Asude Karayavuz

Mezzo soprano Asude Karayavuz  a tru bel canto singer with a dark voice, which extends from the most gorgeous low notes to easy clear high notes and a powerful coloratura, has sang in main opera houses such as the Teatro alla Scala, Arena di Verona, Teatro Real Madrid, theTeatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Palau de les Arts, Opera Oviedo, Teatro Sao Carlo di Napoli, Ravinia Festival, Wexford Festival, roles that include Adalgisa in Norma, the title role of Carmen, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, La Cenerentola, Rosina in il Barbieri di Siviglia, Isabella in L’italiana in Algieri, Carmen at the Istanbul Opera, with distinguished coductors such as  Giovanni Antonini, Gürer Aykal, Andrea Battistoni, Giorgio Bernasconi, Jordi Bernacer Valdés, Myung-hun Chung Rengim Gökmen Marco Guidarini Julian Kovatchev. Vachtang Machavariani, Riccardo Muti, Antonio Pirolli, Renato Palumbo, Giacomo Sagripanti, Nicola Valentini, Alberto Zedda, Rodula Gatinou, Ronato Bonajuto, Sergio Alapont José María Moreno Valiente stage directors that include Emilio Sagi, Joan Anton Recci, la Sra. Muti, Damiano Michieletto, Leonardo Muscato, Radula Gaitanou, among others. 

In the 2022-2023 season she sang the role of Adalgisa in Norma at the Teatro Fraschini di Brescia, Teatro di Pisa, Opera di Lobardia and the Teatro Ponchieli di Cremona, the title role La Cenerentola at the Teatro Lírico di Cagliari, Carmen in La Tragédie de Carmen at the Teatro Sociale di Rovigo. In 2023-2024 season she performed the role of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Teatro Fraschini di Paviathe Teatro Ponchielli di Cremona, and the National Opera of Estonia, the role of Calbo in Il Maometto  by Rossini with the Istanbul State Opera, the Requiem of Pergolesi in a staged production of Joan Anton Rechi at the MusicAnd Festival in Andorra, Beethoven´s 9th Symphony with the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra, and she performs the title role in Carmen in an avantgard production by Stage Director Wu Tsang, Sophia Al-Maria and composer Andrew Yee at the Zürich Schauspiel House. She then traveled to Bogotá to sing the alto part in Verdi Requiem with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia.

Asude Karayavus sang Adalgisa in Norma at the Ravinia Festival, Contessa in Mercadante's Il Due Figaro at the Teatro Real Madrid, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Salzburg Festival, the title rol in Alceste at the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara, Carmen at the Teatro from Ankara State, the title role  in L'italiana in Algieri at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Zanetto at the Teatro Filarmónico di Verona, Rosina in Il Barbieri di Siviglia with the Oviedo Opera, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Opera Colombia, Meg in Falstaff with the Malaga Opera, Baroness Il capello di Paglia di Firenze at the Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Clorinda in il Combattimento di Tancredi and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro at La Scala di Milano  Pipetto/Il Musico in Le convenienze e inconvenienze Teatrali at the Wexford Festival, and Mercedes in Carmen at the Arena di Verona and Lola in Cavaleria Rusticana at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli.

In the oratorio repertory, she has sang The St Matthew Passion with the Borusan Sanat Symphony, Verdi's Requiem with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the Start Mater by Pergolesi with the Orchestra all Sscala di Milano and the MusicAnd Festival in Andorra in a staged production by stage directorJoan Anton Rechi. 

Born in Istanbul, she graduated from the Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory of Fine Arts. The second prize winner of the Siemens National Opera Competition, she was invited to sing at the Summer Mozart Festival where she studied with Edith Mathis, Kurt Widmer and Edda Moser. She subsequently received she was awarded a place with her at the Accademia Teatro de la Scala, where she studied with Leyla Gencer, Mirella Freni, Luciana Serra, Renato Bruson, Luigi Alva and Vincenzo Scalera. She received the Grand Prix Leyla Gencer from L' Académie Disque du Lyrique. Andante Magazine named her Best Female Opera Singer and Best Musician of the Year and she received the Suna Korad Special Award for Best Female Opera Singer of the Year from the Semiha Berksoy Foundation.

January 2025