Marilena Solomou

Born in South Africa, Marilena Solomou showed her musical talent at an early age. Her mother being a pianist urged her to start piano lessons at the age of 5.

Starting her music studies as a pianist, Marilena completed her Bachelor of Arts in Music at Anlgia Polytechnic University, specialised in performing (singing) and piano accompaniment.

During her studies she took part in several opera workshops and participated in the operas ‘Carmen’, ‘La Traviata’, the musicals ‘Cinderella’ with the role of the Fairy, ‘The Sound of Music’ with the role of Maria and many other concerts and recitals. She was also an active member of the wind orchestra where she played the flute.

Marilena was also a prize winner at the Panellinian Singing Competition in Athens in 1999 where she was awarded with First Honour. The following year she was selected and participated in the First International Singing Competition in Guangzhou in China.

A milestone in her career has been the completion of her first recording album ‘For A Lifetime’ with the participation of The Moscow Symphony Orchestra. The album consists of crossover classical songs and it was released in 2005. A year later she was nominated and awarded at the Cyprus College Music Awards, for the best selling album produced in Cyprus.The same year she passed the LICENTIATE DIPLOMA IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE WITH HONOURS from Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Being based in Cyprus, Marilena has given several solo recitals most of them in association with AMADE CHYPRE, ALKIONIDES, LIONS, CYPRUS RED CROSS and BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP OF PAPHOS.

She also attended singing masterclasses with the well known sopranos Susan Owen – Leinert in Cyrpus, Ileana Cotrubas in Florence and Rosalind Plowright in London.

In June 2007 she was nominated by Europa Donna Cyprus to represent her country at the Nathwani Prize Competition which will take place in Berlin in 2008, as an artist whose experience with breast cancer has motivated and made a difference in the fight against the disease.

Her repertoire includes arias from ‘Faust’, ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’, ‘Don Pasquale’, ‘La Boheme’, German and French songs and songs from a variety of musicals.

Marilena lives in Cyprus and she continues her studies with the italian soprano Tiziana Sojat .