Classical Biography

Soprano Julie Ziavras has won praise for her vocal beauty, musicianship, and dramatic stage persona in the US and abroad where she has performed in concert, on radio and television with repertory that spans opera, art song, contemporary music, and folk ballads. Critic Dr. James Cotter in a review in the Times Herald Record said, "Soprano Julie Ziavras masters the most difficult instrument, wowing her Montgomery listeners with her warm and compelling voice, appealing presence and wide range of repertoire…. pour(ing) her full energy into each number with virtuosity and verve", and as Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus "Ziavras uses her rich soprano to soar in the high ranges and fill the scenes with drama". A New York Times reviewer described her as "an estimable vocalist…with a silvery voice…she held the spotlight alone". A review of her portrayal of Offenbach's La Perichole with the Delaware Valley Opera was heralded as a "tour-de-force performance... (with) the required coquettishness of a soprano in a buffo production like this one, the figure, the beauty, the charm and the panache, but she had more than that. She had a commanding voice and an energetic presence on stage" and that "coloratura never sounded better...(as she) displayed florid passages, trills, glissandos and sustained tones on high." The most recent review of her portrayal of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with that company states that she "wow(ed) us again in this flamboyant portrayal of the wronged woman, resonating with piercing soprano anger that made the audience visibly shiver." (Tom Kane, The River Reporter)

Ms. Ziavras has performed in concert, on radio and TV in the US and abroad. Most recently heard in the Hudson Valley in the roles of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni and in the title role of Offenbach's La Perichole with the Delaware Valley Opera, she has appeared as Rosalinda in Strauss's Die Fledermaus, Julie in Show Boat and currently as the Mother in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel with the Opera Company of the Highlands and as the Countess in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with the Festival Theatre of NY. Active as a versatile chamber musician and recitalist, she has appeared in the New York area at numerous venues including Carnegie Recital Hall, Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Hall, Symphony Space Theater, World Music Institute, Guggenheim Museum in Soho, Alternative Museum, Grand Montgomery Chamber Music Series, Festival Theatre of NY, Warwick Master Arts Series, Greek Cathedral Concert Series, as well as radio broadcasts on WBAI, WNYC, and WJFF. She has premiered many works written expressly for her voice, including a contemporary song cycle written to the poetry of Walt Whitman, an off-Broadway musical of Aristophanes's The Birds, an opera based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's play Babylon Revisited, and currently on mp3 in a vocalize written for her voice by Greek composer Spiros Cardamis. It remained in the number one spot in the opera category for nearly three months and is now featured in their Hall of Fame. A review of this performance in The Gods of Music states that "the strings would be vapid without the incredible voice, a siren who summoned my spirit onto the rocks of musical ecstasy."

Among her appearances abroad, she was invited to Greece by renowned composer/music director Manos Hadjidakis to appear on Greek National Radio (ERT) as featured artist for numerous concerts and live broadcasts in varying repertoire including opera, lieder, Rennaissance song and contemporary music, including a premiere at the Piraeus National Theatre simulcast on national radio. She toured Greece and Serbia with Greek composer and classical guitarist Notis Mavroudis where selections from her solo CD Simply Mavroudis were premiered. These songs, written exclusively for Ms. Ziavras, represent the only collection of songs Mr. Mavroudis has written for one singer. The concert in Serbia was simulcast live on Serbian National Radio and Television and represented the first time a western artist performed in Serbia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. She has been a featured artist at international festivals, including soloist in the Fiesta Internacional de las Naciones in Venezuela, the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico, International Festival of Daphnis in Greece, and in Montreal, premiering a cantata written for her voice. She also appears in folk venues as part of the acoustic folk duo "Ken & Julie", featuring songs written for her voice by her husband, singer/songwriter Ken DeAngelis. In 2005, Ken & Julie completed a concert tour with Broadway Concerts Direct of theaters in six cities in Nova Scotia, with a repertory which included opera, art song, Broadway, international and folk music. "Julie is the muse of internationally acclaimed composers. She performs their songs with world-class lyrical beauty, artistry and interpretation." (John Hiller, Broadway Concerts Direct). A review of Ken and Julie's  recently released debut CD The Dream in CDReviews.com states: "The pure talent of DeAngelis and Ziavras combine to generate some real gems, sparkling with energy and life."

Ms. Ziavras holds both Bachelor and Master's degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and has coached with world-renowned conductors including George Schick, Alberta Masiello, Vincent La Selva, Dino Anagnost and Jane Klaviter.

Julie's classical reviews


Link to Julie's complete folk bio and reviews.
Link to Julie's Greek bio
Link to Julie's Greek reviews

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