Etleva Shemai Mezzo Soprano was born in Albania and completed her musical studies at the Conservatory of Tirana with Honors.  At the “Katia Ricciarelli” National Vocal Competition she won first prize, followed by finalist at the international competition “Luigi Volpi” in Roma and “Vincenzo Nostri” with the prize sponsored by the Lions Club and Kiwanis Club at the Citta International Competition di Alcamo “in Italy.

 

Continuing her education in Germany, Etleva Shemai received a three year scholarship from Deutsche Bank and studied at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz with Claudia Eder and at the Wiesbaden Academy of Fine Arts.  

The mezzo-soprano won first prize at the Bayreuth Competition, the Johannes-Gutenberg Prize for Outstanding Performance, and a grant from the Kammeroper Rheinsberg, making it possible for her to participate in the Festival of Rheinsberg.  After the completion of her concert exam, with Honors in 2001, Etleva Shemai joined the solo ensemble of the Mecklenburg State Theatre in Schwerin and sang many roles there with much success. She is particularly renowned as “Carmen” in Germany.  Guest appearances have led her to the Graz Opera, Austria, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Offenbach Festival Bad Ems, Frankfurter Oper, Mainzer Oper and as guest of honour in the renowned Inchon Festival in South Korea. She continued her vocal training with Gianfranco Cecchele, Helen Donath, Carlos Chausson.  Presently she studies with Raul Guimenez.  She has taught voice at the Bellaterra Conservatory in Barcelona, Spain, and at Booker T. Washington High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.  

She has enjoyed working with many conductors, including Nicola Luisotti, Michael Hofstetter, Ivan Toerzs, Massimo Palumbo, Carlo Franci, Peter Falk, Gregorz Nowak, Stefan Otterbach, and Gerard Akoka. Much in demand on the concert podium, Shemai regularly solos with these radio orchestras: Southwest Radio Orchestra, Munich Symphony Orchestra, Thueringer Philharmonie Orchestra, Frankfurter Symphonie, Albanian Radio Orchestra.

She has been featured in these prestigious venues: The Alte Oper of Frankfurt, Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Feierabendhaus in Ludwigshafen, Wiesbaden’s Kurhaus. Many of her concerts have been broadcast live on German radio Hessische Rundfunk some of which were broadcast on radio with the star Moderator Elmar Gunsch, Baldur Seifert etc.

Critic Brigette Nabor, Badishes Tagblatt, Baden-Baden, concludes: “Etleva Shemai is…absolutely authentic in all musical styles, her stage presence augmenting her artistic expressiveness…, making her something special in the crowd of beautiful voices.” 

To the most important television classic program of Albania. Since 2015 she is a soloist on the most important concert stages in Germany with renowned Orchestras such as the South West Broadcasting, Albanian Broadcasting, Rheinland Pfalz Philharmonic, the Frankfurt Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, the Thuring Philharmonic Orchestra. In October this year, she went in Tirana with the formation of the

Viennese Philharmonic and then follows the Berliner Philharmoniker with the Operetta concert.