Cretan soprano, Theano Papadaki captivates international audiences with her magnetic stage presence, rich vocal tone, and expressive depth. She balances out between opera and art song, with an affection for dramatic scenes spanning early to contemporary works for voice and instrumental ensembles.

Theano starred as a soloist in the opening of the 2025 Edinburgh International Festival, performing Tavener’s, The Veil of the Temple, with The Monteverdi Choir (Times ★★★★★).

In October, she returns to St Martin-in-the-Fields for a solo recital with pianist Sholto Kynoch, founder and artistic director of the Oxford Lieder Festival. Theano curated a programme inspired by the folk traditions of Greece and Italy, singing music by Strozzi, Monteverdi, Berio, Ravel, and Constantinides. She will also sing Niavent Mane, a modal music poem composed by Marika Fratziskopoulou (Politissa) in 1929.

Theano will then take on the title role in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea with Hampstead Garden Opera in November.

After graduating with Distinction from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Theano was selected by Sir John Eliot Gardiner to join the English Baroque Soloists for Deutsche Grammophon’s Stage+ documentary series A Journey through Monteverdi’s Italy, performing alongside Anna Dennis and other established singers.

Recent highlights include a solo recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields with the Kyan Quartet, presenting the Aribert Reimann–Felix Mendelssohn cycle Oder soll es Tod bedeuten, her portrayal of Kitty Clive in a music-theatre production at the Lichfield Festival with Apollo’s Cabinet, a solo appearance in Beethoven’s Mass in C in Athens, and a self-curated recital in Heraklion with the New Cretan Quartet. Together with baritone G. Robarts, they premiered their new production of The Revolting Maid – a two-person comic opera by G.B. Pergolesi in a new English translation, directed by Sophie Daneman.

Since 2023, with The Monteverdi Choir, she has performed at many of Europe’s most prestigious venues and festivals, including the BBC Proms, Berlin and Paris Philharmonics, Château de Versailles Royal Opera, Salzburg Festival, Berlioz Festival, Bach Festival, and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Upcoming performances include appearances at Snape Maltings, Cadogan Hall, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Theano is passionate about collaborating with artists from various disciplines to create interdisciplinary performances where music, dance, poetry, and improvisation come into dialogue. Her most recent project, Sappho’s daughters, was presented with great success at The Cockpit Theatre in London and in 2026 will be touring in The Netherlands, Norway and Greece.

In 2023, she was awarded third prize at the International Lied Competition in Görlitz, Germany together with pianist Thomas Eeckhout. Theano is a Britten Pears Young Artist and a City Music Foundation Artist. She holds a singing diploma (First Prize, Athens Conservatoire), a violin diploma, and a Masters in Musicology and Music Education (Greece, France).