Sonja Šarić, soprano, was born in Sombor. She trained her voice at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim, in the class of professor Snežana Stamenković, where she completed her undergraduate and master’s studies. She has participated in numerous national and international competitions where she has won a number of awards, including the Maria Callas Grand Prix in Athens in 2017, then the Austrian “Musiktheaterpreis” in the category for young artists in 2019 for the role of Leonora in Verdi’s Troubadour. After finishing her studies, in the period from 2016 to 2019.
The most recent prize came in 2021 at the 4th International Competition of Opera Singers ”Eva Marton” in Budapest, where Sonja was rated as the best – both by the expert jury and the audience.
Sonja is a member of the opera studio at the Opera in Graz. In addition to a large number of smaller roles and concerts, she is very noted in many major roles of her profession, such as the Countess in Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro”, Leonora in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore”, Madame Cortese in Rossini’s opera “Il viaggio a Reims” and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera “Pagliacci”.
In addition to active performances in opera, Sonja Šarić also nurtures lied and concert repertoire. It consists of works such as songs by Schubert, Richard Strauss, and Mahler; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Verdi’s Requiem.
Since 2019, Sonja Šarić has been performing as an independent artist and she was a guest in the leading opera centers in Europe. As Gerhilde in Wagner’s opera The Valkyrie, she performed at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam where Maestro Van Zweden conducted, as well as at the National Opera in Paris under the baton of conductor Maestro Jordan. Her performances as Leonora in Troubadour delighted the audience at the Opera in Linz, the National Theater in Mannheim and the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb. At the Salzburg Festival 2020, she sang in the new production of Strauss’s Elektra.
In 2021, Sonja had her first performance in an opera production in her native country, when she performed the role of Aida in Verdi’s opera, in the interpretation of the Serbian National Theater from Novi Sad. A couple of months later, she took the same role at the Landestheater in Linz.
At the beginning of 2022, Sonja made her double debut by playing Norma in front of the audience of the National Theater in Belgrade. After that, the year 2023 was opened with the role of Senta, in a new production of Wagner’s opera Der fliegende Holländer, by the Teatro Comunale in Bologna.
During 2019, she successfully participated in the master class of Thomas Hampson and Melanie Diener in Waiblingen – Opernwerkstatt Waiblingen, which ended with a big concert with the Stuttgart Philharmonic under the direction of Maestro Ettinger. She won the second prize and audience award at the Elizabeth Connell Prize – International Singing Competition for Dramatic Sopranos in Sydney, Australia. In the same year, she was one of the scholarship holders of the famous Georg Solti Accademia.
Šarić had her opera debut in the role of the Countess in Figaro’s marriage in Bamberg in 2011, and a few years later, in 2015, she made her debut as Maria Stuarda in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda in Ostrava. She performed at the Easter Festival in Baden Baden accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic with Maestro Rattle. At the “Antonín Dvořák” competition in Karlovy Vary in 2012, she won the first prize, the audience award and the award for the best performance of Mozart’s composition. At the “Felix Mendelssohn” university competition in Berlin in 2014, she won the third prize, while in 2015 she won the first prize at the competition “Anneliese Rothenberger”. At the age of only twenty, she was the winner of the first prize in the junior category at the “Ferruccio Tagliavini” competition in Austria in 2010, where she also won the award for the best soprano of the entire competition. During her school days in Novi Sad at the “Svetozar Markovic” Gymnasium and “Isidor Bajic” Music School she won a large number of awards and recognitions (Republic competition Belgrade, “Nikola Cvejic” competition in Ruma, “Bruna Spiler” in Herceg Novi). She also received the scholarship of the “Melanija Bugarinović” fund for the improvement of vocal art.
Performance history
2023/2024
2022/2023
Director: P. Curran
2021/2022
Opera National de Paris
2020/2021
Opera National de Paris
R.Wagner: Die Walküre (Gerhilde)
Conductor: Jordan
2019/2020
Salzburger Festspiele
R.Strauss: Elektra (Die Aufseherin)
Conductor: Welser-Möst
Director: Warlikowski
Landestheater Linz
G.Verdi: Il Trovatore (Leonora)
Conductor: Calesso
Director: Horres
NT Mannheim
G.Verdi: Il Trovatore (Leonora)
Conductor: Rizzi Brignoli/ Liepinš
Director: Vontobel
The Concertgebouw Amsterdam
R.Wagner: Die Walküre (Gerhilde)
Conductor: van Zweden
2018/2019
NT Mannheim
G.Verdi: Il Trovatore (Leonora)
Conductor: Rizzi Brignoli/Liepinš
Director: Vontobel
HNK Zagreb
G.Verdi: Il Trovatore (Leonora)
Conductor: Mottadelli/ Šego
Director: Bernard
Oper Graz
R.Leoncavallo: Pagliacci (Nedda)
Conductor: Lyniv/ Burkert
Director: Fioroni
Oper Graz
Stephen Oliver: Mario und der Zauberer (Signora Angiolieri)
Conductor: Merkel
Director: Thausing
2017/2018
Oper Graz
G.Verdi: Il Trovatore (Leonora, Inez)
Conductor: Sanguineti/ Engelen
Director: Baur
Oper Graz
W.A.Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (Contessa Almaviva)
Conductor: Comin/ Merkel
Director: von Mayenburg
Oper Graz
P.Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Ygraine)
Conductor:Kluttig/Burkert
Director:Loschky
Oper Graz
G.Rossini: Il viaggio a Reims (Madame Cortese)
Conductor: Lyniv/ Merkel
Director: Mottl
2016/2017
Oper Graz
G. Verdi: La Traviata (Annina)
Conductor: Lyniv
Director: Konwitschny
Oper Graz
G. Puccini: La Rondine (Yvette)
Conductor:Comin/Burkert
Director: Villazón
Oper Graz
A.Zemlinsky: Der Zwerg (2.Zofe)
Conductor: Kaftan
Director: Esterhazy
Oper Graz
V. Bellini: Norma (Clotilde)
Conductor: Engelen
Director: Klepper
2015
R.Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Adelige Waise)
Easter festival, Festspielhaus Baden Baden
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Rattle
Director: Fassbaender
Easter Festival Baden Baden: Die kleine Manon (Manon)
(Segments from G.Puccini`s Opera Manon Lescaut, arrangement for children)
Members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Ward;
Director: Tzavara
2014/2015
Donizetti: Maria Stuarda (Maria Stuarda)
National Moravian Silesian Theatre Ostrava, Czech Republic
Conductor: Brauner;
Director: Keprtova
2013
Salzburg Festival: A Midsummer Night`s Dream (Fairy)
(W.Shakespeare/F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy)
Mozarteum Orchester
Conductor: Bolton;
Director: Mason
2011
Summer Oper Bamberg;
W.A.Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro ( La Contessa)
Conductor: Weser;
Director: Lewandowski
Concert Repertoire
- G.Mahler: Symphony No.2 (Resurrection)
- G.Rossini Stabat Mater
- G.Verdi:Messa da Requiem
- A.Dvořák: Stabat Mater
- F.Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Elias
- L.van Beethoven: 9th Symphonie
- J.Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem
- J.S.Bach- H moll Messe.
- G.F. Händel – Judas Maccabeaus
- J.S.Bach- Weihnachts Oratorium
- A. Vivaldi:Gloria
- J.Stamiz: Missa Solemnis
As a child, Sonja Šarić was fascinated by traditional music of Vojvodina, which is infinitely beautiful in these parts, diverse, intertwined with influences and decorations from the east and the west. Even at that age, she dreamed of becoming a singer of traditional folk music, but solo singing classes took her in a different direction and made opera singing become her life’s choice. Her love for tradition and culture of her homeland gave her the necessary breadth and completely unique approach to music that she nurtures even today, interpreting arias and solo songs, but also traditional music, in a completely authentic way. Her wish is to bring classical music, and above all opera, closer to the widest audience. She wishes to do so with her artistic work and public actions, and to conjure unique stories to her listeners with her talent and to awaken love for this type of music in children and young people.
