Dragana Popović (née Stanković) is a Serbian opera singer, a lyric mezzo-soprano, a freelance artist, and a civil activist.
She was born in Jagodina (Serbia) in 1980. She completed the “Vladimir Đorđević” Music School in Jagodina (piano department), the “Stanković” Music School in Belgrade (solo singing), and the “Svetozar Marković” Gymnasium in Jagodina. She graduated from the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade.
She performs on opera and concert stages both in Serbia and abroad. She lives in Zrenjanin (Serbia) and teaches solo singing at the “Josif Marinković” Music School in Vršac.
She was a scholarship recipient of the CEE Musiktheater Foundation from Vienna (Austria) from 2007 to 2010. She received the award from the Provincial Secretariat for Sports and Youth of AP Vojvodina for the achievements of her students in 2013. She was awarded at the international opera singer competition "Elena Teodorini" in Romania in 2015.
Opera Roles
editShe has performed in roles such as Rosina (The Barber of Seville, Rossini), Angelina (Cinderella, Rossini), Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart), Dido (Dido and Aeneas, Purcell), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni, Mozart), Dorabella (Così fan tutte, Mozart), Catherine Johnson (Purple Fire, Gibson), Messengers and Hope (Orfeo, Monteverdi), Page (Rigoletto, Verdi), Lucia (Cavalleria rusticana, Mascagni), Flora (La Traviata, Verdi), Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly, Puccini), Ottavia and Fortune (The Coronation of Poppea, Monteverdi), Medora (Orlando, Handel), Maeda (Twilight, Hristić), Page (The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, Rimsky-Korsakov), Cie (Gianni Schicchi, Puccini), Mother (Prince Ivo of Semberija, Bajić), Miss Meg Page (Falstaff, Verdi).
Concert Performances
editShe has sung compositions by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell, Mozart, Rossini, Caldara, Britten, Buxtehude, Pergolesi, and others.
She has participated in festivals such as BEMUS (Belgrade, Serbia), JUNGE OPER SCHLOSS (Weikersheim, Germany), NEXT WAVE (New York, USA), NIMUS, Obzorja na Tisi, Korčula Baroque Festival, Varaždin Baroque Evenings, Mokranjac Days, Csikszereda Early Music Festival, Bled Festival, Early Music Festival, and GO Abruzzo Festival.
Civil Activism
editShe began her civil activism in 2014 in Zrenjanin when she performed a seven-day performance “Silence for Silence” to encourage dialogue about the problem of unsafe drinking water in that city. She is a prominent opponent of the construction of the Chinese tire factory Linglong in Serbia.
Since 2022, she has been leading the non-governmental organization Civic Turnaround. She publicly expresses critical views against the government of the Serbian Progressive Party.