“… Margarita Slepakova was a delightful Dido, in the richness of the aliquots of her mezzo-soprano containing emotions absolutely consistent with her stage prowess.” (A. Suprynowicz, Dwutygodnik)
“Her voice is of great elegance, firm and sonorous, with an excellent projection” (Classique News)
Margarita is a coloratura mezzo-soprano based in Basel and Warsaw. After graduating from Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and the prestigious Monteverdi Apprenticeship program under the guidance of John Eliot Gardiner, she enjoys an international career as an opera, concert, and recital singer cooperating with ensembles and orchestras in Europe. Her repertoire extends from the music of the 16th century up to contemporary works, with a particular focus on the 17th and 18th century, Classical and early Romantic eras. She has sung in Carnegie Hall, Harris Theater Chicago, and in most European countries in concert halls including Royal Albert Hall (BBC Proms), Musikverein Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, St.Petersburg State Capella, Palau di Musica Catalana, Mozarteum Salzburg, Philharmonies of Paris, Munich, Essen, Luxembourg and Budapest and opera houses of Zürich, Vienna, Basel, Antwerp, and Ghent.
The beginning of the season 2022/2023 sees her performing the role of Dido in Dido & Aenesas by Henry Purcell at Warsaw Chamber Opera, the role of Cecilio in Lucio Silla by W. A. Mozart with Capella Cracoviensis, the role of Maria Maddalena in La Resurrezione by G. F. Haendel in Bern. She will also perform recitals with the ensemble Le Sommeil during the Freunde Alter Musik Basel festival and Early Music Festival at the Wilanow Palace in Warsaw and premiere a contemporary piece by Stefan Wesołowki during the festival Eufonie in Warsaw. Other engagements of the season include performances with ensembles like Monteverdi Choir, Zürcher Sing-Akademie, and La Cetra Vokalensemble.
Her other recent engagements include a role of Lucinda in Moro per Amore by Alessandro Stradella with Ensemble Mare Nostrum under the direction of Andrea de Carlo during a series of shows in Italy and an album recording for Arcana – Outhere Music label; a recording release by Universal with ensemble Le Sommeil, a solo recital with the ensemble «El Gran Teatro del Mundo» under the direction of Julio Caballero Pérez with a program including arias by Haendel, Marais, and Eccles; a song recital with a pianist Marek Bracha with a contemporary repertoire of Shakespeare sonnets by Andrzej Czajkowski and lieder by Mahler, Zemlinsky, Weinberg, and Schubert; a part of Maria Maddalena in Haendel’s Resurrezione in Fribourg, and alto solo parts in oratorios by Caldara and Buxtehude in Zürich, Bern, and Arlesheim; as an active chamber ensemble singer, she also cooperated with i. a. with Zürcher Sing-Akademie, La Cetra Vokalensemble, Chorwerk Ruhr. Spring 2022 also brought a release of an album she recorded with Nanook of the North – a Polish experimental electronic band – under the German label Denovali.
As a soloist and ensemble singer, she has worked with conductors including John Eliot Gardiner, René Jacobs, Andrea Marcon, Andrea de Carlo, Bart Naessens, Kent Nagano, Riccardo Minasi, Ivor Bolton, Kristiina Poska, Florian Helgath.
She pursued her vocal studies in the prestigious Schola Cantorum Basiliensis obtaining two diplomas of Master (2018) and a Specialized Master of Arts (2019) in historical performance in the classes of Gerd Türk and Rosa Dominguez. Before, she got her Bachelor’s diploma in singing at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in a class of prof. Jadwiga Rappé and another bachelor’s diploma in Culture Studies at Warsaw University. She also developed her skills by taking lessons from Margreet Honig, Valerie Guillorit, Flavio Ferri-Benedetti, and Anita Garanča and during masterclasses with René Jacobs, Andrea Marcon, and Raphaël Pichon. Presently, she is further developing her vocal technique with prof. Christian Hilz and takes coaching sessions with Flavio Ferri-Benedetti and Nadia Carboni.
Her other recent solo engagements include a role of Poppea in “L’incoronazione di Poppea” by Claudio Monteverdi for Opern Fest in Berlin, solo parts with B’rock Orchestra in Opera Vlaanderen in Antwerp and Ghent in production of “Cantus Firmus/Mea Culpa”; alto parts in Haydn’s “Missa in Angustiis”, Porpora’s “Salve Regina”, “Stabat Mater” of Brunetti, Pergolesi and Vivaldi and “Actus Tragicus” of JS Bach performed in Switzerland, France, Italy, and Germany; a solo recital of Haendel opera arias in St. Petersburg and a part of Ariel in Purcell’s The Tempest in Collegium Nobilium Theater in Warsaw. In 2021/2022 her recordings have been published by Universal and WocomoMusic and in 2019, as a member of Monteverdi Choir, she recorded an album “Semele” published by Solideo.
She has also sung contemporary music compositions and premiered music written particularly for her. Her particular interest in combining elements of early music tradition with contemporary arts resulted in collaboration with audio designer Clemens Fiechter and creation of a sound installation “Das Rezitativ” shown in modern art galleries in Vienna, London, and Warsaw.
Before pursuing her career as a singer Margarita obtained a diploma in clarinet at the age of sixteen and also worked as a dancer and lyricist.
Upcoming performances:
February 16 & 18, 2023
Role of Cecilio, opera Lucio Silla, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Capella Cracoviensis, conductor: Alessandro Moccia
Festival Opera Rara, Cracow
April 9, 2023
Role of Maria Maddalena, oratorium La Resurrezzione, Georg Friendrich Haendel
Orchestra Neukomm, Conductor: Aurore Baal
Sankt Peter und Paul Kirche Bern, Switzerland
June 9, 2023
“The night herself is here”
solo recital, music by Henry Purcell
Conductor: Joan Boronat Sanz
Festival Baroque Vivant, Basel, Switzerland
Past performances:
December 11, 2022
recital with Le Sommeil
Wilanow Palace Early Music Festival
Warsaw, Poland
December 7, 2022
recital with Le Sommeil
Festival Freunde Alter Musik Basel
Basel, Switzerland
November 25/36, 2022
premiere of the new piece by Stefan Wesołowski
Eufonie Festival
Warsaw, Poland
November 18/20, 2022
Concert of pieces by Franz Xaver Brixi
dir. Ilse Zeuner
Münchenstein, Switzerland
October 7/8/9, 2022
Role of Dido, opera Dido & Aeneas, Henry Purcell
Warsaw Chamber Opera, Poland
Conductor: Dirk Vermeulen
Director: Tomasz Cyz
Stage design & Costumes: Natalia Kitamikado
August 31, 2022
Role of Lucinda, opera Moro per amore, Alessandro Stradella
Ensemble Mare Nostrum dir. Andrea De Carlo
Festival Barocco Alessandro Stradella di Viterbo, Italy
August 25 -30, 2022
Recording (Arcana – Outhere music)
Role of Lucinda, opera Moro per amore, Alessandro Stradella
Ensemble Mare Nostrum dir. Andrea De Carlo
August 13, 2022
Festival WarszeMuzik, Warsaw 2022
Recital with Marek Bracha
Songs of Andrzej Czajkowski, Paweł Mykietyn, Gustav Mahler
July 3, 2022
Kirchgemeindezentrum Leimbach, Switzerland
Consort, das Projekt ‘Palestrina/Lauridsen’
dir. Oscar Mario Etcheverry
June 26, 2022
Fribourg, Switzerland
Maria Maddalena, G. F. Haendel, Resurrezzione
Ensemble Callisto, dir. Takahiro Sasaki
June 19, 2022
Philharmonie Berlin
Georg Friedrich Händel: Israel in Egypt HWV 54
Zürcher Sing- Akademie
Freiburger Barockorchester
René Jacobs Leitung
June 16, 2022
Philharmonie de Paris
Georg Friedrich Händel: Israel in Egypt HWV 54
Zürcher Sing- Akademie
Freiburger Barockorchester
René Jacobs Leitung
May 8, 2022
Festival Baroque Vivant, Basel
Solo recital, G.F. Haendel, M. Marais, J. Eccles – arias from operas “Semele”
Ensemble “El Gran Teatro del Mundo”, dir. Julio Caballero Pérez