Dimitra Kotidou

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

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.

Photos