The Hungarian-Bulgarian-born mezzo-soprano is recognized for her velvety warm voice and for her stage presence with deep emotionality and musicality. Monika expresses her artistic and musical versatility in numerous forms starting from opera, operetta, oratorio, and art song repertoire to contemporary music, and in addition, she also reaches out for new innovative projects. Based on her colorful interest she founds her own performing arts collective called In-Pact with the aim of expanding the possibilities between classical music, opera, contemporary dance – theatre, and performing arts.
Her most recent appearances include recital series in Europe, singing the title role of Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the National Theatre in Pécs, the mezzo-soprano solo in Schumann’s piece “Das Paradies und die Peri” with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the premiere of her interdisciplinary performance Desdemonium, where her role involves contemporary dance elements, movement theatre, and improvisation. In 2020, it was a guest production at the International Shakespeare Festival, Gyula. Further future engagements include Mozart’s Requiem at the Grand Hall of Franz Liszt Music Academy, Budapest, concert series in Vienna, and new projects on the works of Kurtág, Ligeti, and Bartók.
In parallel with her musical career, Monika has over 15 years of teaching experience and for more than 10 years she has been working as a vocal coach by developing her own method. It includes elements of speech voice training, singing, and breathing technique combined with body awareness and performing skills improvement. Collaborating with psychotherapists, she has been researching the connection of emotional and mental factors to the way we use and produce our voice. She also worked with the biggest Hungarian consulting and training companies and regularly gave presentations at professional conferences on this topic.
Expertise: voice technique, public speaking, stagecraft, presentation technique
Locations: Budapest, Dresden, Berlin
Languages: English, Hungarian, Bulgarian, (German – soon ☺)
www.monikakertesz.com