The geography of music is going through a drastic change in the 21st century. Without a doubt, Berlin is currently holding the title of the opera capital of the world. The city features three major opera theatres, two renowned music academies, there are many festivals and competitions held, and the Berlin opera stages have very few competitors in terms of the number of premieres and guest stars. The Berlin opera is extremely international, Asian and Eastern European artists play an increasingly important role there. And that is not only in Berlin: none of the major opera theatres or famous music competitions can do without them.

The traditional New Year’s concert OPERA STARS GALA in Tallinn and Tartu bears the name The Voices of Berlin in 2023 and offers the most authentic picture of the current opera world. The singers performing at the concert are now taking the stages of Berlin (and the entire world).

Critics compare the Korean tenor Kangyoon Shine Lee to young Juan Diego Flórez. Recently, he successfully performed at the Plácido Domingo Operalia. He achieved third place in the Vienna Belvedere competition, which is one of the best known in Europe and was immediately hired to work in two Berlin theatres – Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper. The repertoire of the singer includes the duke in Rigoletto and Tamino in The Magic Flute, Nemorino in The Elixir of Love and Faust in the opera of the same name.

Slovenian baritone Jaka Mihelač was the soloist in the international opera studio of the Berlin State Opera for two seasons participating in operas such as Rigoletto, Carmen, Khovanshchina and Samson and Delilah. Then he returned to the stage to play the lead in The Barber of Seville and participate in the world premiere of Peter Eötvös’ Sleepless. In 2023, Jaka will be taking the stage of the Berlin State Opera in the lead role of the famous modern German composer Georg Friedrich Haas’ opera Thomas.

Oleksandra Djachenko (mezzosoprano) and Oksana Pinchuk (coloratura soprano) from Ukraine are taking their first steps on the Berlin stages. In 2021, Oleksandra became the soloist of the Kyiv Opera and in 2022 she was invited to Berlin to take part in Wagner’s The Master-Singers of Nuremberg at the Deutsche Oper. Oksana studied at the Lviv National Opera and was the soloist for the national academic song and dance ensemble Hutsulia. Currently, both ladies are fine-tuning their craft in one of the most renowned music schools - Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin.

And to complete the evening – the prima donna Narine Yeghiyan. Her opera career in Germany started already in 2009 when she participated in the famous opera competition Neue Stimmen. This was followed by internship in the international opera studio of the Schiller Theatre of the State Opera. Since the 2013/2014, Nerine a full member of the State Opera. There her repertoire includes Mozart’s Zerlina and Pamina, Aamor Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice, Najaad Strauss’ opera Ariadne on Naxos, Woglinde Wagner’s The Rheingold and Musetta Puccini’s La Boheme. In 2016, Narine made a debut in the lead role of Jolanta the opera by Tchaikovsky at the Berlin Philharmonic.

The New Year’s gala will feature hits from opera: solo numbers and ensembles from Carmen, Rigoletto, The Magic Flute, La Boheme and The Tales of Hoffman, and of course, melodies from the operettas by Strauss and Lehár, without which the New Year would not be the New Year.

The host of the gala is Mart Sander

Accompanied by Ralf Taal (piano) and ensemble Yheksa

Customer service: +372 5661 0811 / gala@lime.ee