Christiana Aloneftis

Biography

A child of the Cypriot diaspora, born in Melbourne and now based near Munich, Aloneftis trained on invitation at the Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera), after completing further studies, on full scholarship, at the prestigious École Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris (2018).

Performance Career

Described as a “genuine discovery...who performs with a captivating stage presence, both in her artistic personality and richly-coloured voice” (Wiesbadener Tagblatt), Aloneftis has performed a variety of roles across international stages, with her current focus being on the more expansive soprano lirico and lirico-spinto repertoire of the Italianate and Slavic music traditions.

Film Debut

She makes her international film debut as the Young Callas (1947) in the highly anticipated biopic, Maria (2024), about the final days of the great Maria Callas. Directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Stephen Knight, she shares the role of Maria Callas with award-winning actress Angelina Jolie.

Awards

Christiana is the winner of the 2024 Brian Boak Outstanding Performer’s Bursary, a prominent Australian career grant awarded to an emerging artistic talent with international potential, and a Theodor Rogler Foundation Awardee.

She won the CHASS Prize for Distinctive Work awarded by the Council for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Australia for her "excellent and diverse contributions to the arts, as a performer and coach" (2021). She also won awards from GVL (Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten), Deutscher Musikrat (2022) and the Bavarian State Scholarship Programme for Young Artists and the Wagner Society of Munich (2023).

Christiana Aloneftis was also the winner of The Mike Walsh Fellowship to assist talented young Australian theatre artists who have the potential to make a significant contribution to the Australian arts and entertainment industry.”

Collaborations

She recently made her Greek recital debut in Athens, accompanied by one of Greece’s most reputable collaborative pianists, Dimitris Yakas, for the Theocharakis Fine Arts Foundation. She has collaborations with the Maria Callas Museum in Athens in the new season. Christiana Aloneftis will perform for the Schwarz Foundation at the Samos Young Artists Festival 2025 and is committed to promoting her Hellenic and diasporan identity across her artistic disciplines and through her interest in social and cultural diversity and leadership.

Education and Coaching

In addition to her musical studies, she is a graduate of the University of Melbourne and Monash University with a BMus (Vocal Performance), DipLang (Advanced Italian), and a Master of Interpreting and Translation Studies. She is fluent in five languages and manages a global coaching practice centred around a set of foundational disciplines that empower emerging talent and established professionals to navigate career and transformation trajectories in the contemporary arts world with confidence and resolve. She completed her internships at Opera Australia and the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.

Ambassadorial Address

"Callas, as both an artist and woman, represents the very core values that are important to me: courage, freedom, integrity, and connection. She inspires me to perform uninhibitedly and genuinely. Callas intrinsically believed in every fibre of her being. She was emotion. She was art. She was truth. That’s such a rebel action in a world that continuously wants you to second-guess your existence, performance, and talent, especially as a woman in the entertainment industry. Callas has always been my guiding force as an artist, and I am honoured to be the Ambassador of the newly-formed Maria Callas Australian Society. Together, with my trusted colleagues and board members, we endeavour to educate, support, and connect with opera lovers and the next generation of opera talent in promoting and perpetuating Callas’ pure and extensive artistic legacy. Watch this space." – Christiana Aloneftis