MILENA KITIC – mezzo soprano
Milena Kitic made her operatic debut as Olga in Tchiakovsky’s Eugene Onegin at the National Theater in Belgrade, where she also performed Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and the title role in La Cenerentola as well as Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and the Principessa di Buillon in Adriana Lecouvreur. She has been heard in Essen as Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Sesto in Handel’s Giulio Cesare and as Bizet’s Carmen, for which she earned the German music critic’s award as ‘performer of the season’ for 1998.
During 2000, Milena Kitic made very successful debuts at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Grossesfestspielhaus in Salzburg as Maddalena in Rigoletto. She performed the role of Laura in La Gioconda at the Dorset Festival in England, a role for which she was highly praised by the British press. In Essen, she sang additional performances of her award winning Carmen.
Milena Kitic made her US debut at the Palm Beach Opera in January 1999, as Eboli in Don Carlo and returned to that theater in April 2000 as Rosina in Barbiere. She has also appeared at the Carnegie Hall with Opera Orchestra of New York as Emilia in Verdi’s Otello conducted by Eve Queler.
In May 2002, Milena Kitic made a very successful debut as Carmen with the Washington Opera and was highly praised by the press and audience for her Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann in her debut with the Los Angeles Opera in November 2002. Ms Kitic sang her debut with Opera Pacific as Herodias in Strauss’s Salome’ in March 2003. Also in 2003, Ms. Kitic joined Placido Domingo for two gala concerts for the Los Angeles Opera and debuted in Rome at the Euro Festival Mediterraneo at Tivoli. In April 2004, she was Laura in La Gioconda at Carnegie Hall with Opera Orchestra of New York and Carmen with the Baltimore Opera. Miss Kitic sang Carmen opening a new production with Los Angeles Opera in October 2004, and returned to Opera Pacific as Dalila in 2005 and sang Meg in Falstaff at Los Angeles Opera with Kent Nagano conducting and Bryn Terfel in the title role. She also made a debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival under James Conlon. A debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Carmen is schedule in October 2005 followed by performances of Laura in La Gioconda in 2006. A role debut as Amneris in Aida is anticipated also for 2006 with Opera Pacific.
The role of Carmen has figured largely in Milena Kitic’s international career. In the 1997-98 season, she was awarded the German Critics Prize for the best performance of that season and cited for her interpretation of this role by the international opera publication “Theater und Musik. She has performed the role of Carmen more than 100 times in the major theaters of Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, The Czech Republic, Greece and the former Yugoslavia as well as in North America.
A first place winner of the Concour International Juenesses in Venice, Milena Kitic was awarded the prize for the best mezzo soprano and donated her award to the rebuilding fund for the Teatro la Fenice which reopens in 2004. She has also been a finalist in the Belvedere Competition in Vienna and the Third Luciano Pavarotti International Competition in Philadelphia. Ms Kitic donated her performance fees at the Palm Beach Opera and with Opera Pacific to the young artist developments programs in those theaters. She is a student of the Metropolitan Opera’s mezzo-soprano, Biserka Cvejic
Ms Kitic collaborated with Eve Queler and The Opera Orchestra of New York in a CD recording of operatic scenes and arias, which was released by Qualiton in May 2002.