Biography
French-American soprano, Sandra Hamaoui, has been praised for her “homogenous and flexible voice of fine velvet” in addition to her “musicality and finesse of expression”. Described as “heartfelt” and “prodigious”, her true talent lies not just in her effortless vocal technique and musicality, but also in her ability to fully captivate the audience.
In 2023/24, Ms. Hamaoui makes several notable debuts: as Leïla in Les Pêcheurs de Perles at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, as Lisette in Christof Loy’s Opernhaus Zürich season-opener, La Rondine, and as Sophie in Werther. As an ensemble member at Opernhaus Zürich, Ms. Hamaoui appeared as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Gilda in Rigoletto, Constance in a new production of Les Dialogues des Carmèlites, Nanetta in Falstaff under the baton of music director Gianandrea Noseda, and Gretel in Robert Carsten’s new production of Hänsel und Gretel. In 2023, she made her debut in the title role of Roméo et Juliette with l’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève. Previously, Ms. Hamaoui appeared at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées as Lisa in La Sonnambula under the directions of Rolando Villazon and Ricardo Frizza. At only 24-years-old, Ms. Hamaoui joined the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she sang the roles of Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Ninette in L’amour des trois oranges, among many others.
Reviews
“Her appearance is an enchantment, the smile displayed by the singer on her face reflected in her voice, which unfolds the difficult coloraturas of her entrance with ease and lightness. The soprano’s voice is particularly interesting: her copper reflections, sometimes somewhat dark, are not those of a light soprano, but rather of a lirico leggero, and also make it possible to do justice to the dramatic impulses of Juliette’s difficult – and long – role. The singer wins support thanks to a physical and vocal involvement of all times…A quality performance, very endearing, extremely favorably welcomed by the public.”
“Her bright, silvery soprano gave life to the sparkling character; she showed beautiful high notes and great ease in the delivery.”
“Her aria “Deh, vieni” was beautifully rendered, with smooth legato and a palpable, very effective sensualityin her delivery.”
