Vesna Miletic
Photo: Jan Willem Kaldenbach

Vesna Miletic

Soprano

Vesna was born in Zadar by the Adriatic Sea, where she discovered at an early age that people love to hear her sing and, more importantly, that singing makes her very happy. After completing the Music Gymnasium Mokranjac in Belgrade, she continued her studies in Amsterdam at the Sweelinck Conservatory. Integrating into Dutch society became even easier and more fun for her from the moment she got to sing solo roles with opera and operetta societies Thalia Amsterdam and Belcanto Oostzaan.

Vesna joined Dutch National Opera for the first time in 1989, as a member of the extra Chorus. A world of 1000 possibilities opened up for her. Magical and titillating, all-encompassing. Masterclasses with, for example, De Jeker Studio Maastricht (stage training for opera singers), Christina Deutekom and Jekaterina Joffel brought her knowledge and, especially, trust. Vesna has had a permanent position with the Chorus since 1994. Every new production has brought her a deepening and indescribable satisfaction. In addition to her work with the Chorus, she has been fortunate enough to be able to sing many solo roles with DNO under the stage name Dana Ilia, culminating in the production of Het Ringetje (2011 and 2012), in which she sang the roles of Sieglinde and Brünnhilde. In recent years she has also enjoyed giving lunch concerts in the foyer of our theatre.