SEASON 2024/25
Ensemble Staatstheater Meiningen
* Premiere & Debut - Rameau - Castor & Pollux - Part tba soon
* Premiere & Debut - Ethel Smyth - The Wreckers - JACK (renamed Sophie)
* Premiere & Debut - Verdi - Don Carlo- THIBAULT
* Premiere - Mozart - Don Giovanni - ZERLINA
* Premiere & Debut - Frank Wildhorn -Jekyll & Hyde - LISA
Revival Premiers
*Martin y Soler - Una Cosa Rara - GHITA
* Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro - CHERUBINO
* Puccini - Madama Butterfly - KATE PINKERTON
In short....
Born in Valencia, raised in Hamburg
Children's-Choir "Alsterspatzen" at State Opera Hamburg
Studies: Young Student at Conservatory Hamburg
Voice: Conservatory Hamburg & Stuttgart - Master’s Degree “summa cum laude”
From the age of 11 until 21 - "Prima Donna" at Opera Piccola by State Opera Hamburg
On occasion of her 10th anniversary - feature in DAS OPERNGLAS
2022/23 - Fach-Change to HIGH LYRIC MEZZOSORPANO
Ensemble Staatstheater Meiningen
Ensemble Theater Regensburg
Guest Commitments:
State Opera Hamburg, Theatre Ulm, Höflinger Schloßkonzerte,
Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, Thom-Dittmer-Palais
Bavarian Art-Supporting-Award in the category <Performing Arts>
Annual Book of magazine OPERNWELT
nominated as <Best female performer> for LE JEUNE BULGARE in Bizet's "Ivan IV"
Annual book of magazine OPERNWELT
2x nominated as <Best young female performer> for MORASTO in Vivaldi's <La Fida Ninfa>
Featured by OPERAWIRE
Cover photo and 6-pages feature in DIE DEUTSCHE BÜHNE
Award of the <Friends of the Theatre Regensburg>
Award of the <Friends of the Staatstheater Meiningen>
Several 1st & 2nd Prizes at "Jugend musiziert" in Hamburg and Berlin
Hans Sikorski Memory Award for the "Best Interpretation of a contemporary work";
Orchestra-Award of the Hamburger Symphoniker
Finalist and winner of a role at International Antonio Cesti Singing Competition for Baroque Opera
Sccholarships by the Berenberg Bank, Deutschlandstipendium, and 2x of the Live Music Now! Yehudi Menuhin Foundation.
Publication at Boosey & Hawkes: "The concept of children"s operas, and the impacts to the development of children"
Spanish-German mezzosoprano Sara-Maria Saalmann, praised by the press for her "clear, immense beautiful 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". 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, 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 in the category <Performing Arts>; received the Award of the Friends of Theater Regensburg, the Ulrich-Burhardt-Award Meiningen, and in the Annual Book of <DIE OPERNWELT>, Mrs Saalmann was 2x nominated as <Best Newcomer of the Year> for her interpretation of MORASTO in Vivaldi's “La Fida Ninfa” and as <Best Female Performer> for LE JEUNE BULGARE in Bizet's opera-re-discovery "Ivan IV.".
In October 2022, Sara-Maria Saalmann changed her "Fach" from soprano to a high lyric mezzo-soprano, performing as 1st part 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, coming from the ensemble at Theater Regensburg., which she joined right after her studies.
The 2024/25 season sees her debuts as THIBAULT in Verdi's "Don Carlo", SOPHIE (renamed from Jack) in Ethel Smyth's "The Wreckers", LISA in Frank Wildhorn's "Jekyll & Hyde", as well as ZERLINA in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and the revival premiers of Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro", Puccini's Madama Butterfly" and Martin y Soler's "Una Cosa Rara" with Mrs Saalmann as CHERUBINO, KATE PINKERTON and GHITA.
Guest commitments brought her as DAFNE in Cavalli's "Gli amori di Apollo & di Dafne" and as TABARCO in Händel’s “Almira” to the the Festwochen der Alten Musik, and Tabasco also to the State Opera Hamburg.
Due to Covid, 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.
Next to the already mentioned, Sara-Maria Saalmann created - with high critically acclaim - in World-Premiers the parts of HANNAH ARENDT YOUNG in Ella Milch-Sheriff’s “The Banality of Love”, of KAISERIN SISSYin Franz Hummel's musical “Ludwig II. - ode die Sehnsucht nach dem Paradies", of ANNA in Gabriel Prokofiev's “Elizabetta" , as well as of 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 performed - as mezzosoprano and soprano the roles of LOUISA VAMPA, ORIANA in Händel's "Amadigi di Gaula", DROLLA in Wagner's "Die Feen", ARSINDA in J.CH. Bach's re-discovered opera "La Clemenza di Scipione", MUSETTA in Puccini's "La Bohéme", PAMINA in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte", ÄNNCHEN in Weber‘s “Der Freischütz”, Bachs staged “h-moll-messe” and Händel's staged "Messiah", ANNA in Verdi’s “Nabucco”, PRINZESSIN ROSEMARY in Kálmán’s operetta “Die Herzogin von Chicago” and BEATRICE in Joachim Raff’s opera comique “La Dama Duende” , where Sara-Maria also was responsible for the Spanish Choreography, also in "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and "Una Cosa Rara".
In addition, she appeared in the Award-Ceremony of “Der Faust”, sang Händel’s “Messiah”, Gala-Concerts and Solo-Recitals 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 for the José Carreras Leukemia Foundation. Her concert-repertoire includes Bach's "Matthäuspassion", “h-moll-Messe” and his "Weihnachtsoratorium"; Händel's "Messiah", Haydn's "Jahreszeiten", "Schöpfung", and "Die letzten 7 Worte des Erlösers am Kreuze", Mendelssohn's "Paulus", as well as numerous Art-Songs from Monteverdi via Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Fauré, Wolf, Mahler and Poulenc, to Aaron Copeland, Siegfried Matthus, and Wolfgang Rihm, as well as Strauss' "Vier letzte Lieder", wich Mrs Saalmann 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, Attilio Cremonesi, Killian Farrell, Brigitte Fassbaender, Achim Freyer, Hinrich Horstkotte, Franziska Kronfoth, Marcus Hobbes, Julia Lwowski, Markus Lüüpertz, 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 as "Prima Donna" 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 by 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 featured by Operawire (Link) and she graced the COVER of magazine Die Deutsche Bühne, and was portrayed in the 6-pages-photo-series "My theater-city" (Link). Season 2024/25 For a CV in required length, and a headshot, please contact us at: AYNpmn(a)icloud.com Für ein CV in gewünschter Länge und ein Portraitfoto, kontaktieren Sie uns bitte unter: AYNpmn(a)icloud.com |
2023/24
* Premiere - Wagner - Die Feen - DROLLA - debut
* Revival Premiere - Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia - ROSINA
* Premiere - Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro - CHERUBINO - debut
* Revival Premiere - Wildhorn - Der Graf von Monte Christo - LOUISA VAMPA
* WORLD Premiere - Aagaard-Nilsen - Ghosts - DIE JUNGE HELENE
* Premiere - Martín y Soler - Una Cosa Rara - GHITA
2022/23
Change to High Lyric 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