Marijana Mijanović

Direction artistique et chant

Marijana Mijanović

Serbian-born contralto Marijana Mijanović now lives in Switzerland. After studying piano at the Belgrade Academy of Music, she went on to study singing at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam.

In 2000, after winning several international competitions, she made her international breakthrough at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence as Penelope in Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, conducted by William Christie. Since then, she has been a sought-after soloist at the world's leading opera houses, concert halls and prestigious festivals, and has worked with conductors including Marc Minkowski, René Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe, Alan Curtis, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Emmanuelle Haïm, Fabio Biondi and Ottavio Dantone.

She can be heard in leading roles on various recordings of operas such as Handel's Orlando conducted by William Christie, Handel's Giulio Cesare conducted by Marc Minkowski, Vivaldi's Motezuma conducted by Alan Curtis. Her first solo album, Affetti barocchi, featuring arias by Handel, was released in 2007.

Marijana Mijanović is also very dedicated to teaching and has regularly been invited to give masterclasses at various universities, including the Zurich University of Music and Performing Arts and the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts.

Promoting young professional musicians and supporting them to facilitate the transition between their studies and their professional lives has been at the heart of her activities since the creation of the Belgrade Baroque Academy and the New Belgrade Opera (2013). There, she has produced numerous projects and professional opera productions involving young talent and exploring new artistic approaches.

Since 2020, she has been the founder and artistic director of Prangins Baroque, the festival that celebrates the richness of baroque music and brings together internationally renowned mentors and young talents.