Alenka Gotar (born nin 1977 in Rodica pri Domžalah, Slovenia) is a Slovene soprano singer, best known for competing at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 with the song Cvet z juga. She became the first and only Slovenian artist to reach the Eurovision Final since the introduction of Semi-Finals in 2004. Cvet z juga, described as a fast rhythmic ballad combined with operatic vocals, achieved 66 points and finished in 15th place. Alenka Gotar began her musical interest by attending a small music school where she learned piano and guitar. Afterwards she attended music and ballet school in Ljubljana, where Markos Bajuk taught her solo singing. After graduating in 1996, she applied to study singing at the Musical Academy in Basel, Switzerland, and in 1999, she attended the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, where she was taught by Professor Lilijan Sukis. Alenka gained her diploma in 2000. In Salzburg, she continued studies in singing and opera with Prof. Sukis, along with perfecting her craft in Rome with Maya Sunari-Biankini, and with Marjana Lipovšek and Alfred Burgstaller. She gained her Master’s degree in 2006. Alenka Gotar is a guest in the Maribor Opera and as a soloist, she sings in the state theatres in Salzburg and Ljubljana. She toured with an orchestra and chamber choir in Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Croatia, and Scandinavia. Her repertoire ranges from baroque to modern musical pieces. She also works as music teacher. From the summer of 2000, Alenka Gotar has been a frequent guest in the SNG opera and ballet in Ljubljana, where she has sung in the following roles: * Barbarina (The Marriage of Figaro - Mozart); * Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni - Mozart); * Rusalka (Rusalka - Dvořák); * Hanna Glawary (The Merry Widow - Lehár); * Pamina (The Magic Flute - Mozart/Schikaneder) * Gran Sacerdotessa (Aida - Verdi). In the 2004/2005 season, she performed the following roles: * Brigitte (Iolanta - Tchaikovsky); * Bubikopf (The Emperor of Atlantis – Ullmann) * Kristine (Brata - Alojza Ajdiča) In Salzburg she performed the following roles: * Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro - Mozart); * Pamina (The Magic Flute - Mozart); * Arminda (La finta giardiniera - Mozart); * Hyazintus (Apollo et Hyacinthus - Mozart) * Mimi (La bohème - Puccini). In the festival Europäische Musikmonat 2001 in Basel, she sang the soprano role in the opera “Skamander”, by the Swiss composer Beata Gysina. In 2000, Alenka worked with the well known composer György Kurtag for the Swiss radio DRC3. http://www.alenkagotar.com/ Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.