Gabriela Hrženjak is a young soprano born on March 25, 1998, in Varaždin, who has dedicated her life to musical artistry. She began her musical education at the Varaždin Primary Music School and continued at the Varaždin Secondary Music School, where she studied singing under the guidance of Professor Valentina Geci-Koren. She then pursued vocal studies at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana with Professor Barbara Jernejčič Fürst before continuing at the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of Professor Lidija Horvat Dunjko, where she graduated in 2023.
During her studies, Gabriela participated in numerous national and international competitions. Some of her most notable achievements include awards at the Lav Mirski Competition (Osijek, 2015), the International Competition in Maribor (2016), Daleki akordi (Split, 2016), Giovani Musicisti – Città di Treviso (Italy, 2017), Jadranski akordi (Kraljevica, 2017), Bistrički zvukolik (Marija Bistrica, 2018), the Slovenian National Competition TEMSIG (2019), Lions Grand Prix (Rijeka, 2019), the International Competition Vera Kovač Vitkai (Novi Sad, 2021), the 13th International Competition Lirico Città di Brescia – Omaggio a Maria Callas (Italy, 2021), the 10th Croatian Competition of Young Musicians Papandopulo (Zagreb, 2022), the International Competition Zinka Milanov (Rijeka, 2022), the 7th International Otto Edelmann Competition (Vienna, 2022), and the International Competition Ottavio Ziino (Rome, 2023).
Her passion for music has led her through numerous projects, competitions, and collaborations with renowned conductors, including Mladen Tarbuk, Peter Valentovič, Simon Krečič, Veton Marevci, Valentin Egel, Ivo Lipanović, Ivan Hut, Christoph Campestrini, and Srboljub Dinić.
Her concert and opera career includes performances in Croatia and abroad, collaborating with numerous orchestras and conductors. As a soloist, she frequently performed Carmina Burana by Carl Orff between 2021 and 2024 in cities such as Zagreb, Karlovac, Samobor, and Braunschweig. Her most recent performance of Carmina Burana took place in February 2025 at the Great Hall of Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall.
Gabriela has portrayed several notable operatic roles, including the Fairy in Cendrillon by Jules Massenet (Zagreb, 2021), Mollie in Animal Farm by Igor Kuljerić (Lisinski, 2021), Queen Roxana in King Roger by Karol Szymanowski (Košice, 2022, 2024), Katrena in Krútňava by Eugen Suchoň (Košice, 2025), the Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas by H. Purcell (HNK Varaždin, 2023), Venus in Amphitryon by Boris Papandopulo (HNK Zagreb, 2023), Clotilde in Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (Klosterneuburg, 2024), Tebaldo and Voce dal Cielo in Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi (Klosterneuburg, 2024), and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (Varaždin, 2024).
A particularly significant achievement was her lead role as Katrena in Krútňava at the Slovak National Theatre in Košice, with premieres on November 29 and 30, 2024, followed by performances on December 10 and 11, 2024, and additional shows in March and May 2025.
In addition to her performance career, Gabriela has also worked successfully as a voice teacher:
Alberto Štriga Secondary Music School, Križevci (2022 and 2023, fixed-term contract – 6 months)
Franjo Lučić School of Art, Velika Gorica (2024, fixed-term contract)
She was awarded the Rector’s Award for outstanding music and stage projects:
Academic year 2021/2022 – Igor Kuljerić: Animal Farm, an opera-fable
Academic year 2022/2023 – Boris Papandopulo: Amphitryon, an opera
The year 2024 brought remarkable artistic success with performances of Carmina Burana, premieres of Madama Butterfly (Varaždin and Dubrovnik), and the children’s opera Regoč, as well as participation in productions of Wagner’s Das Rheingold (HNK Rijeka) and the Opera Festival in Klosterneuburg (Austria).
She has performed with orchestras such as the Zagreb Philharmonic, Rijeka Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre Split, the Beethoven Philharmonic from Vienna, and the State Orchestras of Braunschweig and Košice.
In March 2025, she made her debut at the Croatian National Theatre in Split as Adina in L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti. She is also currently preparing for the role of the First Fairy in Rusalka, set to premiere in May 2025 at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.
