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Orchestra, ERT Symphony Orchestra, Patras Orchestra, among others) and has given solo recitals. Many of her performances, both in opera and in oratorios and chamber music, have been premieres in Greece or even worldwide.

She has also contributed to the recordings of works such as The Return of Helen by T. Mikroutsikos with EMI, The Chessboard Escapees by G. Kouroupos with Ankh, Instead of a Dream – a production of the Cultural Olympiad – with Universal, and, most recently, collaborated with conductor G. Petrou on the opera Oreste by Handel, performing the title role, which won the “Choc” award from “Le Monde de la musique” and “Diapason 4” from “Diapason” magazine, a recording for MDG.

Source: Thessaloniki Concert Hall