Nataša Zupan

Nataša Zupan was an excellent student and thus chosen to be a representative of the Academy of Music at the International Academy Prague–Vienna–Budapest. She also won the Richard Wagner Association scholarship for promising young singers. The scholarship enabled her to pursue her studies abroad and to see famous performances at Wagner’s theatre in Bayreuth. She attended seminars of Irena Baar, Barbara Schlick, Eva Novšak Houška, Magda Nador, Breda Zakotnik, Richard Miller, Marvin McKennzie, Norma Sharp, Alessandro Svab, Dunja Vejzović and seminars at the Summer Academy of Chamber Music in Koper.

As a soloist she performed with the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Orchestra in Ljubljana (conductor: Wellisar Gentscheff), the orchestra of the School of Music in Celje and the Akord Orchestra (conductor: Matjaž Brežnik), the Mandolina Ljubljana Orchestra (conductor: Andrej Zupan), the Camerata Labacensis Quartet and the Akord Quartet and the All Capone Štrajh Trio. She performed in the cycle of concerts by the Music youth of Ljubljana society several times. She performed at various seminars and summer schools in Italy, Austria, Germany and Croatia, as well as at the Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia (2006). She also performed at the Lent Festival (2008, 2011), in Slavko Osterc's minute opera as Herodiada. At the Allegretto festival of chamber ensembles, she recorded two arias by Handel with the Atair String Trio in studio 14 of Radio Slovenia. She also participated in a documentary feature film by Robert Gaber portraying the life of the composer Risto Savin. In 2008, she performed at the national celebration ceremony on the Rudolf Maister day, the recording of which is stored at the Slovene Radio and Television Archives. 

After graduation, her greatest achievement on stage was the role of the model Vera from the operetta Melodies of the Heart by composer Janko Gregorc; within the Cankarjev dom cultural education programme, the leading roles in the Humperdinck’s Opera “Hänsel und Grettel” and the Mozart’s opera “Bastien und Bastienne” adapted for children; the role of Cherubino from Mozart’s opera Le nozze di Figaro and the role of Lauretta from Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi (Festival Morje, Trieste 2008); the role of Lili from the pocket opera New Shoes by Slovenian composer Gregor Strniša (first performance in 2008 at the Lent Festival); the role of Marisha from the Die Letzte Wacht by composer Risto Savin. As a soloist of the Paramundus music-theatre group she is performing in a “music lesson” for children Opera is not Repulsive by Gregor Strniša and in the spectacular opera rock'n'roll concert Beatlegeist. 

In June 2009, she entered the qualifying round of one of the most prestigious internationally known competitions for young singers "Belvedere" in Vienna. In August 2009 and July 2010, she performed a recital at the International Festival Glasbeno poletje na Gradu Podsreda (Summer Music Festival at the Podsreda Castle) where she also held a singing masterclass. Nataša Zupan regularly cooperates with Slovenian composers: in December 2009, she performed an attention-grabbing recital which was organised in the framework of the Atelier concert cycle of the Society of Slovene Composers at which she performed various new works by Slovenian composers for the first time. In March 2010, she also performed three new works at the 25th Slovene Music Days. The recordings of these concerts are stored at the Radio Slovenia Archives.

Nataša Zupan is perfecting her skills under the mentorship of internationally renowned artist and an esteemed pedagogue, Prof. Dunja Vejzović.