VITA English

Season 2023/24

ENSEMBLE STAATSTHEATER MEININGEN

* 15.09.23 - Premiere - Wagner - Die Feen - DROLLA - debut

* 22.09.23 - WA - Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia - ROSINA

* 27.10.23 - Premiere - Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro - CHERUBINO - debut

* 16.04.23 - WA - Wildhorn - Der Graf von Monte Christo - LOUISA VAMPA

* 31.05.23 - Premiere - Martín y Soler - Una Cosa Rara - GHITA

2022/23

Charge to High Mezzosoprano

Ensemble Staatstheater Meiningen

* Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia ROSINA - Debut

* Bizet - Ivan IV - LE JEUNE BULGARE - Debut

* Wildhorn - Der Graf von Mone Christo - LOUISA VAMPA

* Händel - Messiah - szenisch

* Konzert "Arabesque"

* Händel- Amadigi di Gaula - ORIANA - Thetater Ulm

2021/22

Ensemble State Theater Meiningen

* Händel - <Amadigi di Gaula> - ORIANA - debut

* J.Ch. Bach - <La Clemenza di Scipione> - ARSINDA - debut

* Puccini - <La Bohème> - MUSETTA - debut

* Mozart - <Zauberflöte> - PAMINA - debut

* Ulrich-Burkhard-Award

2021

Ensemble Theater Regensburg

* Raff - <La Dama Duende> - BEATRICE & Choreography

* Mozart - <Die Zauberflöte> - PAPAGENA - Live Stream

* Zimmermann - <Die Weiße Rose> - SOPHIE SCHOLL

* Händel - Rinaldo - ALMIRENA

* Sondheim - The Sound of Music - MARIA TRAPP

Chorphilharmonie Regensburg

* Mendelssohn - <Paulus> - SOPRAN

* Haydn - Die letzten sieben Worten des Erlösers am Kreuze - SOPRAN

Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik

* Pasquini - Idalma - DORILLO

Salzburger Festspiele

* Young Singers Project

* Naske - Vom Stern, der nicht leuchten konnte - STERN

2020

* Opernwelt Annual Book –

2 Nominations as <Best young Artists of the Year>

for MORASTO in Vivaldi's <La Fida Ninfa>

* Award of the Friends of Theater Regensburg

* Feature in the Online-Magazin <Operawire>

2019

* Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis in the category <Performing Arts>

* January Cover and <My theater-town> photo-series. in <Die Deutsche Bühne>

* Charity-concerts in favor of the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation

Until 2020/21

* Member of the ensemble at Theater Regensburg

13 Opera-parts + 1 Operetta-part + 1 Musical part

including 3 world premiers

* Messiah + h-moll-mass (staged)

* Gala-Concerts + Zarzuela-Concerts

* Performing at the Award Ceremony of <Der Faust>

2018

* Cavalli - Gli Amori d'Apollo & di Dafne - DAFNE - Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik

* Internationally highly acclaimed debut as HANNAH ARENDT YOUNG in Ella Milch-Sheriffs World-Premiere <The Banality of Love> at Theater Regensburg

Spanish-German mezzosoprano Sara-Maria Saalmann, praised by the press for her "clear voice", "authentic acting" and "extraordinary expression" studied VOICE with Turid Karlsen at the State Conservatory for Music and Theatre Hamburg and the State Conservatory for Music and Drama Stuttgart, where she graduated "summa cum laude" in 2018.

Masterclasses with Margreet Honig (Amsterdam), Maria Husmann (Avignon, Berlin), Jeffrey Francis (Berlin, Tel Aviv), Efrat Ben Nun (Tel Aviv), Marten Koningsberger (Amsterdam) and Prof. Hendrikje Wangemann - her current teacher - as well as Danceworkshops for stage dance and the "Academy for Contemporary Music" in Avignon completed her education.

She was awarded with the Bavarian Arts Supporting Award 2019 in the category <Performing Arts>; received the Award of the Friends of the Theater Regensburg and the Ulrich-Burhardt-Award at State Theater Meiningen and was 2x nominated as <Best Newcomer of the Year> for her interpretation of MORASTO in Vivaldi's “La Fida Ninfa” in the Annual Book of <DIE OPERNWELT>

In October 2022, Sara-Maria Saalmann changed from soprano to a mezzo-soprano, performing as 1st part in her new <Fach> ROSINA in Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" (also overtaking the Spanish choreography) in stage direction of Brigitte Fassbaender at Staatstheater Meiningen, where she is a member of the ensemble since 2021/22, appearing so far as a highly celebrated ORIANA in Händel's "Amadigi di Gaula" under the baton of Attilio Cremonesi and in stage direction of Hinrich Horstkotte; followed up by a not less successful ARSINDA in J.CH. Bach's re-discovered opera "La Clemenza di Scipione", MUSETTA in Puccini's "La Bohéme" in stage direction of famous artist Markus Lüpertz, PAMINA in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" in stage direction by Achim Freyer, as LOUISA VAMPA in Wldhorn's musical "Der Graf von Monte Christo", in Händel's staged "Messiah" and as YOUNG BULGAR in Bizet's Grand Opera "Ivan", which will be shown in a staged production.

The season 2023/24 sees her debuts as CHERUBINO in Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" and DROLLA in Wagner's "Die Feen", the revivals as ROSINA and LOUISA VAMPA, as well as GHITA in Martín y Solers "Una Cosa Rara", which she already performed at Theater Regensburg, where Mrs Saalmann was a member of the ensemble from 2018 until 2021, giving a fulminant and internationally highly acclaimed debut as HANNAH ARENDT YOUNG in Ella Milch-Sheriff’s World-premiere “The Banality of Love”.

Further parts included ZERLINA in Mozart‘s “Don Giovanni”, ÄNNCHEN in Weber‘s “Freischütz”, ANNA in Gabriel Prokofiev’s worldpremiere “Elizabetta” and ANNA in Verdi’s “Nabucco”, PRINZESSIN ROSEMARY in Kálmán’s operetta “Die Herzogin von Chicago”, SISSI in Franz Hummel’s world-premiered Musical “Ludwig II. oder die Sehnsucht nach dem Paradies”, SOPRAN I. in Bachs staged “h-moll-messe”, LA MUSICA, EURIDICE, CORE, PROSERPINA & ECO in the live-streamed opera spectacle “L’Orfeo” by Thies Mynther after Monteverdi with Beats by Gebrüder Teichmann and in stage direction of "Kollektiv Hauen und Stechen"; and as BEATRICE in Joachim Raff’s opera comique “La Dama Duende” , where Sara-Maria also was responsible fort he (Spanish) Choreography.

In addition, she appeared in the Award-Ceremony of “Der Faust 2018”, sang the SOPRANO in Händel’s “Messiah” and Gala-Concerts; Solo-programs with Zarzuelas and Spanish Art-Songs at the Thom Dittmer Palais; and with Kristin Okerlund and Fiona Pollak at the piano, and alongside Peter Seiffert, Petra-Maria Schnitzer and violinist Lidia Baich, to Cherity Concerts in support of the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation.

Due to Covid, Mrs Saalmann's concerts with Mendelssohn’s “Paulus” with the Chorphilharmonie Regensburg and Haydn’s “Die letzten sieben Worte des Erlösers am Kreuze” with the Regensburger Kantorei had to be cancelled. As well as her debuts as ALMIRENA in Händel's "Rinaldo", MARIA TRAPP in Sondheim's musical "Sound of music" and SOPHIE SCHOLL in Zimmermann’s "Die Weiße Rose" at Theater Regensburg; and Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" with Mrs Saalmann as PAPAGENA only was shown as Live-Stream.

as well as Mendelssohn’s “Paulus” with the Chorphilharmonie Regensburg and Haydn’s “Die letzten sieben Worte des Erlösers am Kreuze” with the Regensburger Kantorei;

And also, her participation at the Young Singers Project of the Salzburger Festspiele, where she also should have had created the title-part of STERN in E. Naskes Worldpremiere “Vom Stern, der nicht leuchten konnte" was cancelled, as well as her debut as DORILLO in Pasquini's "Idalma" at the Festwochen der Alten Musik, where she already was a celebrated DAFNE in Cavalli's "Gli amori di Apollo & di Dafne" and embodied TABARCO in Händel’s “Almira” in a production of State Opera Hamburg under the baton of Alessandro de Marchi.

Her concert-repertoire includes Bach's "Matthäuspassion", “h-moll-Messe” and his "Weihnachtsoratorium"; Händel's "Messiah", Haydn's "Jahreszeiten" and "Schöpfung", as well as numerous Art-Songs from Monteverdi via Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Fauré, Wolf, Mahler and Poulenc, to Aaron Copeland, Siegfried Matthus, Wolfgang Rihm and Strauss' "Vier letzte Lieder", wich she sang at the Kirsten Flagstad Festival;

and as "Musical Environment Ambassador" of the Deutscher Musikrat, she performed during her studies concerts on a tour in Japan, at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Prager Philharmonie, in the German consulates in Madrid and Barcelona; and at the Hamburger Handelskammer; life broadcasted by ZDF Kultur and also released on DVD.

Mrs. Saalmann had the pleasure to work with conductors and stage directors such as Philippe Bach, Andreas Baseler, Sam Brown, Brigitte Fassbaender, Achim Freyer, Hinrich Horstkotte, Franziska Kronfoth, Marcus Hobbes, Julia Lwowski, Jeske Mijnissen, Alessandro de Marchi, Hendrik Müller, Chin-Chao Lin, Alessandra Premoli, Johannes Pölzgutter, Matthias Reichwald, Aaron Stiehl, Christoph Spering, Massimiliano Toni and Itay Tiran.

Sara-Maria Sabater Saalmann was born in Valencia and raised in Hamburg.

In the age of 14, she was accepted to the "Youth Opera Academy" at Hamburger Staatsoper and the "Studies Preparing Program" of the Conservatory Hamburg.

And from her 11th year, she appeared for 10 years in numerous parts, including LASSO in Glanert's "The three riddles", as Maxwell Davis' CINDERELLA and Valtinoni's SNOWQUEEN at Opera Piccola of the State Opera Hamburg.

Many articles and portraits in print-media, on radio and in TV documented her young career; and on the occasion of her 10th-stage-anniversary at Opera Piccola, the Magazine "Opernglas" devoted a feature to her.

In 2015, the versatile you artist published herself "The concept of children"s operas, and the impacts to the development of children" (Boosey & Hawkes).

Competition successes included several times 1st and 2nd prizes at the German Competition "Jugend musiziert" in Hamburg and Berlin; the Hans Sikorski Gedächtnispreis for the "Best Interpretation of a contemporary work"; the "Orchestra-Award of the Hamburger Symphoniker"; and in summer 2017, she was a finalist at the renowned International Antonio Cesti Singing Competition for Baroque Opera at Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik.

She was a scholarship holder of the Berenberg Bank and the Deutschlandstipendium, and 2x of the Live Music Now! Yehudi Menuhin Foundation.

In 2020, Sara-Maria Saalmann was interviewed by Operawire (Link) and in January 2019, she graced the COVER of the magazine Die Deutsche Bühne, and was portrayed in the 6-pages-photo-series "My theater-city" (Link).