Alexia Voulgaridou

Soprano

Alexia Voulgaridou

Born in Kavala, Greece Alexia Voulgaridou came to international attention as Mimì in the Bregenz Opera Festival’s production of La bohème opposite the Rodolfo of Rolando Villazon. She has since been heard in major theatres throughout Europe including the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Royal Opera, Covent Garden. the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Hamburg State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Staatsoper Berlin as well as in Valencia, Seville, Bordeaux, Geneva and Sydney.  She has won acclaim in roles including Desdemona in Otello, the title role in Luisa Miller, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Marguerite in Faust, Liù in Turandot, and the title role in Anna Bolena. In the 2012/2013 season Voulgaridou made two important role debuts: first as Cio-Cio-San in a new production of Madama Butterfly at the Hamburg State Opera in November 2012 and then as Floria Tosca in the Opera de Lausanne's production of Tosca in March of 2013. She will also return to the Teatro Regio in Trieste as Tosca. Future projects include Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden and in Stuttgart; her debut as Lida in the new production of Verdi’s La Battaglia di Legnano in Hamburg, and Luisa Miller in Lausanne. Recent engagements of the current season have included Mimì in La bohème with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, her debut in Stuttgart as Luisa Miller, and Suzel in L’Amico Fritz in Trieste.



Alexia Voulgaridou began her musical studies in Athens and continued them at conservatory in Munich under the tutelage of Daphne Evangelatos, where she also participated in master classes with Astrid Varnay. She made her professional debut at the Prinzregententheater in Munich as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro under the baton of Sir Colin Davis. She soon afterwards sang Sophie in a new August Everding production of Der Rosenkavalier at the Bavarian State Opera. Other roles followed, include Violetta in La Traviata, the three heroines in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Marzelline in Fidelio, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, in Hannover, Munich, Darmstadt, and Cologne. Soon after her great success at the Bregenz Festival as Mimì in La bohème, she debuted in Geneva as Mimì and also sang the role in Munich. In Italy she won extraordinary critical and popular acclaim for her Marguerite in Faust in Rome and for her first Anna Bolena at the Teatro Regio in Turin. She was invited to the Ravenna Festival for Faust and for concert performances of Mefistofele under the baton of Riccardo Muti with whom she has also performed the Verdi’s Requiem.  Voulgaridou also performed Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in Zurich under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst.



In the 2007/2008 Alexia Voulgaridou made her debut at the Berlin State Opera as Mimì in La bohème opposite Jonas Kaufmann and conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. She returned to the Hamburg State Opera for her first Blanche de la Force in Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites and the production conducted by Simone Young and directed by Nikolaus Lenhoff was telecast throughout Europe. Voulgaridou also appeared in the title role of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. She appeared in two roles in Valencia: as Liù in Turandot under Zubin Mehta and as Micaëla in a new production of Carmen conducted by Lorin Maazel. In June of 2008 she sang Mimì at the Teatro alla Scala under Gustavo Dudamel and in the fall of 2008, she made her debut with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden in the same role. She subsequently added the title role in Verdi’s Luisa Miller to her repertoire in Valencia opposite Marcelo Alvarez and conducted by Lorin Maazel. She was also heard in Valencia as Marguerite in Faust and as Liù in Turandot.



Ms. Voulgaridou began the 2009/2010 season as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra at the Grand Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. She was heard in the title role of Verdi’s Luisa Miller at the Teatro Regio in Turin, at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania as Marguerite in Faust and as Mimì at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Voulgaridou also returned to the Hamburg State Opera as Nedda in Pagliacci. In the summer of 2010, she made her Hollywood Bowl debut as Micaëla in Carmen. In the 2010/2011 season, Voulgaridou toured the United States with Andrea Boccelli and then stared in Hamburg’s new production of Faust. She also appeared at Teatro alla Scala in Carmen. In the summer of 2011, Voulgaridou made her debut at Teatro Municipal de Santiago Chile in Simon Boccanegra. Other notable engagements have also included her debut as Desdemona in Otello in Hamburg, her debut at the Teatro alla Scala in the title role of Massenet’s Manon, as well as Seville and for the Bayerische Rundfunk under the late Marcello Viotti. She made her Australian debut in Sydney with her first Magda in Puccini’s La rondine under Gianluigi Gelmetti and added Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni to her repertoire in Bordeaux. She also starred in the Hamburg State Opera’s new production of La bohème.



Voulgaridou’s recording of arias with Bavarian Radio and Nicola Luisotti was recently released. Other roles in her developing repertoire also include the title role in Thaïs, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette and the title role in Suor Angelica.


Alexia Voulgaridou