Women Journey Mag | Feature
For Croatian soprano Jelena Štefanić, opera has never belonged exclusively to grand theatres or established cultural capitals. Her career has taken her from the stages of Europe to Asia and North America, while her work as Artistic Director of the NOcTEs Aquae Iasae Festival has given her another kind of stage: an archaeological site in Varaždinske Toplice where history, heritage and classical music meet beneath the open sky.
Štefanić began performing remarkably early, making her stage debut at just 16. Her musical education began in her hometown of Varaždin before leading her to the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where she pursued vocal and opera studies. Since then, she has developed a wide repertoire spanning Baroque heroines, Mozart, Bellini, Verdi and Puccini, alongside operetta roles and an active concert career.
Her international path includes appearances at venues and festivals such as Vienna Volksoper, Teatro Greco in Taormina, the OperaMaya Festival in Mexico and Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. She has also performed in China, Japan, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Croatia. In 2023, she made her Carnegie Hall debut in New York and returned to the iconic venue in 2024, becoming the first Croatian female opera singer to debut there since the celebrated Croatian sopranos Milka Ternina and Zinka Kunc.
Her repertoire reflects both technical range and dramatic ambition, including Violetta in La Traviata, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Elettra in Idomeneo, Vitellia, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, as well as major concert works including Verdi’s Requiem and Richard Strauss’s Vier Letzte Lieder. Her concert engagements have taken her to venues including Musikverein Wien, Musikverein Graz, major Chinese concert halls and Opera Kensington in London.
Štefanić has also built a distinctive identity through original projects. Croatian Jewels and Around the World in Nine Songs, supported by the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media, have been presented to international audiences and broadcast through platforms including TV Classique in Versailles and Sparrow Live in the United States. She became the first—and remains the only—Croatian soprano invited to Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition, and in 2023 she received second prize at the American International Music Competition in Cleveland.
Alongside performing, however, Štefanić has increasingly become a cultural creator. Since 2021, she has served as Artistic Director of the NOcTEs Aquae Iasae Festival in Croatia, a small but rapidly growing classical music festival located in the historic setting of Varaždinske Toplice. Her vision is rooted in a simple but ambitious idea: exceptional art does not need to be confined to the world’s traditional cultural centres.
The festival’s recent development illustrates that philosophy. Its sixth edition expanded from three days to eight, bringing leading Croatian and international opera artists to the historic Aquae Iasae archaeological site. Among its guests was internationally acclaimed tenor Michael Spyres, making his first appearance in Croatia. The festival has also welcomed major opera names including Ramón Vargas and Juliana Grigoryan, strengthening its international profile while remaining connected to its local setting.
The defining milestone of the latest edition was Mozart’s Idomeneo—the first opera production in the history of NOcTEs Aquae Iasae. The choice was deliberately ambitious. Idomeneo is a demanding work, requiring a strong ensemble, exceptional soloists and substantial musical and organisational resources. It had also been more than two decades since the work had been staged in Croatia, making the production a notable artistic undertaking.
For Štefanić, the production represented more than an ambitious programme choice. It was a test of whether a demanding Mozart opera could be brought successfully outside a conventional opera house and into an open-air archaeological setting. The combination of the music with the atmosphere and history of Aquae Iasae created a production shaped by both artistic challenge and place.
Her dual role as performer and artistic director gives her a rare perspective. On stage, she carries the responsibility of interpreting a character and communicating directly with an audience; behind the stage, she creates opportunities for other artists and designs an artistic journey that connects each element of a festival. Rather than seeing the two roles as competing identities, Štefanić describes them as different forms of fulfilment.
That approach also explains the festival’s broader purpose. Bringing major artists to Varaždinske Toplice is not simply about attracting attention; it is part of a larger effort to decentralise culture and make classical music accessible beyond the traditional centres of European musical life. The festival places international artistic standards in conversation with local heritage, giving audiences an experience that cannot be replicated inside a conventional theatre.
Štefanić’s own career continues to expand alongside the festival. Recent engagements have included performances of Glagolic Requiem, recitals at the Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin, Stabat Mater at the Varaždin Baroque Evenings Festival, appearances at the Nancyphonies Festival in France and the Alto Largo Music Festival at Lake Como, as well as Elettra in Idomeneo and Gerhilde in Die Walküre. Her recording work also continues, including a project with the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra featuring arias from Manon Lescaut.
Looking ahead, her coming seasons include major operatic roles such as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana in Noto, Italy, Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda, Tosca and Mimì in La Bohème. In 2026, she was also recognised with the Leonardo da Vinci Prize for her contribution to the arts, marking the first time the award was given in the field of music.
Yet perhaps the most revealing part of Štefanić’s story is that she remains focused on the next step rather than the destination. Her career combines the discipline of an international opera singer with the imagination of a cultural entrepreneur. Through NOcTEs Aquae Iasae, she is helping demonstrate that a historic site can become a contemporary artistic destination, and that a small festival can create space for work of international ambition.
For Jelena Štefanić, the journey is still unfolding—one performance, one artist and one carefully imagined programme at a time. Whether singing on an international stage or standing behind the scenes in Varaždinske Toplice, her work is guided by the same principle: to give great music a place to be heard, and to allow audiences to encounter opera in places where they may least expect it.
Connect with Jelena Štefanić
Instagram: @1105js
