Nela ŠARIĆ

Soprano Nela Šarić from Zadar holds a Master's degree from the Music Academy in Zagreb, under the tutelage of Professor Cynthia Hansell Bakić. She further honed her vocal skills at the Welsh International Academy of Voice, studying with renowned Verdian tenor Dennis O'Neill and Italian soprano Nuccia Focile. At this academy, she collaborated with numerous distinguished musicians and singers, including Maestro Richard Bonynge and the legendary Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

In 2015, she participated in the International Opera Studio in Gijon, Spain.

In 2017, she won the 1st prize from the jury and the Tokyo Metropolitan Opera Foundation prize at the Riccardo Zandonai competition in Italy. She also achieved absolute victory at the Stuart Burrows Voice Awards in Wales and secured the 2nd prize from the jury at the Otto Edelmann competition in Vienna the previous year. Additionally, she was a finalist at the prestigious Belvedere competition in Moscow and the Zinka Milanov competition in Rijeka.

Her notable achievements include performing the role of Marica in Tijardović's "Spli'ski Akvarel," Juliet in Bellini's opera "I Capuleti e i Montecchi," and Violetta in Verdi's "La Traviata" at the Croatian National Theatre in Split. She also sang the role of Countess Almaviva in "The Marriage of Figaro" at the New Generation Festival in Florence, covered the role of Violetta in Verdi's "La Traviata" for the Welsh National Opera, performed Musetta in Puccini's "La Bohème" in Sendai, and Gilda in Verdi's "Rigoletto" in Nagoya, Japan. She sang Fauré's Requiem with New York's West Village Chorale and premiered the role of Anđa in Strmić's opera "La Madre Slava" with the Croatian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra and Choir.

She has performed with all the prominent orchestras and ensembles in Croatia. She recorded an album of 19th-century Zadar composers under the baton of Maestro Edo Mičić, as well as an album for the Japanese market aimed at supporting those suffering from depression. She has appeared in numerous concerts, singing Renaissance music alongside renowned lutenist Edin Karamazov.

Throughout her career, she has worked with major figures in the music industry, including conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Ivan Repušić, Lorenzo Tazzieri, Jonathan Santagada, Michael Conley, Guido Mancusi, Jose Gomez, Mladen Tarbuk, Tomislav Fačini, Edo Mičić, and Saša Britvić; directors Sarah Crisp, Yasuhiro Miura, Ignacio Garcia, Victoria Stevens, Sandra Martinović, Krešimir Dolenčić, and Dora Ruždjak Podolski; and vocal coaches Joyce Fieldsend, Gareth Jones, Julian Smith, Della Jones, David Gowland, Gareth Morell, Anthony Negus, Marco Canepa, Pierre Maurice Barlier, Tanya Harrison, and Jacqueline Pischorn. She has participated in masterclasses with Raine Kabaivanska, Susan Bullock, Nelly Miricioiu, Ryland Davies, Annemarie Zeller, Larry Allan Smith, Benno Schollum, Mary Logan-Hastings, Helene Lazarska, and Judith Kopecky.

She was awarded the Coat of Arms of the City of Zadar for exemplary achievements and contributions to musical culture.

Since 2011, she has been active in pedagogical work, and in the fall of 2022, she founded and became the artistic director of the Music and Stage Studio ARIJA.

As of October 2023, she is a soloist with the Split Opera.