Ildikó Komlósi

The mezzosoprano Ildikó Komlósi graduated from the Liszt Academy, then continued her studies at the London Guildhall School of Music and the Scala in Milan. She won the Pavarotti Singing Competition in 1986, and made her US début alongside the world-famous tenor, conducted by Lorin Maazel. Having won a series of competitions, she met success in Vienna, Frankfurt and, since 1990, at the Scala in Milan. She is sought after by the most prestigious of opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, London’s Royal Opera House, the Scala or the Deutsche Oper in Berlin.

One of the greatest of her recent successes was her performance of Aida, which premièred the 2006 season at the Scala and was directed by Zeffirelli; she performed the same role at the Royal Opera, directed by Robert Wilson and conducted by Antonio Pappano. For 15 years she has been a regular guest at the Verona Arena where she has performed the roles of Carmen, Amneris, Santuzza and Laura to great acclaim. In 2010, on the 125th anniversary of the Met, she was successful in the season’s première, and in December 2013 she was also celebrated for her role as the Nurse in the Met’s Die Frau ohne Schatten. As well as her many international appearances she regularly sings at the Hungarian State Opera House.

One of her favourite roles is Bartók’s Judit, which she has performed over 150 times all over the world; she celebrated her 150th performance of the role at the Scala in September 2015. Decca released a recording of that opera, which she performed with László Polgár and was conducted by Iván Fischer.