About Tehmine Schaeffer
Tehmine Schaeffer is an internationally acclaimed Austrian-Armenian opera singer whose repertoire encompasses a wide range of operatic and concert works. She has performed internationally at prestigious venues, including the Wiener Musikverein in Vienna, Teatre Calderón d’Alcoi in Spain, the National Theater of Greece, Cairo Opera Theater and Alexandria Opera House in Egypt, Wuxi Grand Theater in China, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, and Saint Petersburg Philharmonia in Russia.
As a soloist, Ms. Schaeffer has appeared with renowned orchestras such as the Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, the European Strauss International Orchestra, the Cappella Istropolitana Slovak Chamber Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of Russia, Russian National Orchestra under Mikhail Pletnev, Tatarstan Philharmonic Orchestra, State Symphony Orchestra of Armenia, Cairo Symphony Orchestra in Egypt, Symphony Orchestra of Tbilisi in Georgia, Kirov Philharmonic Orchestra, Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, Minsk Chamber Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Novgorod, and Ryazan Philharmonic Orchestra.
Born in Armenia, Ms. Schaeffer graduated with honors from the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory, specializing in vocal performance and composition studies. She furthered her vocal training at the Franz Schubert Conservatory in Vienna, Austria. While studying at the Yerevan State Conservatory, she won the prestigious Crystal Camerton International Competition for Young Composers in 2003. In 2009, she was awarded an honorary scholarship from the Mikael Tariverdiev Creative Heritage Charity Fund to advance her performing career. Since then, she has participated in numerous projects organized by the Tariverdiev Fund, performing Tariverdiev’s compositions, including the mono-opera “The Waiting” and the concerto for coloratura soprano “Expectation.”
In 2010, Ms. Schaeffer made her debut at the historic Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow with the State Symphony Orchestra New Russia under the baton of world-renowned conductor Yury Bashmet, and at the Vienna Musikverein with the Donau Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ms. Schaeffer is a laureate of several international vocal competitions, including 1st Prize at the Victoria International Vocal Competition, a Special Prize at the Romansiada International Vocal Contest of Romance, a Special Prize at the Sviridov Chamber Vocal Competition, and a Special Prize at the 25th Glinka International Vocal Contest for “Best Performance of a Work Written After 1975.”
She has participated in prestigious international festivals such as the Festival International d’Aix-en-Provence (France), North Aegean Music Festival (Greece), Opera Apriori (Russia), Fermata International Festival (Russia), Vyatka Spring (Russia), From Baroque to Mozart (Russia), and Organ Plus (Russia).
Ms. Schaeffer’s operatic roles include Podtochina’s Daughter in Shostakovich’s “The Nose” and First Flower-Maiden in Wagner’s “Parsifal” with the National Opera de Lyon in France; Nerina in Haydn’s “La Fedeltà Premiata” and Arsena in Strauss’s “Die Zigeunerbaron” with the International Opera Academy in Vienna; Queen of the Night in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” with Opera Burg Gars in Austria and at the Wuxi Grand Theater in China; Kate in Periklis Liakakis’s “Chodorkowski” with the Greek Opera Theater; Anastasia in Alexander Wagendristel’s “Ewiger Frieden” with Siren Opera Theater in Vienna; Susanna in Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” and Madame Herz in Mozart’s “Der Schauspieldirektor” at the Tyllisburg Festival.