Leandra Overmann
Fund president

Mezzo soprano Leandra Overmann grew up in the musical family Belgrade Opera leader Djurdjevka Cakarevic. She graduated piano and solo singing in secondary schools "Stankovic" and "Josip Slavenski" after which she graduated solo singing. She continued her advanced education in Music Academies and graduated in Detmold and Koeln (she performed in these cities operas) and in the Conservatorium "Santa Cecilia" in Rome. Until 1985 she was an opera member in Koeln and Freiburg.

From 1985. to 1997. she was engaged in Basel. Lately, she became known as a very important interpreter above all, Verdi and Wagner heroines. While at Bonn opera, where she belonged from 1997 to 2000 she sang important parts in Wagner's "Ring" (Erda, Frick, Waltrauta and Norne) and with these and many other roles she was a National Theatre in Mannheim Catania and Trieste. Performing in great Vredi?s mozzo parts, she achieved international success as Ulrica (Basel, Hannover), Azucena (Bonn, Bern), Eboli (Valencia, Bonn), Amneris (Venice, Hannover, Luebeck) and Mrs. Quickly (Bonn). On the occasion of her interpretation of Amneris "Papa singing" Jurgen Kesting wrote: "Leandra Overmann dominates in the ensemble as Amneris in one piano, soft, rich and in fortissimo really rich and piercing voice".

The conductors she worked with Miguel Gomez - Martinez, Walter Weller, Marcello Viotti (they recorded a CD together "Requiem" G. Verdi), Julia Jones, Marc Soustrat Michael Hofstetter, Shao Shia Lue. She worked with importatnt directors like: Herbert Wernicke, Andreas Hamoki, Leander Hausmann, John Dew, Nigel Lowry, Willy Decker, Barbara Beyer, Dietrich Hilsdorf, David Mouchatar - Samurai.

Leandra Overmann is lately a guest in State Theatre Hannover where she could be heard in the roles of: Ulrica ("Ball under masks"), Grandmother ("Rake?s progress") and Kostelnichka ("Jenufa"). For the newer interpretations she got nomination for the best singing achievement of the year from the three critics from the opera world. Her future plans are connected with her appearance in roles: Azucena ("Il Trovatore"), Amneris ("Aida"), Klytaemestra ("Elektra"), Herodias ("Salome"), Brangaene ("Tristan & Isolde"), Santuzza ("Cavaleria Rusticana"), Laura ("Gioconda")... Other arrangements in the cities ("Gran Teatro del Liceu"), Trieste, Valencia, Wiesbaden, Dublin ("Festival of Wagner"), Birmingham, Catania... From september 2002 Leandra Overmann becamea professor of singing in Academy of Music Wuerzburg. She cherishes the same concert singing like her mother.

Her most successful performances are: Mozart - "Requiem" /conductor W. Wellerwith Wienna Simphony Orchestrain "The Golden Hall", Verdi - "Requiem" /conductor M. Viottiin the festival in Luzern, Mahler - "lied vom Erde" with Finnish philcharmonic orchestra (Tempere, Helsinki), in Hannover with philcharmonic Mahler Simhonie 2. & 3 . She performed about five hundred solo concerts.