Since her triumphant debut in 2007 as Violetta (La Traviata) at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Myrtò Papatanasiu ranks among the most acclaimed sopranos worldwide. Her magnificent voice and dazzling stage presence have established her as a unique international opera singer.
Her engagements in the 2019/20 season take her to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni); to Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona as Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito); to the New National Theatre Tokyo as Violetta (La Traviata); to the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Luisa Miller (title role); to Shaanxi Grand Opera House Xi’an asLiù (Turandot); and to the Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen as Berenice (Publio Cornelio Scipione).
As one of the most sought-after lyric artists today, she performs in the world’s leading opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Theater an der Wien, Opéra Nationale de Paris, Théâtre des Champs Élysées, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, San Diego Opera, The Dallas Opera, L’Opéra de Montréal, Sydney Opera House, New National Theatre Tokyo, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, Copenhagen Opera House, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia di Roma, Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli and Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, as well as the Festivals in Edinburgh, Mostly Mozart New York, Athens, Sferisterio Macerata and La Coruña.
She has worked with such renowned conductors as Iván Fischer, Bertrand de Billy, Christophe Rousset, Louis Langrée, Alberto Zedda, Ádám Fischer, Emmanuelle Haïm, Evelino Pidò, Teodor Currentzis, Riccardo Frizza, Constantinos Carydis, George Petrou, Jérémie Rhorer, Roberto Abbado, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Daniele Callegari, Alessandro de Marchi, Gian Luca Capuano, Claire Gibault, Marc Minkowski, Hartmut Haenchen, Stefano Ranzani, Stefan Soltesz, Gustavo Gimeno, Alexander Joel, and with orchestras such as Le Concert d’Astrée, Bamberger Symphoniker, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, Armonia Atenea, and L’Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
She has expressed her fascinating creative power and filled the stage with her overwhelming presence in outstanding collaborations with major stage directors such as Robert Carsen, David Mac Vicar, Franco Zeffirelli, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Kasper Holten, Stefan Herheim, Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito, Keith Warner, Torsten Fischer, Davide Livermore, Clément Hervieu-Léger, Jean-Philippe Clarac, Olivier Delœuil, Cesare Lievi, Daniele Abbado, Graham Vick, David Hermann, David Bösch, Stéphane Braunschweig, and Tatjana Gürbaca.
In November 2016 Sony Classical released the long-awaited Don Giovanni recording under the direction of Teodor Currentzis, in which Myrtò Papatanasiu performed Donna Anna, after being recognized as an outstanding Mozart interpreter.
Her most celebrated Mozartian roles include those of Sifare (Mitridate, Rè di Ponto) at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Bruxelles, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and Opéra de Dijon; Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) at the Royal Opera House in London, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, San Diego Opera, Mostly Mozart Festival New York and at the Grand Théâtre de Genève; Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) at the Wiener Staatsoper, Theater an der Wien, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam; Fiordiligi (Così Fan Tutte) at Palais Garnier in Paris, Copenhagen Opera House, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, De Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen, the Greek National Opera in Athens, and the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona; Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) at Thessaloniki Concert Hall; Sandrina and Arminda (La Finta Giardiniera) at the Greek National Opera and the Opernhaus Zürich; Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito) at the Volksoper Wien; and Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) at the New National Theatre Tokyo and the Staatsoper Berlin.
For her particularly remarkable and memorable company debut as Violetta (La Traviata) at The Dallas Opera, Myrtò Papatanasiu was honoured with the prestigious «Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year» Award in 2012.
Performing Violetta, one of her signature roles, she earned wide critical acclaim in various prominent productions at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Greek National Opera, Welsh National Opera, and the Royal Danish Theatre.
After Rossini’s much-acclaimed Anna (Maometto II) at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam; Donna Fiorilla (Il Turco in Italia) at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova; and Giulia (La Scala di Seta) at the Konzerthaus Wien, she was celebrated for her outstanding interpretation of Semiramide (title role) at De Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen and the Edinburgh Festival.
Further appearences include Nedda (I Pagliacci) at the Opernhaus Zürich; Alice (Falstaff), Nedda (I Pagliacci), and Tosca (title role) at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; Musetta (La Bohème), marking her debut at The Metropolitan Opera New York; and Amelia (Simon Boccanegra) in Montpellier, Luxembourg and Antwerpen.
Dvořák’s Rusalka (title role) at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, has set a new milestone in Myrtò Papatanasiu’s career.
Furthermore, she has received particular attention for her unique portrayals of Händel’s Alcina (title role) at the Theater an der Wien, Opéra Garnier, Oper Stuttgart and at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens; Gluck’s Iphigénie (Iphigénie en Aulide) at the Theater an der Wien; Massenet’s Manon (title role), Puccini’s Mimi (La Bohème) and Gounod’s Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) at the Greek National Opera.
In recent seasons, her concert performances have included appearances at the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall St. Petersburg, Konzerthalle Bamberg, KKL Luzern, Tonhalle Zürich, Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, the Sidney Opera House Concert Hall, the Seoul Arts Center, and most recently the Lincoln Center New York, in collaboration, inter alia, with such orchestras as the Wiener Philharmoniker, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the RSO Wien.
Previous highlights include the live broadcast production of Beethoven’s Symphony N° 9 from the Concertgebouw Amsterdam under the direction of Iván Fischer; Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on the occasion of the first visit of the Pope Benedict XVI to Australia; and the closing ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
Myrtò Papatanasiu’s wide repertoire spans from Renaissance and Baroque (Monteverdi, Händel) to 20th century music (Menotti, Scott Joplin), displaying her great versatility.
CD and DVD recordings include, apart from the above-mentioned highly praised Mozart’s Don Giovanni under Teodor Currentzis, those of Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia (NAXOS, Arthouse Musik) and Semiramide (Dynamic); Mayr’s Ginevra di Scozia (NAXOS); Beethoven’s Symphony N°9 (RCO Live); works of Papaioanou (NAXOS); Mozart’s Don Giovanni (C Major, Opus Arte, Alpha); and Dvořák’s Rusalka, a live video recording from the Théâtre de la Monnaie (EuroArts).
Born in Larissa, Greece, Myrtò Papatanasiu studied piano and music theory at the local Conservatory as well as musicology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, before receiving her vocal performance diploma with distinction and the first prize award from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. Being a recipient of the Megaron Athens Concert Hall Grant, she completed her studies in Milano under the guidance of Roberto Coviello.
Last update: October 6, 2019