FERIDE BUYUKDENKTAS

Turkish mezzo-soprano Feride Büyükdenktas is one of the country's brightest classical singers.

After winning one of Turkey's most important vocal competitions and being a well-connected member of Istanbul's music scene, her path seemed clear. Following her master's program with Ulf Bästlein and Holger Falk at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria, she has performed in the opera houses of Graz, Klagenfurt and Stuttgart, as well as the Istanbul State Opera.

Her operatic roles include Cherubino in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro", Annio in Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito", and Bradamante in Händel's "Alcina". Moreover, she has had the privilege to collaborate with prominent conductors and directors such as David Hermann, Eva-Maria Höckmayr, Marco Štorman, Nicholas Carter, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Christoph Eschenbach, Helmuth Rilling and Fazıl Say.

As an artist passionate about art songs she has also given recitals with leading pianists like Julius Drake and Charles Spencer in prestigious venues such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Konzerthaus Wien.

In addition to these experiences she has taken part in masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender , Roberta Alexander, Christoph Prégardien and Richard Stokes.

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As for awards, Feride is a Britten-Pears Young Artist for 2017; winner of the “Nordfriesischen Liedpreis des Landes Schleswig-Holstein”; and also a scholar of the State of Styria.