Anna Agathonos was born in Athens. When she was 15, her parents moved to Vienna. There she studied at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst voice with Prof. Gerhard Kahry, went to the Opera school and attended the Lied and Oratorio classes with Edith Mathis. In March 1999 she got her degree.

During that time she participated in productions of the Hochschule  (Virtù in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea, Nora in Vaughan-Williams' Riders to the Sea, Cinna in Mozart's Lucio Silla, Boulotte in Offenbach's Knight Bluebeard). She also performed in the independent Viennese opera scene (Austrian premiere of Param Vir's Snatched by the Gods, Stimmen Toter Freunde with the Dance Theater Homunculus) and concerts (among others, Bach's St. John's Passion and Handel's Rinaldo).

She attended numerous master classes, among others with KS Sena Jurinac, Marjana Lipovsek, Robert Holl, Thomas Hampson and Paul Esswood. In 1997 Anna Agathonos received a grant from the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. In the same year she recorded F. Di Arta Angelis'Frossini with the Slowakian Radio Symphony Orchestra under J.E. Suben at Capstone Records. She won First Prize at the Concours de Marmande and Third Prize at the J. Aragall Competition in Girona.

From 1999 to 2001 Anna Agathonos was a member of the Opera Studio in Marseille (CNIPAL), where she worked with Yvonne Minton and performed in concerts and in the opera houses of Marseille and Avignon as well as the Festival de la Rocque d'Antheron. In July 2000 Anna Agathonos sang the title role in Rossini's La Cenerentola with the Académie européenne de Musique during the Festival in Aix-en-Provence. The reviews hailed her coloratura adroitness and her discreet, but warm scenic presence. This production was broadcast in the French Radio and also brought her a Prize from the Friends of the Festival. In January 2001 there was a revival in Paris und Rouen.

In November 2000 she sang Atro in the world premiere of Mille ans sont comme un jour dans le ciel by Dominique Lièvre at the Opéra d'Avignon. In July 2001 she sang solos in Gloria by Vivaldi as well as in Mozart's c-minor-Mass in concerts with the Orchestre de Cannes on the Côte d'Azur.

In the season 2001/02 Anna Agathonos became a member of the Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen. In the following two seasons she sang there, among others, Juno in Cavalli's La Calisto, Fenena (Nabucco), Ursule (Béatrice et Bénédict), Marchesa Melibea (Il viaggio a Reims), Ramiro (La finta giardiniera) as well as the title role in a concert version of Handel's Rinaldo. In April and May 2002 she guested as Dryade (Ariade auf Naxos) at the Opéra de Marseille. In summer 2002 she participated in the Accademia Rossiniana of the Rossini Opera Festivals in Pesaro under Alberto Zedda. They invited her to sing in the Festival Giovane the role of Marchesa Melibea (Il viaggio a Reims).

In the season 2003/04 Anna Agathonos sang in Gelsenkirchen, among others, the title role in La Cenerentola, Arturo (Donizetti's Rosmonda d'Inghilterra), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Madame Popova (Walton's The Bear), Fragoletto (The Bandits) as well as the female protagonist in the world premiere of Alexander Müllenbach's Die Todesbrücke. La Cenerentola she also performed at the Ensembletheater Biel Solothurn.

In the season 2004/05 she sang, among others, her role debut as Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia in German) and Dorabella (Così fan tutte), the revivals of La Cenerentola and The Bandits as well as Glanert's Der Spiegel des großen Kaisers and Showboat.

Foto © Pedro Malinowski

Anna Agathonos' website