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The Cypriot coloratura soprano, Theodora Raftis, graduated in 2014 with a First Class Honours Bachelors Degree in Vocal Performance from Birmingham Conservatoire, UK, under the guidance of Justin Lavender and Catherine Benson. In 2013, she also studied with Professor Dr. Michail Lanskoi as an Erasmus student at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar, Germany. In June 2016, she completed her two year part-time studies at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Hungary under the guidance of Andrea Meláth. In addition to her current vocal coach Claudia Visca, the Cypriot soprano has also received coachings from Natalie Dessay, Teodor Currentzis, Éva Marton, Julia Hamari, Michael Schade, Sumi Jo, Barbara Bonney and Felicity Lott. She has participated in the master-classes of Marco Balderi, Richard Stokes, Julia Hamari, Mary Plazas and Felicity Lott. She has won numerous awards, including 1st prize at the Edward Brooks English Song Prize in 2014, . 2nd prize at the 9th International József Simándy Singing Competition in 2016, 3rd Prize at the Cesti International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera 2019, 3rd Prize in the Otto Edelmann International Singing Competition 2019 and 2nd Prize in the József Simándy International Singing Competition 2016. She has also been awarded with scholarships from the A.G. Leventis Foundation and Joseph Weingarten Memorial Trust.
While a student at Vienna’s University of Music & Performing Arts, Theodora Raftis made her debut in some of the world’s most prestigious venues such as Musikverein (Vienna), Wiener Konzerthaus (Vienna), Philharmonie de Paris, St John's Smith Square (London), Cuvilliés Theatre (Munich), Liszt Academy’s Grand Hall (Budapest), Müpa (Budapest), Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City) and Shanghai Symphony Hall. Additional debuts include Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and Tiroler Landestheater (Innsbruck). Her engagements include several international concert tours in China, USA and Mexico, while her European appearances include the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, Bachfest Leipzig, Budapest Spring Festival and London Festival of Baroque Music. She has sung alongside several acclaimed artists including Andreas Scholl and has collaborated with renowned conductors such as George Petrou and Jos van Veldhoven. Performances cancelled due to the global pandemic include concerts with conductors Jordi Savall and Gianluca Capuano, tours of South America and USA, as well as her debuts in Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Megaron Concert Hall (Athens), Théâtre du Capitole (Toulouse) and Segerstrom Centre for the Arts (Costa Mesa, USA).
Theodora Raftis' operatic repertoire includes portrayals of Atamira in L’empio punito, Ermione in Oreste, Ilia in W.A. Mozart's Idomeneo, Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice, Blonde in W.A. Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Susanna in W.A. Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Mademoiselle Silberklang in W.A. Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor, Tonina in Prima la musica e poi le parole, Despina in W.A. Mozart's Così fan tutte, Servilia in W.A. Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, Carolina in Il matrimonio segreto, Olympia in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Greta Fiorentino in Street Scene and Blanche de la Force in Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites.
As a concert soloist, Theodora Raftis' engagements include J.S. Bach's Magnificat (BWV 243), St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244), B minor Mass (BWV 232), Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) and several cantatas; Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria (RV589) and Nulla in mundo pax sincera (RV630); George Frideric Handel’s Messiah (HWV56/1) and Theodora (HWV68); as well as W.A. Mozart works such as Exsultate, jubilate (K165/158a), Coronation Mass in C major (K317) and Requiem in D minor (K626). She has also performed Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten, Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations, among others.
Whereas the versatility of her voice allows Theodora Raftis to expand her repertoire to musical theatre engagements, which include songs from The Phantom of the Opera, Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story, Mary Poppins, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Whistle Down the Wind, Tell Me on a Sunday, and many more. |
