Hulkar Sabirova, who has been praised by the press for her “astonishingly rich and open tone” (Financial Times), her “luxury instrument,” her “clear, effortless high notes,” and her “rich and creamy” voice (Bachtrack), is one of the leading dramatic coloratura sopranos of our time, capable of tackling the most demanding roles by Bellini, Donizetti, Mozart, Rossini, and Verdi.

In the 2024/25 season, she will make her role debut as Aida in Verdi’s Aida at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she will also be heard as Hélène in Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes. She made her house debut at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as Rosalinde in Johann Strauss’ operetta classic Die Fledermaus, in a production by Barrie Kosky and under the musical direction of Lorenzo Viotti. At the Vienna State Opera, she took over Rosalinde at short notice in the New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day performances of Die Fledermaus, which were also broadcast on ORF. She will appear as Leonora in a new production of Verdi’s La forza del destino at the Opéra National de Lyon.

In the previous season, she returned to Berlin for the production of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims and sang in the highly acclaimed production of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem directed by Christian Spuck. Additionally, she performed in a staged production of Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus as Rosalinda at the Semperoper Dresden.

In the 2022/2023 season, Hulkar Sabirova made her role debut as Leonora di Vargas in Verdi’s La forza del destino at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she also performed as Rosalinde in the operetta Die Fledermaus. The role of Rosalinde took the soprano to three of the most important German opera houses during the winter of 2022/2023: in addition to the Deutsche Oper Berlin, she performed the role at the Semperoper Dresden and the Staatsoper Hamburg, where she also appeared as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Additionally, a staged new production of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem is scheduled at the Theater St. Gallen.

Recent highlights include her outstanding debuts as Hélène in a new production of Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and as Leonora in Il trovatore at the St. Gallen Festival, as well as her performances as Rosalinde in a new production of Die Fledermaus at both the Staatsoper Hamburg and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She also portrayed Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Semperoper Dresden and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Lucio Cinna in Lucio Silla and Elettra in Idomeneo at the Teatro Real Madrid, and Rosina in a new production of Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Other guest engagements have taken Hulkar Sabirova to the Aalto-Theater Essen, where she celebrated great success as Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and as Adele in Die Fledermaus. She also performed at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, singing the role of Contessa de Folleville in Il viaggio a Reims. A particular highlight was her performance in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and her highly praised debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Arena di Verona.
Hulkar Sabirova began her formal vocal training at the age of sixteen at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim, where she also participated in masterclasses with Kammersängerin Brigitte Fassbaender and won a special prize at the Anneliese-Rothenberger Singing Competition. Her musical education began at the age of seven, with piano and violin at the state boarding school for musically gifted children in her home country, Uzbekistan.
As a scholarship holder of the Weisweiler Foundation, she began her career at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she quickly became a member of the ensemble for three seasons. During this time, she performed roles such as the Queen of the Night, Frasquita in Carmen, and Sopranist 1 in Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern by Helmut Lachenmann, a role she later reprised at the Ruhrtriennale Festival.

With her outstanding performances in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor and the soprano part in a staged version of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, she quickly established herself as a top-tier soprano, leading to various guest engagements. She maintains a close relationship with her former home institution, where she recently celebrated great success as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Madama Cortese in Il viaggio a Reims. Additionally, she was an ensemble member at the Staatstheater Kassel for three years, where she gave several acclaimed role debuts, including Rosalinde, Iphigénie in Iphigénie en Tauride, Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, Konstanze, and Norma.
Hulkar Sabirova has performed under the baton of conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Marek Janowski, Enrique Mazzola, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Donald Runnicles, Giacomo Sagripanti, and Tugan Sokhiev, and has worked with directors Jan Bosse, Robert Carsen, Claus Guth, Damiano Michieletto, and Robert Wilson.