BAROQUE IN PRANGINS

The contralto Marijana Mijanović was born in Serbia and currently lives in Switzerland. After studying piano at the Belgrade Academy of Music, she studied singing at the Sweelinck Conservatorium, Amsterdam with Cora Canne Meijer. She is the winner of several international competitions. Mijanović’s international breakthrough came in 2000 at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Penelope in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria under William Christie and Les Arts Florissants.

Ever since, Marijana Mijanović has been a sought-after soloist at the world’s major opera houses and concert halls such as Opernhaus Zürich, Opéra de Paris, Theater an der Wien, Théâtre de la Monnaie, Teatro Real, Nederlandse Opera, Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, as well as prestigious festivals: Festival d’Aix-en Provence, Glyndebourne Festival, Salzburger Festspiele... She worked with conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, William Christie, Alan Curtis, Hartmut Haenchen, Emmanuelle Haïm, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Paul McCreesh, Marc Minkowski, Christophe Rousset, and Jean-Christophe Spinosi...

Marijana Mijanović can be heard on various complete recordings of operas, including Handel’s Orlando under William Christie; Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto under Marc Minkowski; in Handel’s Rodelinda, Vivaldi’s Motezuma and Conti’s David under Alan Curtis; in Vivaldis Bajazet under Fabio Biondi; and in Vivaldi’s Tito Manlio under Ottavio Dantone. Affetti barocchi, Marijana Mijanović’s first solo album, featuring Handel arias, was issued by Sony/BMG in 2007.

Marijana Mijanović is also very devoted to teaching. She has been regularily invited as a guest teacher at the Belgrade Baroque Academy, High School of Music in Zürich, Belgrade Academy of Music, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Schola Cantorum Basel.

In cooperation with Opera and theatre Madlenianum and New Belgrade Opera, she has worked as artistic adviser and vocal coach in several very successful baroque opera productions: Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea and L’Orfeo; Handel’s Orlando; and Handel’s Acis and Galatea, in which she was also the stage director.

In 2020, Marijana Mijanović has started her Baroque Atelier, based in Belgrade, Serbia. Organising masterclasses, lectures, concerts and productions, this innovative program is devoting every year to a particular baroque style, starting with French baroque music.