Hulkar Sabirova, praised by the press for her “astonishingly rich and open tone” (Financial Times), her “luxury instrument”, her “clear, unforced high notes” and her “rich and creamy” voice (Bachtrack), is one of today’s leading dramatic coloratura sopranos, capable of taking on the most demanding roles in the works of Bellini, Donizetti, Mozart, Rossini and Verdi.

Looking ahead to the 2026/27 season, she will expand her repertoire with another major Verdi role: she will make her role debut as Abigaille in Nabucco, first at Mainfrankentheater Würzburg and subsequently at Oper Leipzig.

Recent highlights include her role debut as Aida at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she was also heard as Hélène in Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes, as well as her debut at Dutch National Opera Amsterdam under the musical direction of Lorenzo Viotti and her last-minute assumption of the New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day performances at the Vienna State Opera, which were broadcast by ORF. She appeared as Leonora in Verdi’s La forza del destino at Opéra National de Lyon.

Further major engagements have taken Hulkar Sabirova to Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden and Staatsoper Hamburg, where she performed Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Other highlights include her debuts as Leonora in Il trovatore at the St. Gallen Festival, Lucio Cinna in Lucio Silla and Elettra in Idomeneo at Teatro Real Madrid, as well as performances in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims at Deutsche Oper Berlin and in a staged new production of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at Theater St. Gallen.

Further guest engagements have taken her to Aalto-Theater Essen, where she enjoyed great success as Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Adele in Die Fledermaus, and to the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, where she sang the Contessa de Folleville in Il viaggio a Reims. A particular highlight was Hulkar’s performance in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Her acclaimed debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Arena di Verona also ranks among her important early successes.

Hulkar Sabirova began her formal vocal training at the age of sixteen at the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim, where she also took part in masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender and won a special prize at the Anneliese Rothenberger Vocal Competition. She began her musical education at the age of seven, studying piano and violin at the state boarding school for musically gifted children in her native Uzbekistan.

As a scholarship holder of the Weisweiler Foundation, she began her career at Deutsche Oper Berlin and quickly became a member of the ensemble for three seasons, initially singing roles such as the Queen of the Night and the First Soprano in Helmut Lachenmann’s Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern – a role she subsequently also performed at the Ruhrtriennale.

With her outstanding interpretations of the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor and the soprano role in a staged version of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem at Deutsche Oper Berlin, she quickly established herself as a first-rate soprano, leading to corresponding guest engagements. She maintains a close relationship with her former home company and most recently enjoyed great success there as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Madama Cortese in Il viaggio a Reims. She was also a member of the ensemble at 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 sung under conductors including Ivor Bolton, Marek Janowski, Enrique Mazzola, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Donald Runnicles, Giacomo Sagripanti and Tugan Sokhiev, and has worked with directors including Jan Bosse, Robert Carsen, Claus Guth, Damiano Michieletto and Robert Wilson.