BIOGRAPHY
Maria Olender (also known as Maria Domżał) is a lyric soprano who has captivated audiences across main opera houses in Poland. Since her professional debut in 2018 as Leïla in Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles under the baton of Yaroslav Shemet at the Baltic State Opera, she has regularly performed both leading and supporting roles on opera stages and philharmonic halls across Poland.
Born and raised in Germany, Maria Olender embarked on her path at the tender age of five with piano lessons, which ignited her passion for music. Her journey continued in the Choir of St. Hedwigs-Cathedral in Berlin, guided by Michael Witt. In 2016, she proudly graduated from the I.J. Paderewski Music Academy in Poznan, Poland, under the mentorship of the esteemed bass-baritone Jarosław Bręk.
Maria Olender has participated in various prestigious vocal competitions and her efforts have been recognized with several awards such as Grand Prix along with Special Awards from the Baltic State Opera at the 9th National Vocal Competition Impressio Art in Gdańsk; the 3rd Prize and Special Award at the 15. National Slavic Vocal Competition in Katowice, Best Mozart-Aria Award at the 6th International Jan Kiepura Vocal Competition in Krynica-Zdrój, Special Award at the J., E. & J Reszków International Voice Competition in Częstochowa.
Her most significant highlights of her career are Mimì at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw in the new production of La Bohème directed by Barbara Wysocka, Mahler's II Symphony under the baton of Łukasz Borowicz, Xenia at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw in a new production of Boris Godunov directed by Mariusz Treliński (postponed due to war in Ukraine), recorded recital at the Polish Radio or Donna Anna under the baton of Tadeusz Kozłowski in Michał Znaniecki's production of Don Giovanni, to name a few.
She embodied several leading and supporting roles including Gilda (Opera House in Poznań), Leïla (Baltic State Opera in Gdańsk), Mimì (Polish National Opera in Warsaw), Donna Anna (Warsaw Chamber Opera & Opera House in Poznań), Susanna (Warsaw Chamber Opera), Eurydice (Cracow Opera House & Baltic State Opera in Gdańsk), Xenia (Polish National Opera in Warsaw), Frasquita (Polish National Opera in Warsaw), Arsena (Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic), Euridice (Warsaw Chamber Opera) among others.
Her wide repertoire includes also oratorio such as Requiem in D minor by W.A. Mozart, Stabat Mater by K. Szymanowski, Weihnachtsoratorium by J.S. Bach, Stabat Mater by G.B. Pergolesi and cycle of songs by R. Strauss (Letzte Blätter), K. Szymanowski (Pieśni Kurpiowskie).
She worked under the baton of many significant conductors such as Keri-Lynn Wilson, Patrick Fournillier, Tadeusz Kozłowski, Jose Maria Florencio, Bassem Akiki, Łukasz Borowicz, Michał Klauza, Adam Banaszak, Yaroslav Shemet, Piotr Sułkowski, Tomasz Tokarczyk, Przemysław Neumann, Stefan Plewniak, Adi Bar, Grzegorz Wierus, Warcisław Kunc, Kuba Wnuk.
Her artistic creations were supervised by following directors: Mariusz Treliński, Barbara Wysocka, Andrzej Chyra, Michał Znaniecki, Maria Sartova, Magdalena Piekorz, Grzegorz Chrapkiewicz, Włodzimierz Nurkowski, Krzysztof Cicheński.