About Me
Armenian-American Soprano Ani Maldjian has been described as a "remarkable soprano", with a voice that is "richly mature and full of lyric nuance", and her singing "elegant, commanding, brilliant, fresh and strong…definitely a name to watch as she rises through the ranks of young sopranos." Her professional debut as the title role in Frid’s one-woman opera, The Diary of Anne Frank, received much critical acclaim throughout Southern California and Austin, Texas.This 2007-2008 season, Maldjian makes her Mainstage Debut with Seattle Opera as Greek Maiden and First Priestess in Iphigenia in Tauris, directed by Stephen Wadsworth, and makes her International Debut as the soprano soloist in Hatzis’ Light from the Cross in Athens, Greece, at the Megaron. Later, she will perform a concert with Sun Valley Opera in Idaho, and due to popular demand, she will also revive the role of Anne Frank at Long Beach Opera, and make the Northwest premiere of Anne Frank with Seattle Opera and Music of Remembrance in Seattle. She also returns to Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program, as a second-year artist, to perform six new roles including Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Princess/Fire in L’enfant et les sortileges.Recent operatic credits include Clorinda in La Cenerentola and Princess (1) in Susa’s Transformations, both at the prestigious Merola Program at San Francisco Opera in 2006 and 2007. Other roles include Nannetta and Serpina with Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program, Despina at Music Academy of the West, Cleopatra with CSUN Opera, Adele with Opera of the Foothills, Rita with Lyric Opera of LA, and her Armenian operatic roles as Armine and Zvart, premiered at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. With a great passion and enthusiasm for 20th and 21st century music, she has also performed Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank with both Long Beach Opera and the Austin Music Chamber Festival, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring with CSUN Opera, Princesse in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges and Lucy in The Telephone at Cal Arts, and has created the role of Jane in the world premiere of Wet by Anne LeBaron at the Walt Disney Center in Los Angeles, with critical acclaim.Her concert credits include Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Sacramento Choral Society and numerous recitals and aria concerts throughout California and Hawaii, with companies such as the Hoku Concert Series, Southcoast Symphony Orchestra, Opera Associates of Los Angeles, Opera Reading Club of Hollywood, Long Beach Festival, Armenian American Medical Society, Mozart Live on the Radio, Palm Springs Opera Guild, and Merola Opera.She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts and completed the Masters Program at The California State University of Northridge. She received additional opera training at Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program (06-08), San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program (06/07), Music Academy of the West (04/05), Aspen Music Festival (03), and OperaWorks (02). She was the First Place Winner of the Western Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2005 (national semi-finalist in 2006) and has been nominated for the Sara Tucker Study Grant Award through the Richard Tucker Foundation.
She has worked with eminent teachers, coaches, directors and conductors such as Martin Katz, Stephen Lord, Andreas Mitisek, Randall Behr, Dean Williamson, Stephen Wadsworth, Peter Kazaras, Chas Rader-Shieber, Jose Maria Condemi, Philip Kelsey, Marilyn Horne, Sir Thomas Allen, Sheri Greenawald, Tracy Dahl, Warren Jones, John Churchwell, Armen Guzelimian, Deanna Murray, Ann Baltz, Mark Morash, Maro Donabedian, Jay Rozendaal, David McDade and Carol Vaness. She studies with Cyndia Sieden and Jane Eaglen during her time in Seattle.In the non-operatic world, Ms. Maldjian enjoys working as a background vocalist with Serj Tankian's (System of a Down's lead singer) new label, Serjical Strike Records. She has taken part of Saul Williams' last album "Talk to Strangers" and Buckethead's most recent album "Enter the Chicken" released October 25, 2005, which can be found in all major record stores around the country. You can also read about the album online or in various magazines such as "Rolling Stones". Ani Maldjian will also be heard on Serj Tankian's upcoming solo album (to be released October 23, 2007) "Elect the Dead." In recent articles, Tankian said, "An opera singer friend of mine Ani Maldjian did a couple of tracks, back-up tracks, with a beautiful operatic, giant, voice."
