Teaching Staff

She was born in Athens. She has graduated from the Department of Sociology of Panteion University and holds a diploma in classical singing from the Irini Darzenda Conservatory. She has studied piano and advanced music theory at the Apollonius Conservatory. She has attended the Kostas Kazakos Theatre School while, over the years, she has attended numerous seminars in acting, theatre, dance, directing improv and cinema at the Theatre of Changes. She has been taught classical dance at the schools of Maya Sofou, Voula Pyrpasopoulou, Vicky Papa etc.

As far as classical singing is concerned, she has studied, among others, with Dimitris Kavrakos, Marina Krilovici, Christina Giannakopoulou, Mata Katsouli, Elpiniki Zervou while she has attended masterclasses under the supervision of the Greek National Opera (GNO), the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata, etc. In her first steps she collaborated with the Children’s Stage of the GNO (Tsar Saltan, the Beautiful Tsarevna and the Enchanted Swan, and Die Fledermaus – The Dance of Fairy Tales, both directed by Karmen Rouggeri, and Puss in Boots, directed by Thomas Moschopoulos).

As a lyrical singer she has performed the following roles: Hedda (Hedda Gabler, George Dousis, GNO), That Person (George Dousis, Hellenic Radio & Television), Dihna (Trouble in Tahiti, Leonard Bernstein, Semio Theatre , Santorini Festival), Civetta (Fior Di Maria, P. Carrer, MCF), Flora Bervoix (La Traviata, Giuseppe Verdi, GNO), Elena Popova (The Bear, William Walton, Semio Theatre), Giovanna (Ernani, Giuseppe Verdi, Benaki Museum), Dina (The First Love, Nikos Chatziapostolou, GNO), Rita (I Want To See The Pope!, Theofrastos Sakellaridis, GNO), Die Schleppträgerin (Elektra, Richard Strauss, GNO) etc.

At the same time, she has represented the GNO in various artistic activities and concerts while she has collaborated with the Medium Project group, the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, the Gialino Music Theatre, the En Fones Vocal Ensemble, the MCF, the Onassis Stegi, the Municipality of Athens, the Hellenic Radio and Television, etc. From 2012 to date she is a permanent member of the choir of the GNO.

The Greek born mezzo-soprano Irini Karaianni has followed a very diverse career that brought her in major opera houses including the Teatro alla Scala (Giulietta in Tales of Hoffmann), Opera di Roma (Octavian in Rosenkavalier and Carmen at the Terme di Caracalla), Teatro Massimo in Palermo (Dulcinee in Don Quichotte and Caterina in Greek passion), Oper Frankfurt (Giulietta), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Olga in E. Onegin), the Israeli Opera of Tel Aviv (Nicklausse in Tales of Hoffmann), Guangzhou Opera House (Carmen). She has appered in numerous productions of the greek National Opera, the Megaron of Athens, the Concert Hall of Thessaloniki and other international venues in roles such as Rosina (Barbiere), Angelina (Cenerentola), Isabella (Italiana in Algeri), Isolier (Le Comte Ory), Cherubino (Nozze di Figaro), Adalgisa (Norma), Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos), Miss Jessel (Turn of the screw), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte) and Charlotte (Werther).

Recent highlights include the role of Lilly Vanessi in Cole Porter’s “Kiss me Kate” for the Athens Festival and later the Megaron of Athens, Romeo in Bellini’s “Montechi e Capuleti” at the Greek national opera, Hanna Glawari in Lehar’s “Mary widow” at the Megaron.

After winning the “Giuseppe di Stefano” international contest in 1998, she was invited to perform the role of Carmen in many theatres all over Italy including Teatro Romano di Fiesole and Teatro Greco di Taormina) and Rosina and Nicklausse for (A.S.LI.CO).

An important part of her activity is dedicated to the music of the 18th cent. including roles such as Bradamante (Alcina), Carilda (Arianna in Creta), Cornelia (Giulio Cesare), Irene (Tamerlano), Irene (Theodora), Ottone (Incoronazione di Poppea), Clytemnestre (Iphigenie en Aulide), Costanza (Isola Disabitata) and numerus concert works by Handel, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart etc.

She has participated in award winning recordings of Handel’s Tamerlano, Arianna in Creta, Giulio Casare, Alessandro Severo and Gluck’s Il trionfo di Clelia for the German label MDG, receiving praise from the international press as one of today’s foremost interpreters of Handel’s music.

She is equally comfortable with the concert stage, performing in recitals, concerts and special projects with a very wide range of repertoire.

Greek born soprano Myrsini Margariti, is a versatile singer with a very wide repertoire, including works from baroque to contemporary music. She is praised by the critics for her profound musicality, virtuosity, clarity of sound and striking stage presence: “Her voice is extremely versatile, includes wonderfully lyrical as high dramatic register” – NDR Kultur, “Whether threading delicate lines, singing with attack or brilliant coloratura relish, she also encompassed the emotional range of this programme.” – The telegraph, “Her stage presence is regal.” – classicalsource.com

Recently she performed  the title role  in “Alcina”  in a tour in Germany and Switzerland, Armida (Rinaldo), Anastasio (Giustino)  at the Handel Festival Goettingen in Germany, both under W. Katschner and Lautten Compagney , Elle in “La voix humaine” of F. Pulenc at the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, the baroness in the  world premiere of the opera “Leporella”  written by the greek composer G. Kouroupos at the Greek National Opera. She participated as  a soloist in many concerts: Bach’s Weinachtsoratorium, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Exsultate, Julate and Missa brevis K65, Beethoven’s 9th symphony  o.a.

Previous highlights of her carreer include appearances at  Bozar/Brussels, the BBC PROMS,  the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Valetta Baroque Festival, Malta, Handel Festival Halle, Germany. As a concert singer she has performed in Indonesia,  China, Malta, Greece, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Mexiko, England, Hungary, Belgium and the Netherlands. In January and February 2018 she sang the role of Laodice in “Siroe” with the Nederlandse Reisopera, touring several opera houses in Netherlands.

She began her carreer singing the role of Serpetta in a production directed by Dorris Doerrie (La finta giardiniera – Landestheater Salzburg in cooperation with the International Salzburg Festival). From 2006 to 2009 Myrsini Margariti was a member of the ensemble at the Halle Opera in Germany, where she performed several roles: Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Euridice (L’ Orfeo), Wellgunde (Das Rheingold), Xenia (Boris Godunov), Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), Tebaldo and Voce dal cielo (Don Carlo) a.o.

Guest appearances include among others  Theaters of Erfurt,  Darmstadt, Oldenburg (Germany), Theater Winterthur, Schaffhausen, Vills, Olten (Swiss), Megaron Athens, International Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Greek National Opera, Onassis Cultural Center, Theater Herodes Atticus  a.o. in roles such as Elle (La voix humaine),  Micaela (Carmen), Contessa and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Armida (Rinaldo), Morgana and Alcina (Alcina), Drusilla (L‘ incoronazione di Poppea) , Angelica (Orlando Furioso) , Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Clorinda (Cenerentola), Sylvia (L’ isola disabitata), Coryphee (Alceste), Laodice (Hasse’s Siroe), Salome (Stradella’s San Giovanni), Valencienne (Die Lustige Witwe), Johanna (Sweeney Todd) a.o

She studied voice and violin at the National Conservatory in Athens and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Musicology from the University of Athens. She completed two Master’s Degrees in “Lied and Oratorio” and “Opera and Musical Theater” with the highest honors, at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. During her studies  she was granted with the “Alexander Onassis Foundation” and the “Juergen Ponto Stiftung” Scholarship.  Since 2017 she is professor in Athens Conservatory and artistic director of the annual  “Lied Festival”  of the conservatory.

Discography:

• Greek Muse (Irida Classical – 2020)
• Grand Tour – Baroque Road Trip (Pentatone – 2017)
• Claude Debussy – La musique a moi (Utopia music – 2013)
• Apollo e Dafne ( Avi Music – 2010)

Lenia is an opera and concert singer, poet and translator. She has sung with Philharmonia Orchestra, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, Armonia Atenea, State Orchestra of Athens, Symphony Orchestra of Cyprus and other orchestras. She has collaborated with pianists and chamber music ensembles in the UK, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece. She has presented her own projects and participated in productions of the Greek National Opera, Greek Festival, Athens Concert Hall and Onassis Cultural Centre. In 2017, her personal album Sunless Loves, with works by Brahms, Prokofiev and Mussorgsky, was published by the British label First Hand Records.

Lenia has published three poetic books: Paternoster Square (Polis, Athens 2012, Prize “Anagnostis” 2013), It is hard to stumble on stones (Patakis, Athens 2016, Prize “Woman of the Year” 2017) and Hall of the lost steps (Polis, 2019, Prize of the Laskaridis Foundation). Poems from her second book have been translated into German and included in the anthology Kleine Tiere zum Schlachten (parasitenpresse, Κöln 2017). As singer and translator into Greek, she has published an anthology with poems by Goethe and Heine, accompanied by a CD with romantic art songs on the poems of the book (Patakis, Athens 2013). She has also translated the complete Sonnets and The Rape of Lucrece by W. Shakespeare (Gutenberg, Athens 2016, 2021) and Tsar Saltan by Pushkin (Patakis 2017). Lenia is a producer of Greek National Radio ERT3.

Lenia studied singing, piano and Lied at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart and opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, with scholarships by the Maria Callas and the Alexandros Onassis Foundations. She completed her studies at the National Opera Studio in London, supported by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and by Serena Fenwick.

Website: https://leniasafiropoulou.gr

Baritone Dimitris Tiliakos, was born in Rhodes and after studying the viola, he began his vocal training at the “Athenaeum” conservatory of Athens.

He won the “MARIA CALLAS PRIZE” and a two years Scholarship, wich allowed him to continue his studies in Opera and Lied at the “Hochschule für Musik und Theater München” where he was awarded with the music degree “Meisterklassendiplom” for outstanding artistic performance.

Shortly thereafter he made his debut at the Prinzregententheater in Munich in the role of Conte Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and was awarded the “W. D. Fassbaender Prize” for young baritones.

Dimitris Tiliakos has already trod the boards of some among the major theaters of the world, including New York Metropolitan Opera (La Bohème), Opera National de Paris (Don Carlo, Macbeth), London Royal Opera House (Don Carlos), Opera de Monte Carlo (La Bohème), Sala Sao Paulo, Teatro La Fenice (Manon Lescaut), Polish National Opera (Otello, Carmen), Athens Megaron (Simone Boccanegra, Macbeth), Tokyo Opera City ,Greek National Opera (Don Giovanni, Carmen, Il Trovatore), Moscow Tchaikovsky Hall (La Boheme), Theater Bern (Carmen), Teatro Real Madrid (Les Huquenots, Dido and Aeneas, Macbeth, The fiery Angel by Prokofiev), Opera de Nice ( Il Trovatore and Simone Boccanegra), Staatsoper Hamburg (Manon Lescaut), Cologne Opera (La Forza del destino), Nederlandse Opera (La Traviata), Vlaamse Opera, Luxemburg Opera (La Forza del destino), Semper Oper of Dresden (Rigoletto, Les Huguenots), Teatro Liceu Barcelona (The Legend of the invisible city of Kitezh by Rimsky-Korsakov), Theatre Royal de la Monnaie (Trovatore, Rigoletto,Francesca da Rimini), Diaghilev Festival in Russia (La Traviata) Danish Royal Opera (La Traviata),Bolshoi Theatre(Don Giovanni, Rigoletto), Opernhaus Zurich (Macbeth, Don Pasquale) and many others.

Dimitris Tiliakos has worked and continues to work with internationally renowned conductors such as Evelino Pido, Carlo Rizzi, Giuliano Carella, Teodor Currentzis, Myung-whun Chung, Alain Altinoglu, Marc Minkowski and others and directors such as: Graham Vick, Claus Guth, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Robert Carsen, Bob Wilson and many others.

His discography and DVD releases include Verdi’s Macbeth for Bel Air Classiques with the Paris National Opera Orchestra, Dido and Aeneas for Alpha, Francesca da Rimini (Lanciotto) for Bel Air Classiques, Schubert’s Winterreise for Navis Classics, Mozart’s Don Giovanni (title role) for Sony Classical under the baton of Teodor Currentzis, a recording that received international awards: BBC Music Magazine Award 2017, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Edison Klassiek.

Dimitris teaches the art of singing in masterclasses in Greece, but also in universities abroad such as the Royal Conservatoire de Bruxelles and the Hochschule fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart.