Born in Istanbul, critically-acclaimed mezzo-soprano Aylin Ateş studied under Azra and Aydın Gün at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory and graduated from the Opera - Voice Department. She was accepted to the Istanbul State Opera as a soloist in 1998.
Having appeared in numerous national and international opera productions and solo concerts, Ateş sang the roles of Carmen in G. Bizet's opera of the same name, Delilah in C. Saint-Saëns' 'Samson and Delilah', Angelina in G. Rossini's 'La Cenerentola' (Turkish Première), Romeo in V. Bellini's 'I Capuletti e i Montecchi' (Turkish Première), Orpheus in C. W. Gluck's 'Orpheus and Eurydice' (Turkish Première), Baba the Turk in I. Stravinsky's 'The Rake's Progress' (Turkish Première), Prince Orlofsky in Strauss II's 'Die Fledermaus', Suzuki in G. Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly', Nicklausse in J. Offenbach's 'Les Contes d'Hoffmann', Zaida in G. Rossini's 'Il turco in Italia', Maddalena in G. Verdi's 'Rigoletto' (with the Israeli Opera as well), Sesto in G. F. Haendel's 'Giulio Cesare in Egitto', Hänsel in E. Humperdinck's 'Hänsel und Gretel', Zeynep in S. Ada's 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' and the goddess Hera in the same composer's 'Another World' (World Première).
She was the main cast for the title role of Carmen in the Turkish-French mega co-production 'Carmen - Opéra Monumental' created by producer Franz Abraham and stage director Yekta Kara, touring France and Portugal as part of the production's Winter 2007 World Tour and performing in venues such as Paris' Bercy and Zénith, and Lisbon's Pavillaho Atlantico.
Ateş worked with opera conductors such as Antonio Pirolli, Michel Tabachnik, Rengim Gökmen, Moshe Atzmon, Giselle Ben Dor, Lukas Karytinos, Selman Ada, Peter Valentovic, Walter Haupt, Ivan Anguelov, Fabrizio Ventura, Alessandro Cedrone, Alexandru Samoila, Roberto Gianola, Serdar Yalçın and Can Okan.
The artist sang in Selman Ada's 'The Blue Dot' oratorio at the Munich and Wiesbaden Opera Houses as part of the work's German Tour. She also performed during the World Première of the same composer's 'Ballade' for mezzo-soprano solo and orchestra in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2004.
Ateş took the stage with many national and international orchestras, choirs and conductors and took part in CD and DVD recordings, performing the mezzo-soprano and alto solo parts in G. Mahler's 'Symphony No. 2' and 'Kindertotenlieder'; W. A. Mozart's 'Requiem'; G. Verdi's 'Missa da Requiem'; L. v. Beethoven's 'Symphony No. 9'; A. A. Saygun's 'Yunus Emre Oratorio' and 'Meditations on Men - Five Songs'; G. B. Pergolesi's 'Stabat Mater'; K. Jenkins' 'Stabat Mater'; H. Berlioz' 'Les nuits d'été'; S. Prokofiev's 'Alexander Nevsky'; E. Elgar's 'Sea Pictures'; N. Kâzım Akses' 'Portraits'; İ. Baran's 'Songs' and H. Uçarsu's 'I Am Condemned to You' (World Première).
In these works, Ateş collaborated with conductors Antonio Pirolli, Marek Pijarowski, Theodore Kuchar, Klaus Weise, Gürer Aykal, Selman Ada, Rengim Gökmen, Cem Mansur, Naci Özgüç, Sascha Goetzel, Karl Anton Rickenbacher, Ari Rasilainen, Raoul Grüneis, Emre Aracı, İbrahim Yazıcı, Emil Tabakov, Ivo Lipanovic and Yoshinao Osawa.
The artist was the recipient of the 2000 'Artist of the Year' award in the Opera and Voice Category bestowed by the Müjdat Gezen Art Center; the 2015 'Female Artist of the Year' award bestowed by the Lions' Club in Turkey; and the 'Işın Güyer Honour Award' bestowed by the Semiha Berksoy Opera Foundation the same year.
To date Ateş sang with, among others, the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra, the Israeli Symphony Orchestra, the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra, the Turkish Presidential Symphony Orchestra, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestras of the Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Izmir and Mersin State Operas and Ballets. Performing in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Armenia and Turkey, Ateş sang A. A. Saygun's 'Meditations on Men - Five Songs' at Madrid's Auditorio Nacional de Música with the Turkish Presidential Orchestra conducted by Cem Mansur.
Ateş featured in a number of international music festivals, including the Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival, the Osnabrück Morgenland Festival (Osnabrück - Bremen), the Side International Culture and Arts Festival and the International Eskişehir Festival.
