Ewa Podles, contralto

Ewa PodleÅ› is widely recognized as the most authentic contralto of her generation by Opera International, Orpheus, Gramophone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Examiner, Opera News and The Financial Times due to the specific color, huge range and agility of her voice.

Her vocal abilities make it possible for the artist to successfully perform repertoire spanning from baroque to contemporary, on the most prestigious opera stages and concert venues in the world: La Scala, MET, Covent Garden, le Chí¢telet, Deutsche Oper, Teatro Liceo, Teatro Real, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Theatre des Champs Elysees, Filharmonia Narodowa (Warsaw National Philharmonic), to name just a few.

Ewa PodleÅ› has been awarded many prestigious awards and honorary mentions: Dora Mavor Moore Award for the performance of the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Toronto, Andrzej Hiolski Award for the performance of the title role in Rossini’s Tancredi in Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, ZÅ‚ote BerÅ‚o (the Golden Staff) Award for lifetime achievement (2003), Golden Award Gloria Artis, The Kosciuszko Foundation Medal of Recognition for Distinguished service to Polish and American Culture (2005) and The Medal of Merit for fostering of the Russian culture awarded by President V. Putin. In 2004 the artist has been awarded The Order of Polonia Restituta.

Ewa PodleÅ› has recorded numerous CD’s and DVD’s many of which received prestigious acclaims and awards. She has been included in the list of ten best mezzo soprano voices of the first decade of 21st century by Classic FM Magazine — a group of renowned international music critics. She has also joined the exclusive group of 100 opera legends of the last half of the century (as named by Operaarts.com).

The International Society of Breeders of Irises named a new breed of iris, especially created for her, “Ewa PodleÅ›” in 2002. Ewa PodleÅ› is a native of Warsaw, Poland. She studied vocal performance with professor Alina Bolechowska at the F. Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. She is a winner of many international competitions, including The Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Undoubtedly a citizen of the world, she performs regularly in Teatr Wielki-Opera Narodowa in Warsaw and other important music venues in her native Poland. She resides in Warsaw.