The 25-year-old soprano Stavroula Vasilakaki and the 26-year-old tenor Miltiadis Tzimourtos received the 2026/ 27 Opera Singing Scholarships, established by the Ministry of Culture in memory of the young singers Elisavet Hatzivassiliou and Frantziska Beza, who lost their lives in the Tempi accident.

The scholarships offered by the Ministry of Culture are intended for advanced studies in opera at the bachelor’s or master’s level at recognized music schools abroad. They were established in 2023 with the aim of being awarded every two years, beginning with the 2024–25 academic year.

The Greek National Opera ensures the high quality of the selection process, and the scholarships are awarded to Greek citizens as well as foreign nationals who were born in Greece or have studied at a Greek educational institution, who are 28 years of age or younger, have been accepted or will be accepted to study at a school abroad, and are unable to adequately cover the costs of their studies.

The two scholarship recipients were selected following an audition before a committee of the Greek National Opera (GNO), consisting of Giorgos Koumentakis (Artistic Director of the GNO), Panagiotis Pagoulatos (Director of Artistic Coordination & Casting at the GNO), Sofia Tamvakopoulou (Music Advisor for Programming at the GNO), Agathangelos Georgakatos (Chorus Director at the GNO), and Nikos Vassiliou (Principal Conductor at the GNO).

With the support of the scholarship, soprano Stavroula Vasilakaki will continue her studies at the Stockholm University of the Arts in Sweden, while tenor Miltiadis Tzimourtos will study at the University of Music and Theater – Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig, Germany.

Bios

Stavroula Vasilakaki is a soprano from Drama. She holds a diploma in solo singing from the class of Charikleia Glavopoulou at the Municipal Conservatory of Drama and is a graduate of the Department of Music Science & Art at the University of Macedonia, specializing in Choral Conducting (class of Maria Emma Meligopoulou). She has participated in seminars with distinguished artists and made her operatic debut in H. Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas. As a soloist, she has collaborated with choirs and conductors in symphonic and sacred music concerts in Greece and abroad. Since 2023, she has been working at the Municipal Conservatory of Drama as a professor of voice and aural training, and from 2023 to 2025 she served as choir director. During the 2026–2027 academic year, she will pursue a Master’s degree in Opera (Vocal Performance) at the Stockholm University of the Arts, with the aim of further developing her vocal technique, stage presence, and interpretive identity.

Miltiadis Tzimourtos is a lyric singer based in Leipzig. He is a graduate of the Department of Music Science and Art at the University of Macedonia and completed his undergraduate studies in Classical Singing / Musical Theater at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig, where he has been pursuing his master’s degree in Opera (Operngesang) since 2025. He has performed leading and supporting roles in opera productions in Germany, including Agenore in W. A. Mozart’s Il re pastore at the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg, as well as roles in works by Britten, Rota, Nicolai, Janáček, and Offenbach. At the same time, he participated as a Clubgastsänger in the production of Cabaret at the Schauspielhaus Leipzig (2023–2025) and as a soloist in the St. Matthew Passion at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig (2026). During the 2026–2027 academic year, he aims to complete his graduate studies and prepare for admission to an opera studio and a professional career at European opera houses. He has already been invited to the second round of auditions for the Opera Studios in Lucerne and Lübeck.