Andrea Csereklyei

Biography

Hungarian soprano Andrea Csereklyei was born in Kecskemét. She completed her primary and high school studies at the Zoltán Kodály Primary School of Music and High School of Music in Kecskemét, specialising in cello. She went on to obtain a diploma in music theory teaching in 1996 (The Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest), in vocal teaching, and also as a chamber artist in 2000 (Liszt Academy of Music Institute of Teacher Training, Budapest), then in solo singing and teaching (MA) in 2008 (University of Debrecen, Faculty of Musical Arts, Debrecen).

Her debut on the opera stage was in 1998 (Pamina), followed by recitals where she mainly performs as a soloist of classical and baroque oratories. She frequently sings at song recitals, and has been involved in the premier of several contemporary works.
She is a frequent soloist of Hungary’s foremost orchestras  - Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir, Hungarian Radio Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra, The Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra, the Budapest Strings, etc -  and a returning guest of various festivals around the country. (Budapest Spring Festival, Haydn at Eszterháza, Miskolc International Opera Festival, Zemplén Festival, Mini Festival.) She sang the lead role at the first performance that showcased period instruments at the Hungarian State Opera House in 2000 (L’infedeltá delusa). In addition to her performances in Hungary, she sang with the Munich Philharmonics, conducted by Helmuth Rilling in Germany in 2001, with the Orfeo Orchestra at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence in 2002, and was invited in 2003 to the May Festival in Guadalajara in Mexico. In 2004, she went on tour with the Budapest Chamber Opera to the "Magyar Magic" cultural season in London as a guest soloist, appeared at the Toujours Mozart festival in Vienna and Salzburg in 2005, and at the Hungarian Opera in Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca) between 2004-2008. In 2009-2010 she sang at Bartók+ International Opera Festival in Miskolc, Primatial Palace in Bratislava and Hungarian Cultural Institute in Prague. In 2011 she appeared in concert series Forever Mozart produced by Xaver Varnus and in several performances on the occasion of Ferenc Liszt's 200th birthday. In summer 2011 she was invited as a guest professor at the Internatonal Singing Masterclass in Petrovice (CZ), after this she sang role Pamina at the renewed Iseum in Szombathely. Her repertoire grew with two new roles in 2012; appeared in role Bastienne on the Mozart Marathon directed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra, following this she sang role Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro concerned in Szombathely Iseum Festival, from which one also a successful concert-like performance was arranged at the Palace of Arts in Budapest.

In 2013 she performed the Hungarian premiere of J.M Leclair : Scylla et Glaucus (Venus , Une Sicilienne ) and more events of Eszterházi Festivities. She appeared with ensemble Affetti Musicali at "Castle Concerts " series in Feldkirch, Austria In that year she held a successful masterclass at Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing. In 2014 she was awarded a scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Arts . Since 2009 she has been vocal teacher at the Hungarian Heritage Award-winning Kodály Zoltán Hungarian Choir School and since 2014 at the Academy of Music in Budapest.

She has participated in a number of radio and television programs, and is the soloist of multiple records in the "World Premiere" series of medieval, renaissance and baroque music, published by Hungaroton Records. She also participated in the opera history TV-series entitled Opera Tales From Kolozsvár, produced for Hungarian Public Television. She appears in the Budapest Chamber Opera’s film production of L'incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea – 2009) and Duna Television’s documentary series entitled My Contemporaries (2010). She was a collaborator on the CD recording of Laurent Petitgirard’s contemporary opera, "Guru", conducted by the composer, in the autumn of 2010. (Naxos).

Her performances have been conducted by – among others – Helmuth Rilling, Graeme Jenkins, Ádám Fischer, Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli, Zoltán Kocsis, Tamás Vásáry, György Vashegyi, Gergely Kesselyák, András Ligeti, Gábor Hollerung, György Selmeczi, Jos Vranken, Fabio Pirona, Laurent Petitgirard, Elisabeth Fuchs.
She was a founding member of the Ars Nova Vocal Ensemble, which continues to perform successfully today and has won several international contests. She won 3rd prize at the Johann Strauss Song Contest in Vienna in 1999, and was awarded the Artisjus Prize in Hungary for her performance of contemporary works the same year. She won the Annie Fischer scholarship in 2000-2001. In 2003, she was awarded the Ari Kupsus Society’s scholarship. In 2007, she won the Special Prize at the International Händel Song Contest in Eger, and was a finalist at the L’Orfeo contest in Verona. She was an active participant of master courses held by Anna Reynolds, Walter C. Moore, Adrienne Csengery, György Kurtág, and Júlia Hamari.
During recent years, she has been a guest artist in Vienna, Salzburg, Moscow, Cluj Napoca, Bucharest, Bratislava, Prague, the Hague, Florence, Munich, Stuttgart, London, and Mexico.

Her teachers include: Judit Sándor, Margit Kaposy, Annamária Schmiedt, Katalin Schultz, Mrs Éva Raics Szerdahelyi, as well as singing coaches Judit Böszörményi and Katalin Hegedüs Gönczy.