Sarah Aristidou, or Sarah Mzali-Aristidou (born 1991) is a French operatic soprano who has performed internationally. She is interested in contemporary music and has appeared in world premieres. Composers such as Aribert Reimann and Jörg Widmann have written music for her.

Life and career

Born in Paris, Aristidou began her musical training as a member of the Maîtrise de Radio France. She studied musicology at the Sorbonne and graduated in music theory at the in 2011. Beginning in 2010, she studied singing at the Universität der Künste Berlin, and from 2014 at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. She received her master's degree at the

Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding The Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding (English: Bavarian Theatre Academy August Everding) at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, was founded by August Everding in 1993. Since September 2014, the Academy has been directed by Hans-Jürgen Dr ...

. Aristidou appeared in world premieres of contemporary music by composers such as Wolfgang Rihm, Jörg Widmann and Manfred Trojahn. Aribert Reimann composed ''Cinq Fragments français de Rainer Maria Rilke'' especially for her voice, and she premiered it in 2015 at the ''Liederwerkstatt'' of the Kissinger Sommer festival. She has worked with conductors such as

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...

, Trevor Pinnock and

Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...

, and with orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Gürzenich Orchestra. She was a member of the international opera studio of the Berlin State Opera from 2017 to 2019. In the 2020/21 season, she appeared at the State Opera as Zerbinetta in '' Ariadne auf Naxos'', and performed at the Heidelberger Frühling and the Salzburg Festival.

Recordings

Aristidou's debut CD appeared in 2021, titled ''Æther'', with works by Edgar Varèse,

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

Leo Delibes Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

, Ambroise Thomas, Jörg Widmann,

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

Igor Strawinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, Thomas Adès,

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

and Udo Zimmermann, with pianist

, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, guitarist Christian Rivet, the Chor der Klangverwaltung and Orchester des Wandels conducted by

Thomas Guggeis Thomas Guggeis (born 1993) is a German conductor and pianist. He is Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Berlin and the designated Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Oper Frankfurt. Life and career Born in Dachau, Bavaria, Guggeis studied conducting ...

. Widmann's ''Labyrinth V'' was written for the singer, and the wordless piece contains " ululations, sobs, jazz inflections and wild laughter", according to a reviewer from ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

''. Her second album ''Enigma'' has been released in 2023, with works by Andreas Tsiartas,

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

, Franz Schubert,

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Ro ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, and Jörg Widmann.

Other recordings

* Aristidou also released an EP in 2021, title ''S'Agapo'', with Cypriot folksongs arranged by Kaan Bulak and remixed by DJs Ricardo Villalobos and Ale Hop.

Videos

Awards

* 2021 Luitpold Prize * 2022

Belmont Prize The Belmont Prize is a music award named after the place of destiny in Shakespeare's ''The Merchant of Venice''. The Munich-based Forberg Schneider Foundation, founded in 1997, promotes outstanding achievements in the field of contemporary music. T ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aristidou, Sarah 1991 births Living people French operatic sopranos French people of Cypriot descent Singers from Paris Berlin University of the Arts alumni University of Music and Performing Arts Munich alumni