Sillons de Mémoires

Karima El Demerdasch is a German-Egyptian mezzo-soprano. She studied in Cairo and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with John Evans. In 2024, she was a finalist at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and in 2023 participated in the Georg Solti Accademia. In Guildhall School productions, she performed roles such as Prince Orlofsky ("Die Fledermaus") and Dido ("Dido and Aeneas"). In a 2023 production by Opera Kipling, she sang the title role in "La Cenerentola" at the Upstairs at the Gatehouse theatre in London. In 2025, she took part in the Young Singers Project of the Salzburg Festival and made her debut at London’s Barbican Hall. Since the 2025/26 season, she has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House.

Bass Valeriy Murga studied at the National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv. He was a finalist at both the 41st International Singing Competition in Toulouse (1996) and the 7th Julian Gayarre Competition in Pamplona (1998). In 1997, he won second prize at the Maria Callas Grand Prix in Athens and participated in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 1999. From 1997 to 1999, he was a soloist at the Ukrainian National Opera in Kyiv, where he performed roles including Figaro (“Le nozze di Figaro”), Escamillo (“Carmen”), Schaunard (“La bohème”), and the title roles in “Eugene Onegin,” “Don Giovanni,” and “Prince Igor.” His repertoire also includes the roles of Marchese di Posa (“Don Carlo”) and Shaklovity (“Khovanshchina”). At the Zürich Opera House, Valeriy Murga was initially a member of the International Opera Studio and during this time performed, among others, Sciarrone and the Jailor (“Tosca”) as well as Monterone (“Rigoletto”). Since the 2000/01 season, he has been a permanent ensemble member at the Zürich Opera House, where he has performed roles such as Prince Yeletsky (“The Queen of Spades”), Moralès (“Carmen”), Second Soldier (“Salome”), Alessio (“La sonnambula”), Ali (“L’italiana in Algeri”), Wagner (“Faust”), Sacristan (“Tosca”), Butler (“La rondine”), and Bogdanovich (“The Merry Widow”), as well as in family operas including “The Canterville Ghost,” “Robin Hood,” “The Enchanted Pig,” “Jim Knopf,” and “Wir pfeiffen auf den Gurkenkönig” He has also appeared as a guest in Eugen d’Albert’s “Tiefland” at the Liceu in Barcelona and in “L’italiana in Algeri” at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.

Evan Gray is a Swiss bass-baritone from Winterthur. He began his musical training as a treble with the Zürich Boys’ Choir and later transitioned to the bass voice. After initial vocal studies at the Winterthur Conservatory, he continued his education at the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. His roles to date include the Forester ("Das schlaue Füchslein"), Figaro ("Le nozze di Figaro"), and Leporello ("Don Giovanni"). As an accomplished recitalist, he has performed Schubert’s "Winterreise" and Vaughan Williams’ "Songs of Travel" multiple times and has collaborated with artists such as Julius Drake and Robert Holl. From 2023 to 2025, he was a guest at the Marlboro Music Festival, where he developed a close artistic relationship with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, who has invited him back for the summer 2026 edition. Since the 2025/26 season, Evan Gray has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House.

Flavia Stricker, soprano, is from Brazil and studied at the Lübeck University of Music. She performed Fiordiligi ("Così fan tutte") at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre and Galathée (Franz von Suppé’s "Die schöne Galathée") at the Lübeck University of Music. In 2023 she won, in addition to the second prize at the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino, a sponsorship award from the Kulturstiftung Insel Mainau. Since the 2023/24 season she has been a member of the International Opera Studio at Zurich Opera House, where she has appeared, among others, as Madama Cortese ("Il viaggio a Reims"), Kate Pinkerton ("Madama Butterfly"), Contessa di Ceprano ("Rigoletto"), the Widow in Mendelssohn’s "Elias", and in Stravinsky’s "Les Noces". At the Théâtre de La Monnaie in Brussels she sang in Rossini’s "Petite Messe solennelle", and with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in 2025 she performed as Rosalinde ("Die Fledermaus").

Samuel Wallace, tenor, is from Brazil, where he studied voice with Lício Bruno. In 2024, he received a scholarship from the Mozarteum Brasileiro and subsequently participated in Rolf Beck’s International Choir Academy in Lübeck. During this time, he performed concerts in Germany and at the Philharmonie de Paris under the direction of Raphaël Pichon. His operatic repertoire includes roles such as Tamino ("The Magic Flute") and the title role in Guilherme Bernstein’s opera "Serafim und der Ort, an dem man nicht stirbt." In 2024, he sang Dorvil in Rossini’s La scala di seta and took part in the Gala Lírica of the 13th Tenor Meeting of Brazil at the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus. Samuel Wallace was a semifinalist at the Paris Opera Competition, a finalist at the Maria Callas Competition, and a prizewinner at the Joaquina Lapinha and Natércia Lopes singing competitions. Since the 2025/26 season, he has been a member of the International Opera Studio at the Zürich Opera House.