With a “revolutionary voice” (Il Messagero), “an extensive vocal range” (Le Figaro) “marked by intelligence and taste” (New York Times), “an interpreter's knowledge that amazes” (Corriere della Sera), “exquisite timbre, polished musicality and sweetness of emission” (Le Monde de la Musique), this is a voice, “superbly produced in every facet” with its sound coming “directly from the heart” (The Australian). Combined with her “obvious humanity” (The Age), Markella Hatziano, “authoritative of voice and of dramatic presence” (La Repubblica) is unequivocally a “star of dazzlingly bright magnitude” (Daily Telegraph)
Markella Hatziano was born in Athens, Greece and entered the National Conservatory at the age of 12 as a scholarship student. She studied with Georgia Georgilopoulou, graduating summa cum laude at the age of 17. She studied repertoire and interpretation and participated in public master classes for three years with Tito Gobbi in Rome, Florence and London. She was a finalist in the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition earning the 2nd-place medal, 1st-place winner of the first Tito Gobbi International Competition and the 1st-place winner in the American-Israel Competition.
She made her professional debut at the age of 17 with the Oxford Symphony Orchestra at the Theatre of Herodes Atticus in Athens and made her operatic debut at the National Opera of Greece at the age of 23 singing Eboli in Verdi's “Don Carlos”. She debuted on the international stage with the Opera Company of Boston under Sarah Caldwell singing Suzuki in Puccini's “Madama Butterfly”, Neris in Cherubini's “Medée”, Amneris in Verdi's “Aida”, Azucena in “Il Trovatore” and the mezzo part in “Messa da Requiem”. She gained international recognition in December of 1993 when she stepped in at the last minute to sing the role of Didon in Berlioz's “Les Troyens” in concert performances at the Barbican Centre with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis.
Since then she has sung her core dramatic mezzo repertoire of Dalila, Amneris, Eboli, Azucena, Didon, Marguerite, Charlotte, Santuzza and Judith, with opera houses all over the world including the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Royal Opera House - Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Salzburg Festival, San Francisco Opera, Baltimore Opera, Opera Company of Boston, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro Verdi Trieste, Staatsoper Berlin, New Israeli Opera, Teatro Sao Carlos in Lisbon, Oslo Opera, Festival of Radio France in Montpellier, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tanglewood Music Festival, the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus and the Roman Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens.
With her core concert repertoire of Verdi, Chausson, Ravel, Berlioz, Beethoven and Mahler she has appeared with most of the major symphony orchestras in the world, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra of Wales, Mozarteum Salzburg Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Orchestra della RAI, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquestra de València, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie, Staatskappelle Berlin, Orchestre de Lyon, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Athens State Symphony Orchestra, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra and many more.
She has participated in numerous benefit concerts around the world for various causes including the Hellenic Society for Disabled Children, HOPE and Water for Africa. She has collaborated with many of the great artists of our times including the opera singers Jóse Carreras, Jessye Norman, Montserrat Caballé, Shirley Verrett, Josephine Barstow, Gwyneth Jones, Carol Neblett, Samuel Ramey, Ben Heppner, Robert Hale, Jose Cura, Simon Estes, Michele Crider, the directors Robert Wilson and Franco Zeffirelli, the conductors Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Mariss Jansons, Bernard Haitink, Christoph von Dóhnanyi, Seiji Ozawa, Kent Nagano, Sir Colin Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Claudio Scimone, Jacques Delacote, Michel Gielen, Michel Plasson, Andrew Davis, Semyon Bychkov and the composers Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis and Vangelis Papathanassiou.
On Dec. 18, 2019 she gave a recital at the new Library of the School of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, the first-ever hosted artistic event of such scale in the recently inaugarated building of the library, which is the country's second biggest after the National Library.