Katerina Mina – Opera Soprano
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Biography
Katerina Miná is making a name for herself as one of the finest sopranos of her generation. Originally a pianist and a music teacher, Katerina completed her BMus (Hons) Degree and Postgraduate Diploma in Music Performance (Opera) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her opera studies were sponsored by the Corporation of London, the A.G. Leventis Foundation, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. The Greek Cypriot soprano is a prize winner in two International singing competitions, the 1st Concorso Vocale Internazionale di Musica Sacra in Rome, and the 7th Julian Gayarre International Singing Competition in Spain. Katerina is based in London, where she continues her vocal studies with soprano Janice Chapman.
Katerina recently sang the role of Violetta from La Traviata in Kuwait, and appeared at Megaron in Athens with the National Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of ERT, in the premiere of Christos Pittas symphonic work 1973 for soprano, orchestra, chorus and electronic sound track. With the Kolobov Novaya Opera of Moscow she performed the role of Nedda I Pagliacci. Most recently Katerina sang the title role from Poulenc’s opera La Voix Humaine at Kypria International Music Festival 2009, and appeared as Fiordiligi Cosi Fan Tutte on a tour in the Far-East and Middle-East with European Chamber Opera. Other operatic roles include Donna Elvira Don Giovanni with Staatstheater Cottbus, Mimi La Bohème with British Youth Opera and European Chamber Opera, Fiordiligi Cosi Fan Tutte with Minotaur Music Theatre, Karolka Jenufa with English Touring Opera, Flora La Traviata with Polish National Opera and Maria West Side Story with Oxford Philomusica.
Concert performances include a most recent concert of Michael Tippett's Negro Spirituals and David Fanshawe's African Sanctus in Bahrain, the London Song Festival 2010, and Beethoven’s Choral Symphony no.9 at St. John’s Smith Square. Other concert performances include Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with Stanley Hall Opera; Haydn's Scena di Berenice with the Georgisches Kammerorchester in Ingolstadt; A. Charalambou's Requiem for Heroes with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra; world premières of C. Stylianou's song cycles Of the Beautiful Kingdom for voice and piano, and Poreia for soprano, flute, guitar and piano; A. Sakali's oratorio Liturgy beneath the Acropolis with Oxford Philomusica; the orchestral songs of Henry Duparc and oratorios of Mikis Theodorakis with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, and Gala Concerts with the Leicester Symphony Orchestra and Charles Court Opera.
Katerina has given numerous recitals and concerts in the UK, Germany, Finland, Italy, France, Japan, Cyprus, Greece and the Middle East, and has recorded music for ERT, CyBC Radio and Television. Her performance venues include the Athens Concert Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gasteig München, St. John's Smith Square, Hackney Empire, Buxton Opera House, Sheldonian Theatre, De Montfort Hall, London Hellenic Centre, Leighton House Museum, the Juhlasali of the Helsinki City Hall, Saint-Louis Cathedral at Les Invalides, Athenaeum Concert Hall and Theocharakis Foundation of Fine Arts in Athens, and all major theatres in Cyprus.
Katerina represented Cyprus at the Celebratory Concert for the accession of Cyprus to the Euro Area with Chistos Pitta's symphonic works Helen and Rime d'Amore (World-Première), and was nominated to represent Cyprus in the 2nd World Delphic Games in Saratov. She performed at the Festivals ‘Roman River Music Festival’ in Essex, 1st ‘Greek Festival of Youth Arts’ EKON in London, ‘Around the Piano’ in Athens and ‘Manolis Kalomiris Festival’ in Samos. Katerina participated in Masterclasses led by José Cura, Nelly Miricioiu and John Fisher.
Future engagements for Katerina include Verdi’s Requiem at St John's Smith Square, recitals at Megaron in Athens and London Hellenic Centre with internationally acclaimed pianist Elena Mouzalas to celebrate Schumann's and Chopin's birthday anniversaries, appearances at Festivals EKON in London and 'Eure poetique et Musicale' in France, a collaboration with composer Michalis Christodoulides and the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, and a special appearance at DJ Ritu's BBC London Radio show 'A World In London'. Katerina is delighted to be singing in the biggest event to celebrate the 50th Independence Anniversary of Cyprus at Eleftheria Stadium in Nicosia, performing music by Cypriot composer Roman Kariolou.
Katerina Miná is the winner of the 2008 Madame Figaro Magazine Singer-of-the-Year Awards.
Miss Miná is kindly sponsored by LACA CYPRUS and wears cosmetic and make-up products by Antology Internacional.