Coloratura Soprano
Website: dimitrakotidou.com
Biography
Greek coloratura soprano Dimitra Kotidou was born in Athens and studied piano at the National Conservatorium of Greece and theory of music, counterpoint and fugue at the Kodàly International Music Institute. She went on to study singing with Christina Giannakopoulou at the Athenaeum Maria Callas Conservatorium, from which she graduated with distinction, and was the recipient of the award for most distinguished performance. Recently, she succesfully completed her degree on “18th-Century Opera: Händel & Mozart” at Harvard University X, receiving top grades from Professor Thomas F. Kelly. She made her debut with Greek National Opera aged 19 singing Ninetta La finta semplice while a member of the Opera Studio. From 2016 to 2018 she was a member of the Opera Studio of Deutsche Oper am Rhein where her repertoire ranged from Tebaldo Don Carlo to Le feu/La princesse/Le rossignol L’enfant et les sortilèges. In this period she also studied major roles including Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos, Oscar Un ballo in maschera and Olympia Les Contes d’ Hoffmann and participated in masterclasses with celebrated artists including Peter Seiffert, Linda Watson, David Syrus and Bo Skovhus. Dimitra joined the soloist ensemble at Landestheater Coburg in 2018, where her roles include Königin der Nacht Die Zauberflöte, the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, Frasquita Carmen and Woglinde Das Rheingold. Guest engagements as Königin der Nacht have brought her back to the Greek National Opera and Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Barry Kosky’s celebrated staging. Dimitra is equally at home in contemporary repertoire: she performed in the world premiere of The Murderess by G. Koumentakis and sang the role created for Barbara Hannigan in Richard Ayres’s animated concert In the Alps. She has worked with renowned conductors including Jochen Rieder, Axel Kober, Marc Piollet and Giordano Bellincampi and stage directors including Franco Zeffirelli, Graham Vick, Dietrich Hilsdorf, Joan Anton Rechi and Renata Scotto. Dimitra has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras including the Athens State Symphony Orchestra, the Athens State Philharmonic Orchestra and the Greek National Radio Orchestra, the Camerata Baroque Orchestra, the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and the Duisburger Philharmoniker.
Dimitra is a notable actress, having appeared in numerous Ancient Greek theatre plays, and has received frequent praise for her strong stage presence and detailed characterisation. Recent engagements include her debut as Konstanze Die Entführung aus dem Serail for Theater Bielefeld, the Queen of Shemakha Golden Cockerel and Lucia Lucia di Lammermoor for Landestheater Coburg. She returned to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein for more performances of Die Königin der Nacht Die Zauberflöte and also appeared as Königin der Nacht for Staatsoper Hannover and Bühnen Bern.
Das bis heute berühmteste Stück dieser Oper ist die sogenannte Wahnsinnsarie der Titelfigur. Dimitra Kotidou gestaltete sie mit makelloser Stimmführung als eine Szene, deren äußere Virtuosität kein Selbstzweck, sondern Mittel des Ausdrucks ist. Dimitra Kotidous Verkörperung der Lucia trägt entscheidend dazu bei, diesen Premieren-Abend zum Ereignis werden zu lassen
(The most famous piece of this opera is the so-called Mad Scene of the title character. Dimitra Kotidou created it with flawless voice leading as a scene whose external virtuosity is not an end in itself but a means of expression. Dimitra Kotidou’s embodiment of Lucia makes a decisive contribution to these premieres, turning the evening into an event).
Fränkischer Tag – Jochen Berger, Coburger Tagblatt– 22nd January 2023
Please stay the way you are and sing as you sing today. Don’t ever change. Listening to you is a true honour.
Montserrat Caballé, Zaragoza, Spain – 15th September 2016
Roles performed
L’AMANTE DI TUTTE: Clarice
Greek National Opera
CARMEN: Frasquita
Landestheater Coburg
DIDO AND AENEAS: Belinda/ 2ndWoman
National Garden Festival
DON CARLOS: Tebaldo
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
L’ELISIR D’ AMORE: Giannetta
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
L’ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES: Le Rossignol/Le Feu/La Princesse
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL: Konstanze
Theater Bielefeld
LA FINTA SEMPLICE: Ninetta
Greek National Opera
FLUT: Ophelia
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
GOLDEN COCKEREL: Queen of Shemakha
Landestheater Coburg
HÄNSEL UND GRETEL: Taumännchen
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
INTO THE WOODS (Sondheim): Little Red Riding Hood
Landestheater Coburg
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: Title role
Landestheater Coburg
IL NOCE DI BENEVENTO: Clodina
Rossini in Wildbad
THE MURDERESS: Toula
Megaron Athens
PETER GRIMES: First Niece
Landestheater Coburg
RIGOLETTO: Paggio
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
DER ROSENKAVALIER: Waise
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
DIE SCHNEEKÖNIGIN: Prinzessin
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
SUOR ANGELICA: La Novizie
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
VENUS AND ADONIS: Cupid/Shepherdess
Megaron Athens
DER VETTER AUS DINGSDA (Künneke): Hannchen
Landestheater Coburg
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE: Papagena
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Greek National Opera
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE: Königin der Nacht
Greek National Opera
Landestheater Coburg
Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Bühnen Bern
Staatsoper Hannover
DAS RHEINGOLD: Woglinde
Landestheater Coburg
Videos
Audio
Der Hölle Rache – Die Zauberflöte
Concerts
Bach: JOHANNESPASSION; Pergolesi: STABAT MATER; Händel: LA RESURREZIONE; Britten: LES ILLUMINATIONS
Conductors and Directors she has worked with
Hossein Pishkar; Moritz Gnan; Lukas Beikircher; Giordano Bellincampi; Johannes Braun; Patrick Chestnut; Wen-Pin Chien; Vassilis Christopoulos; Markellos Chryssicopoulos; Ville Enckelmann; Roland Fister; Lukas Karytinos; Roland Kluttig; Axel Kober; Michalis Oikonomou; Marc Piollet; Jochen Rieder; Aziz Shokhakimov; Aleksander Sokurov; Christof Stöcker; Zoi Tsokanou; Andrey Yurchevych; Nikos Vassiliou; Charish Shankar.
Suzanne Andrade; Jörg Behr; Alexander Charim; Spyros Evangelatos; David Hermann; Dietrich Hilsdorf; Guy Joosten; Barry Kosky; Esther Mertel; Alexander Müller-Elmau; Joan Anton Rechi; Tobias Ribitzki; Renata Scotto; Otto Schenk; Johannes Schmid; Tibor Torell; Alexander Vedernikov; Graham Vick; Philipp Westerbarkei; Franco Zefirelli.