Sofia Kyanidou is a Greek lyric singer based in Vienna, with a diverse range of activities (opera, lied, Greek song) across Greece, Austria, and the rest of Europe. As she is once again in Athens for the presentation of Dionysios Lavrangas’ opera Dido, we spoke with her about this significant event, her artistic journey, and her future plans.
Dear Ms. Kyanidou,
You divide your time between Greece and Vienna – the world capital of music. What is it that makes more and more Greek artists settle in Central Europe?
I will answer mainly from personal experience and from my students who are abroad. Our perspective is becoming more holistic regarding our Art. When you go abroad, especially to an Academy, or when you start auditions, it’s like being in the middle of an ocean – especially for sopranos. So many good to excellent singers in a constantly shrinking market. The criteria are narrowing more and more, precisely because there is a huge supply, disproportionate to the demand.
It’s a strong test of how much you want, love, and pursue this Art. How much you are willing to sacrifice, having left your homeland behind. And of course, luck. But you have the opportunity to see and hear many more performances and concerts live. Your musical horizon expands, and especially your critical ear for yourself. In an ensemble, you interact with colleagues from all over the planet. Different habits, different behaviors, different experiences, a generally different culture. And all these people create a thread that becomes a performance. A very important legacy for the flexibility we must have both as singers and as people.
Does the professional aspect also play a role?
Yes, of course, at this moment the largest market is in Central Europe. Many more theaters and opportunities. You can knock on more doors. In Greece, things are limited for a young artist. A small market, few opportunities, either to sing or to develop artistically. And of course, almost everything happens in Athens, with very few exceptions in Thessaloniki and Corfu. Young people have the opportunity to hear very important artists in Greece, especially in recent years, but they also need to sing themselves. Whatever and however much I see and hear, only the experience on stage will take me further.
You are now in Athens to lend your voice to an important Greek composer who worked tirelessly for the advancement of music in our country, Dionysios Lavrangas, founder of Greek Melodrama. You star in the concert presentation of the opera Dido, a very significant artistic event.
Singing a Greek opera – and I have had this pleasure many times to date – is always something special. Especially for Dido, I feel a particular affection. It is her story that fascinates me. We don’t just have a couple in love. She is a queen dedicated to the service of her people, and he is a hero from Troy who has not merely promised, but sworn to the Gods to lead his own people to Rome. I will say, a little simplistically, that it is a difficult equation, because we know almost from the beginning that this love cannot have a future. Dido’s end is the only unpredictable part. And inspired by this tragic story, Dionysios Lavrangas composed Dido, which is comparable to many other well-known works. The fact that it is being presented after so many years is a very important artistic event for Greek melodrama, and I hope we all honor it as it deserves.
Indeed, it is a role you have already recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra of Athens (first world recording).
The recording of the opera Dido was a real challenge. I start with the fact that it is the first studio recording with a Greek orchestra under the direction of the tireless and invaluable Byron Fidetzis. It lasted about 14 days with many takes, to achieve a perfect result. Everyone’s dedication was moving. Great physical and mental fatigue that was worth every minute. Just coordinating who, when, which part of the work we would do was a test for everyone. I consider it a sign – and call me romantic – that on the last day of recording we did the love duet with Aeneas. It was like a sweet last breath of the heroes.
What are the main challenges of the role, and what can make a music lover or an artist fall in love with this work?
I think it’s a great work; that’s how I experienced it through the recording. I am very happy that most of the collaborators are meeting again now at Olympia; from the first rehearsal, it was clear that the team remains cohesive. Regarding the challenges for the role of Dido, it is the duration of the role, which practically means correct vocal distribution. It has quite long phrases and a high tessitura. Also, because the story and the heroine’s end are already very dramatic, the singer should not get overly carried away. Sofia is one thing, Dido is another, even though I live completely in her rhythms!
You have sung many Greek works – opera and lyric song. Does singing in Greek require any adaptation of technique? We often hear that our language has not been cultivated for lyric theater.
I have never thought, and I honestly tell you, in all these years I have been singing, that the Greek language is difficult. I was very lucky that my first teacher, the great Varvara Tsampali, sang many Greek works, both opera and set-to-music poetry. I never heard her differentiate between languages, and somehow, automatically and unconsciously, I acquired the same feeling. So I never treated it as a problem. I believe that we should sing in our mother tongue, whatever it may be; our soul has different vibrations. That’s my opinion.
Which roles have defined you the most? – regardless of language.
The role that has certainly defined me is Donna Anna from Mozart’s Don Giovanni. I have sung it more than any other role. I confronted her at different periods of my life, musical and personal. This also gave me the opportunity for introspection. How I see the role at a given moment, how I support, how I justify as much as I can what the composer thought, how I have changed or progressed as Sofia, even when you realize that it’s time to ‘part ways’ with her vocally and move on.
And definitely Leonore from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio, the most beautiful opera for me. I confronted her knowing that I have a more lyrical voice and focused on the dramaturgy rather than ‘weighing down’ my voice. I believe I ‘touched’ her, and it is one of the things I am very proud of. Having sung Marcellina, the other female role in the work, many times when I was younger, Leonore and the entire Fidelio never left me. Along with Richard Strauss’s Salome, these must be the performances I have seen the most times in my life.
A difficult, even traumatic role, in which we saw you in Athens, was Axinya, which you performed with great success. It must have been a great experience to collaborate with a famous director like Fanny Ardant.
One of the most significant experiences, both on stage and personally, was a role of just 10-15 minutes, Axinya in Shostakovich’s amazing opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, in the Greek National Opera’s production. It depicts her rape by Sergei, with the entire male and female chorus present – jeering and approving. It gave me one of the most precious encounters of my life: my acquaintance and collaboration with the great Fanny Ardant. Great and humble, with a reverent approach to singers and the peculiarities of lyric singing. With a magical calm and kindness. With what care and concern she ‘staged’ an exceptionally harsh scene of the work, protecting me, both as a singer and as a woman. Anyone who saw the production will not forget that scene.
Since, in addition to melodramatic studies – stage lessons for lyric singers – you have also studied theater, how far or close are the two worlds?
It was during the COVID era, which I spent in Vienna, when everything stopped, but the artistic restlessness continued to seek an outlet. Through some karmic coincidences, I discovered online classes at the ‘Theater of Changes’. Honestly, they not only kept me on my feet, but they took me miles further. I always had a deep desire to express myself in my language through prose, not just song. I left abroad very young and didn’t have that opportunity. So, taking advantage of such a difficult situation, something very beautiful began that continues whenever I am in Athens and in person. I met people whom I will ‘carry’ lightly throughout my life. Teachers and classmates.
With theater, beyond the fact that both are performing arts, we are united by language. Whether prose or musical, text is text. Without a libretto, there would be no opera, and without poetry, there would be no lied. Beyond that, we have specific notes, melody, pauses, etc. It’s more absolute mathematics. Also, we cannot sing every day or 4-5 consecutive days like actors, which means a different physical function and use of the voice. In theater, there are considerably greater margins and ‘freedom.’ However, this freedom has risks, which is why theater also requires continuous practice, so it doesn’t overflow and become anarchy. It leaves more room for experimentation, also a very important factor for imagination. In both singing and life, we go through periods of ‘anarchy,’ sometimes with very bitter results, but we learn from them. Or we hope to learn.
That’s why I tell my students, when they sing ‘perfectly,’ to keep that moment in their mind and soul for the difficult days, which are usually more numerous. Everything in life.
However, we could also insist on the voice as ‘theater’ – as a field for the expression of speech. You have also dealt with lied, and I remember a very beautiful Winterreise by Schubert in January 2025 at the Music Library of the Friends of Music Society.
Lied has been the holy grail since I started singing. Within a single Lied, there is an entire story, a whole world. The most striking example is Schubert’s Death and the Maiden set to Goethe’s poetry. It’s just one page. Imagine it. It’s a short film if we were to visualize it.
As well as the Vier Letzte Lieder, the Four Last Songs by R. Strauss, which are my personal hologram. I sang them at different periods of my life, sometimes after pivotal personal losses. That’s when I truly understood what Hermann Hesse wrote and how Strauss set it to music… Being an extremely introverted and silent child, Lieder helped me to ‘speak’ and express myself, precisely because each one of them is a story. We always find one that tells our own.
You mentioned your students. Teaching is also an important activity for you.
Teaching is a huge magnifying glass. You see all the technical issues you had and solved, or some you are still struggling with. Because we need a third ear until the last time we sing in our lives. You see children slowly blossoming through all the easy and difficult days, just like you. You see how happy they are when they hit the note or the phrase; they want everything to be ‘perfect.’ From my own experience, I try to instill in them continuous effort without seeking perfection, but the best I can do at that moment. The word ‘perfect’ suffocates us in both singing and life, but we usually understand this from a certain age onwards. When that happens, we are liberated.
You also have to deal with different voices, characters, temperaments. You have to see each child individually. So you’re also a bit of a psychologist. Don’t misunderstand me, I mean the flexibility I mentioned earlier. And most importantly of all. The Teacher must give their students all the aids, knowledge, and freedom, so that the student can stand on their own. To fall and get up is inevitable. It’s a very delicate balance for both. A solid technical education for a solid artistic personality is always the goal. So many years of study, singing concurrently until today, and always having a third ear to ask for an opinion or help, are the most important assets for a teacher.
And one more thing, to be ‘present’ in the evolution of lyric art and the global scene. There are now many performances and recordings on social media for every taste. Let’s use them to our advantage.
What are your next plans?
I have two Stabat Mater by Pergolesi (Divine music) in Athens, on March 29 at the German Church, Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Athens State Orchestra on Holy Wednesday, a chamber music concert with horn and piano (a wonderful combination), first in Volos and hopefully in Athens, and then seminars I teach, concerts with operas and operettas in Vienna. Singing lessons and, of course, theater. Either in person or online.
Sofia Kyanidou
soprano
Sofia Kyanidou was born in Thessaloniki. She studied at the New Conservatory of Thessaloniki (class of V. Tsampali). She continued her studies at the Vienna Music Academy with Eleni Karouso (singing), lied oratorio with Kurt Equiluz and Curt Malm (Opera School).
She has collaborated with the Greek National Opera in the roles of Fiordiligi, Antonia, Micaëla, Echo, Kyra, Gertrude, Countess, and Axinya, with the Greek Experimental Opera in the operas Fidelio (Leonore), Iphigenia in Tauris, Ernani, Il Corsaro (Medora) and I due Foscari (Lucrezia) by G. Verdi, with the Athens Concert Hall, the Athens Chamber Opera, the Thessaloniki Opera, the Wiener Opern Theater, the pre-classical music ensemble Le Monde Classique, and other independent organizations. Abroad, she has performed, among others, Donna Anna, First Lady, Rosalinde, Marcellina, Fatima, Eurydice, Vier Letzte Lieder by R. Strauss, Wesendonk by R. Wagner, and Rueckert Lieder by G. Mahler.
She has performed numerous leading roles by highly significant Greek composers such as The Martyr, The Princess of Sasson, Kritikopoula (Spyros Samaras), Markos Botsaris, Fior di Maria, Maria Antoinette (Paolo Carrer), Anatoli by M. Kalomiris, and The Return of Helen by Th.
Mikroutsikos. She has appeared, among others, at the Konzerthaus and the Musikverein in Vienna. She has participated in the Dimitria Festival, the Athens Festival, the Religious Music Festival in Patmos, the Delphi Festival, Kalidoskop der Nationen, and Gaude Mater. She has collaborated with the Camerata, the Thessaloniki Municipality Symphony Orchestra, the Thessaloniki State Orchestra, the Greek Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the Orchestra of Colors. She has performed works by Greek and foreign composers of the 20th century. Her repertoire includes a wide range of works from baroque to the contemporary era.
She has recorded with Naxos the works of P. Petridis, Requiem for Constantine Palaiologos and the Oratorio Saint Paul.
In recent years, she studied with Daphne Evangelatou.
She has been attending theater classes at the “Theater of Changes” for three years.
Sofia Kyanidou participates in Dionysios Lavrangas’ “Dido”
with the Symphony Orchestra and Choir of the Municipality of Athens.
Saturday, February 7 | 8:00 PM
Olympia, “Maria Callas” Municipal Music Theatre
