• Biography

“Singing, interpreting and taking the audience away from their everyday lives is the greatest happiness for me. It gives me the feeling of coming home.”

Denise Seyhan’s dramatic mezzo sounds fresh in all registers and has an unmistakable timbre. Thanks to her great openness and enormous enthusiasm, she can also empathise well with unusual directorial concepts. “She is an outstanding singer and a wonderful stage actress” (Elias Grandy).

The German-Turkish mezzo-soprano studied at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe and graduated as a soprano. She then made the switch back to mezzo with Gabriele Kniesel. Through her subsequent long-term collaboration with Walter Donati and Anna Rita Esposito, her voice developed further into the dramatic realm.

Her first engagements as a mezzo were Dorabella in “Così fan tutte” at the Pasinger Fabrik, Hänsel and Maria Bellacanta (“Hexe Hillary geht in die Oper”) at the Junge Kammeroper Köln.

Under the musical direction of Johannes Witt, she sang her first dramatic role at the Rheinische Kammeroper: the Knusperhexe in “Hansel and Gretel”. The MiR Gelsenkirchen engaged her for the leading female role in the world premiere of “Konrad oder Das Kind aus der Konservenbüchse” by Gisbert Näther. She was then invited back to the MiR for the first recording of Georgs Pelecis’ orchestral work “In Honour of Henry Purcell”.

Other important engagements followed as Ulrica (“Un ballo in Maschera”) at the Frankfurt Chamber Opera, Amneris (Aida), Fricka (“Walküre”) and Maddalena (“Rigoletto”) at the Munich Theatre, Dora K. in Peter Ruzicka’s work “Benjamin” at the Heidelberg Theatre as well as the 3rd lady (Magic Flute) at the summer festival of “Opera to go”, 3rd elf in Dvořák’s “Rusalka” at the Pforzheim Theatre, and Birsen Güner in Ludger Vollmer’s “Gegen die Wand” at the Giessen Theatre. In the world premiere of Robert Jíša’s chamber opera “Durst” at the Olomouc Music Festival in the Czech Republic (2022) and in its film adaptation (2021) at Tanzquartier Wien (TQW), she took on the alto role.

From autumn 2022 to March 2023, she made her debut at the Megalomania Theatre in Frankfurt am Main under the musical direction of Daniel Stratievsky as Mrs Peachum (“Dreigroschenoper”), as Old Lady and Paquette in “Candide” by L. Bernstein and as Erda, Fricka (“Rheingold”) and Flosshilde in “Ring an einem Abend”. In May 2024, she made a guest appearance as the 1st Maid in the highly acclaimed production of “Elektra” at the Brandenburg Theatre.

… Ulrica is in safe hands in the rich depths of Denise Seyhan …

Denise Seyhan as the Third Lady with a warm, full and always agile sound.
… the duets with alto Denise Seyhan, who was in no way inferior to her and whose arias delighted with a warm and soft sound, were particularly enchanting …
…expressive arias and recitatives by Denise Seyhan (alto)…in coloratura-sure oratorio art became highlights.
…the alto singing with a warm timbre…
Mrs. Bartolotti, ravishingly played by Denise Seyhan…
The unexpected mother Bartolotti (Denise Seyhan), who loves it squeaky and chaotic, sings sensually.

Denise is an excellent opera singer and a great actress. It was a great pleasure to be able to work with her on a project. I can therefore recommend her without reservation as a musical director!

Denise Seyhan plays the role of Berta Bartolotti in a shrill and colorful, but by no means over-the-top way.

Denise Seyhan sang the role of Dora K. in Peter Ruzicka’s “Benjamin” at the Heidelberg Theatre in the 18/19 season with great success. Working with her was always a great pleasure. She is an outstanding singer and a wonderful stage actress.

If you are looking for a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice, who is also a fine musician and a talented actress, then you want Denise Seyhan!

Honestly I loved how you changed in just 10min of thinking in new ideas! This is so good and not so usual! Well done dear brava!

Denise Seyhan works with conductors such as Elias Grandy, Ricardo Estrada, Marcus Merkel and with directors such as Ingo Kerkhof, Kristina Wuss, Catherine Miville. She studies her games with Rainer Armbrust, Alessandro Pràtico and the renowned coach Margaret Singer (†2023).

In 2020, she was a finalist in the “Prix Atelier d’exellence” (specialising in Italian opera) and a semi-finalist in the NYI OP competition. She also reached the semi-finals of the “Nuovo Canto” competition in Milan in the Wagner voices category.

She received important impulses in masterclasses from Alexia Voulgaridou, Alessandro Amoretti, Elias Corrinth, Neil Barry Moss, Mario Andersen, Gabriele Wiesmüller, Kleesie Kelly and Anna Reynolds, among others.

In addition to her work as an opera singer, she gives concerts at home and abroad. Important engagements included the alto solo in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Franco-German friendship in Reims Cathedral (France) and a concert tour with the West Saxon Symphony Orchestra through Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Her extensive concert repertoire ranges from Bach and Handel, Pergolesi, Saint-Saëns and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy to contemporary repertoire such as the St Luke Passion by Klaus Rothaupt.
In 2025, she will make her debut as an alto in ‘Elijah’ at the Liederhalle Stuttgart under the direction of Rainer Johannes Homburg on the occasion of the 125th anniversary concert of the Hymnus Chorknaben.

She discovered her passion for making opera and song videos in 2020 and presents a multi-faceted portrait of her artistic personality and work with her showreel. Together with song pianist Philip Dahlem and actress Michelle Brubach, she founded the ensemble “Die Mimusen” in summer 2021. Together they filmed the song cycle “Sieben frühe Lieder” by Alban Berg and produced the musical theatre evening “Die rosa Gefahr” about the lives of six female composers, with which they have since performed throughout Germany.

Since 2002 she has enthusiastically given singing lessons and voice training in the areas of classical, pop, rock and musical for professionals and amateurs.