The Spin

The soprano singer Alenka Gotar was born in Ljubljana in 1977. After finishing elementary and junior musical school, where she learned to play the piano and guitar, she then entered Secondary School Poljane and the Secondary Musical and Ballet School in Ljubljana, where she studied soloist singing under the tutelage of Prof Marcos Bajuk. In 1996, Alenka graduated from both schools and was immediately admitted to the Musik Akademie der Stadt in Basel, Switzerland, where she studied singing. In 1999, she moved to Mozarteum in Salzburg, where she was invited by the distinguished musical expert Prof Lilian Sukis. Alenka graduated in 2000 and continued her postgraduate studies in singing and opera performance with Prof Lilian Sukis. Alenka received her M.A. in singing and theatre sciences in 2006. She enriched her singing education and experience in Rome with Ms Maja Sunari-Biankini and by attending seminars on singing, led by Ms Marjana Lipovšek and Mr Alfred Burgstaller.

In 1996, Alenka was awarded the first prize at the state competition for young musicians of the Republic of Slovenia and also the prize for the best interpretation of Slovene solos.

In 1999, she was awarded 3rd prize at the International Singing Festival "Feruccio Tagliavini" in Deutschlandsberg, Austria. In 2003, Alenka won the special award from the Klagenfurt Theatre for the best world stage person, where a whole host of the worlds leading opera singers also took part.

Since 2000, Alenka Gotar regularly appears at SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana, where she sings numerous prominent operatic roles. At the Europäische Musikmonat Festival 2001 in Basel, Alenka sang soprano in the multimedia opera Skamander by the Swiss composer Beato Gysin, which was performed there for the first time.

Alenka Gotar is a renowned concert solo singer. Up to now, she has performed with various orchestras and chamber groups in Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Croatia and Scandinavia. In 2003, she did a recording for the Swiss radio station DRS3 with one of the most distinguished and respected composers of our time, György Kurtag. She also records with the RTV Slovenia Orchestra and collaborates with the most renowned conductors in Slovenia and Europe on regular basis.

In the 2004/2005 season, she was a permanent member of the ensemble of soloists at the SNG Opera in Balet Ljubljana. At the moment, she has regular guest appearances at the Maribor Opera. She is also a solo singer in Salzburg and at the SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana.