Katherina Sandmeier
Biography
Katherina Sandmeier is a Greek-German soprano who has established herself as a promising voice of her generation. With her powerful and at the same time nuanced voice, paired with an extraordinary stage presence, she inspires both audiences and critics. As a great lyric / young dramatic soprano, her repertoire covers a wide spectrum of opera, song and concert.
Her musical education began as a young student at the University of Music and Theater Munich, where she completed her bachelor's degree with distinction. She completed her master's degree in song interpretation and opera in 2022 and has been a student of the famous tenor and singing teacher Michael Trimble since 2015. She also received decisive impulses from master classes with Christiane Iven, Elly Ameling, Otto Schenk, Cheryl Studer, Helmut Deutsch and Jonas Kaufmann, among others. During her studies, she attracted attention with her musical depth and technical brilliance and has already won awards in numerous competitions (National Singing Competition, Bellini Competition, Young Opera Voices)
This was followed by engagements at major stages such as the Badisches Staatstheater, the Munich Residenz and the Herkulessaal. She made her major opera debut in Greece as Helmwige in Wagner's "Die Walküre" at the Greek National Opera, where she impressed with her vocal brilliance and dramatic expressiveness. Her repertoire ranges from the great roles of Mozart, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Puccini and Strauss to contemporary compositions and rarely performed works, which she interprets with particular commitment.
In addition to her opera performances, she is passionate about singing songs and has regular solo recitals on the most important stages in Athens (Goulandris, Megaron, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, etc.)
As a prizewinner of prestigious competitions and an aspiring soloist at a leading opera studio in Germany, she continues her artistic development with discipline and passion. Her musical versatility is also reflected in her linguistic talent, as she speaks fluent German, Greek, English, French, Spanish, and Italian.
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As clichéd as it may sound, I have wanted to be an opera singer for as long as I can remember. I don’t recall a single clear “before” or “after” moment, only an immediate recognition that this was my language and the medium in which I truly felt at home. The first time I encountered the operatic sound, with its grandeur and almost violent honesty, something in me aligned. In that moment, I simply knew that this was what I wanted to do, whatever it might take.
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Without hesitation: Dmitri Shostakovich.
His music carries a brutal intellectual clarity paired with devastating emotional truth. There is irony, despair, resistance, and tenderness, often all existing at once. I feel profoundly understood by his sound world, and at the same time challenged by it in the best possible way.
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Because of my temperament and the natural character of my voice, I feel most authentic in verismo and late Romantic repertoire. This includes Italian music, of course, but I feel just as deeply connected to German and Russian repertoire. The emotional density, the long dramatic arcs, and the demand for both vocal amplitude and psychological depth are where my voice and my inner world meet most truthfully.
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This is always a difficult question for me, because I rarely experience pride in the conventional sense. The performances that resonate most are those in which I felt completely absent as Katherina and entirely immersed in the role and the music.
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When it comes to singing, Maria Callas is unavoidable. Not only because of her absolute command of the voice and the role, but, for me personally, even more because of her uncompromising seriousness toward art.
Equally formative have been my two teachers, American tenor Michael Trimble and Greek soprano Julia Troussa. They did far more than shape my technique. They taught me what it means to serve art, to approach music with humility, discipline, and moral responsibility. Through that, they taught me how to be a better human being.
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I read obsessively—literature, philosophy, history, anything that sharpens perception and introspection. I nurture my curiosity and refuse to dull my sensitivity. I don’t try to “toughen up”; instead, I allow myself to feel deeply and to experience the full spectrum of emotion, because that sensitivity is my most essential artistic resource.
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I wouldn’t call them unique, but they are central to my work. I spend nearly two hours a day on breath expansion and retention exercises and integrate them seamlessly into my daily life. Over time, they have ceased to feel like “practice” and have instead become part of how I move, walk, and think.
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I am fortunate to have a large, generous instrument, but that comes with responsibility. A young dramatic voice demands patience in its development, in repertoire choices, in auditions, and in timing. The greatest challenge for me has been restraint, especially learning to say no to music that excites me but could be harmful if taken on too early.
In an industry that is often obsessed with speed, this kind of patience can feel difficult and even radical. I overcome it by committing to longevity over immediacy, and by trusting that discipline is ultimately more powerful than ambition alone.
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More times than I care to admit. Once, after completely blanking on a line, I calmly started singing about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with such conviction that it seemed to be part of the libretto. The conductor raised an eyebrow, suppressing a chuckle. Opera is, at times, professional poker after all.
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How emotionally and psychologically demanding this profession is. We speak endlessly about technique and success, but far too little about vulnerability, identity, and the cost of constant evaluation. Artists are not machines. Sustainable artistry requires care, honesty, and space for human complexity.
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Be patient, be disciplined, and be uncompromising about quality, especially your own. Do not chase repertoire, titles, or applause. Build your body, your breath, your mind, and your character alongside your voice and instrument. Everything else will follow.
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We need to stop treating classical music as fragile museum glass. It is alive, visceral, and absolutely relatable in its humanity. Audiences grow when we speak honestly, contextualize intelligently, and allow people access without condescension. That is what I always aspire to do.
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La Scala, the Semperoper, and the Arena di Verona. Each for entirely different reasons, but all for their history, acoustics, and the weight of meaning they carry.
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To awaken curiosity and to inspire. Music should be experienced as joy, wonder, and discovery and absolutely not as soulless pressure. If a child learns to listen, everything else can be taught later.
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It depends entirely on the situation. Sometimes I spend every remaining minute with the score, refining details. Other times, I distract myself completely. Fortunately, I am never nervous on stage, which I am very thankful for.
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To continue refining my instrument and deepening my understanding of the repertoire, so that I may serve music with honesty and precision. Through that, I hope to continue collaborating with extraordinary artists and performing on important stages that carry history and meaning.
