MELISSA ZGOURIDI
MEZZO-SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Brazilian-American mezzo-soprano Melissa Zgouridi has been lauded by audiences and critics alike for her “sublime, sparkling bronze voice” (Forumopera.com) and “passionate interpretation” (Das Opernglas).
Melissa opens her 2024/2025 season as Carmen in a new production of Bizet’s iconic opera for Theater Hagen. Melissa will then make her role début as Erda in Siegfried at the Saarländisches Staatstheater before returning to Theater Dortmund for her second Erda in Siegfried and reprise her critically acclaimed role as Erda in Das Rheingold. In May 2025, Melissa will appear as Erda in a concert version of Siegfried at the Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles with Sébastien Rouland and the Saarländisches Staatsorchester.
In the 2023/2024 season, Melissa sang the Third Weird Sister in Pascal Dusapin’s Macbeth Underworld at Opéra Comique (directed by Thomas Jolly, conducted by Franck Ollu), Prinz Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Stadttheater Klagenfurt (directed by Aron Stiehl, conducted by Nicholas Milton), Erda in a new production of Das Rheingold at Theater Dortmund (directed by Peter Konwitschny, conducted by Gabriel Feltz) and covered Suzuki in Anthony Minghella’s celebrated production of Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera.
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CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"With [Zgourdi], the well-known opera classic feels entirely contemporary." – Ruhr Nachrichten
Carmen – "Instead of being excessively sensual and lascivious, Melissa Zgouridi portrays the lead role as strong, self-assured, and vulnerable. Her Carmen is not a walking adjective. She is a mature, multi-layered character. This is also reflected in her singing, which at times is casually provocative, at others dark and heavy, captivating the entire hall. With her, the well-known opera classic feels entirely contemporary.”
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"...a versatile mezzo-soprano of velvety warmth..." – Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung
Carmen – "Melissa Zgouridi is an impressive Carmen. Her portrayal is marked by a commanding stage presence and a versatile mezzo-soprano of velvety warmth. She masterfully captures the many facets of the role, from subtle coquettishness to dramatic outbursts, bringing them to life with remarkable nuance."
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"...the ideal Carmen..." – Neue Musikzeitung
Carmen – "Melissa Zgouridi, a wonderful mezzo, is the ideal Carmen because she brings incredible presence to every aspect of the role, giving her character strikingly clear definition."
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"...her velvety, dark mezzo-soprano..." – Online Musik Magazin
Carmen – "Melissa Zgouridi is an outstanding choice for the title role. With her velvety, dark mezzo-soprano, she portrays a Carmen full of fire, setting men's hearts ablaze. She begins with an intensely seductive presentation of the famous ‘Habanera’ and shows absolute mastery with the castanets in the second act…She also gives moving performances in the card scene and in the final [duet]…"
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“…sublime, sparkling bronze singing…” – Christine Ducq, ForumOpera.com
ERDA (DAS RHEINGOLD) – OPÉRA ROYAL DU CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES – “Finally, one can't help but understand Wotan […] yielding to the sublime, sparkling bronze singing of Melissa Zgouridi's Erda, an ideally Wagnerian young mezzo, who passionately binds us to her every word ("I know all that was, all that will be"). Coming from the Urwala and messenger of Eternity, her mysterious warning has the superior accentuations of the great tragediennes of the past.”
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“…a broad, velvety and powerful timbre…” – Axel Driffort, Olyrix.com
FLOSSHILDE & ERDA (DAS RHEINGOLD) – OPÉRA ROYAL DU CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES – “Finally, Flosshilde by Melissa Zgouridi – who is also performing Erda this evening – with a broad, velvety and powerful timbre, stands out particularly for the clarity of her vowels as well as the length of her sentences. In [Erda's] scene, the lyricism of her tessitura, as well as the constancy of her projection and the intensity of her vibrato in the treble are particularly noticeable."
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“…when she sings, a sonorous voice pours out & enchants the ear…” – Oliver Schwambach, Saarbrücker Zeitung
ERDA (DAS RHEINGOLD) – SAARLÄNDISCHES STAATSTHEATER – “One must indeed wait for Melissa Zgouridi’s sublime alto, her appearance as Erda, but when she sings, a sonorous voice pours out & enchants the ear. When this earth mother speaks & singes, even Wotan, father of the gods, takes two steps back.”
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"With her passionate interpretation & remarkable technique, she achieved by far the greatest success." – Das Opernglas
Alcina, Saarländisches Staatstheater – "The young mezzo-soprano Melissa Zgouridi, who has been a member of the Saarbrücken ensemble since 2021, shines as Ruggiero, actually a castrato role. The pants role is one of the most beautiful & demanding Handel roles ever. Zgouridi's darkly colored voice has expression, character, substance. With her passionate interpretation & remarkable technique, she achieved by far the greatest success."
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"...an enchantingly beautiful mezzo, strong characterization, warm, full of colors..." – Saarbrücker Zeitung
Alcina, Saarländisches Staatstheater – "And then the voices: In this production, they almost deliver an overabundance of good sound…& then especially Melissa Zgouridi [with] an enchantingly beautiful mezzo, strong characterization, warm, full of colors. If you heard her as Ruggiero, in this trouser role, the possible casting of the part with a countertenor would seem almost absurd."
REPRESENTATIVES
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