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Raiven | |
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 Raiven performing in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sara Briški Cirman |
| Born | (1996-04-26)26 April 1996 (age 28) Ljubljana,Slovenia |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2014–present |
Sara Briški Cirman (born 26 April 1996), better known by her stage nameRaiven, is a Slovenian singer, songwriter, and harpist. She represented Slovenia at theEurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Veronika".[1] She first garnered wide recognition while competing to participate in theEurovision Song Contest 2016 for Slovenia during the national finalEvrovizijska Melodija (EMA) with the song "Črno bel", where she placed second. Raiven went on to return toEMA in2017, placing third with the song "Zažarim", and has competed again in2019 with the song "Kaos", placing second.
Sara Briški Cirman started her musical path at the age of four, when she enrolled at the Glasbena Matica in Ljubljana.[2] Between 2002 and 2011 she attended harp lessons at the Music School in Ljubljana. She continued her education in the program of the Art Gymnasium, which she attended at the Maribor Conservatory of Music and Ballet, majoring in harp with Professor Dalibor Bernatovič, jazz singing with Ana Bezjak and solo singing with professors Leona Bašovič and Tina Bohak.[3] She has been awarded several times for her achievements in the field of classical music. Among other awards, in 2013 she won first place at the Antonio Salieri International Harp Competition in Italy and a gold plaque at the Temsig Solo Singing Country Competition. In 2015 she graduated in solo singing and continued her music education at theAcademy of Music in Ljubljana (solo singing - opera), where she graduated in 2018 in the class of Professor Alenka Dernač Bunta and enrolled in a master's degree in solo singing with Professor Pija Brodnik. In 2021 she received her master's degree in solo singing - opera.[4]
She released her debut albumMagenta in 2017 and later received an award, given out by the Slovenian cultural and artistic association for achievements in Slovenian popular music Zlata piščal in the category record of the year.[5] In the second half of 2018 she began working with songwriters and producers in Metropolis Studios (London). As a result of her work there, she released an EP albumREM, which has received critical and public acclaim.
On July 4, 2019, she performed on the Fusion Stage at theExit Festival in Novi Sad, on the evening when the organizers listed the most visitors in the history of the festival - over 56,000.[6] At the end of 2019, she performed at numerous high-profile events, including as a soloist with theRTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Big Band, the Slovenian Baroque Orchestra and the Slovenian Police Orchestra. In February 2020, she performed with her original compositionTi with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra at theLjubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet, under the baton and adaptation of Matija Krečič.
On 11 September 2021, she performed the songVolkovi at thePopevka 21 festival, with which she won the Grand Audience Award causing her song to receive the titlePopevka 2021.[7] In 2021 she also finished her master's degree in the Ljubljana's Academy of Music, majoring in opera - solo singing.
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In 2019 she dedicated herself to artistic development as an opera singer and in December 2019 she sang in the world’s first tamburitza opera,Ambrož and Katarina. She is a scholarship holder of the Berlin Opera Academy. Her roleHänsl in EngelbertHumperdinck's operaHänsel und Gretel was set to premiere in the summer of 2020, but it has been postponed to the summer of 2022 due to a new coronavirus pandemic.
In June 2021, she sang the role ofOld Lady inLeonard Bernstein's operaCandide at the Cankar Centre. In April 2021, she received first prize and third place at the IMMCC 2020 International Singing Competition. On June 28, 2021, she received her master’s degree with a singing recital and a master’s essay entitledThe Role of Agrippina inGeorge Frideric Handel's opera of the same name. For her outstanding artistic achievements she received thePrešeren Prizefor Students presented by the Academy of Music.
In August 2021, she performed in the role ofRosina at concert performances ofGioachino Rossini'sThe Barber of Seville under the direction of maestroGeorge Pehlivanian. In October 2021, together with soprano Pia Brodnik, tenor Gregor Ravnik and pianist Andreja Kosmač, she performed a concert as part of the Studenec Summer Festival entitledJesenska pesem (Autumn Song). Earlier, she performed twice as part of baroque music concerts with the Slovenian Baroque Orchestra under the baton of Egon Mihajlović and concert master Monika Toth.
At the end of October 2021, accompanied by Maltese Philharmonic Orchestra, she sang at an opera aria concert at the Astra Theater in Malta, conducted byJosé Cura.
In April 2022, she sang the title role in Handel's operaAgrippina at the Cankar Center under the artistic direction of Egon Mihajlović and directed by Rocco Rapplo. In the same month she also sang at the closing concert of theOpernfest Prague at the Vinohrady Theater in Prague, under the direction of the artistic director of the Prague Opera, maestro Jaroslav Kyzlink. A week later, she sang with the Albanian Opera Orchestra in Tirana at theMarie Kraja Opera Festival, under the baton of maestro Martin Andrea. In 2022, she began studying the role ofCarmen as part of a concert performance of the opera under the direction of maestro George Pehlivanian. That same year, she made her debut at theSlovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana in the show 'Orpheus in the Underworld' (playing the role of Public Opinion), and in 2023, she portrayed Larina in the play 'Eugene Onegin'.
As part of her studies she performedMozart'sSpatzenmesse andVivaldi'sGloria in D major in theSlovenian Philharmonic Orchestra as solo alto with the Baroque Orchestra of the Academy of Music in 2018. In the same year, she performed as a soloist at the Cankar Center with the Big Band of the Academy of Music, under the baton of Matej Hotko. In 2019, she sang the role of Iztok Kocen's mini-opera doctorNepotrebna (Unnecessary), which premiered in Budapest. The mini-opera was presented in Brno and Ljubljana.
Since the beginning of her music education, she has regularly attended seminars by renowned musicians such as José Cura, Bernarda Fink, Vlatka Orašanić and JD Walker.
In 2022, she presented a new electro-opera concert project, in which she combined classical opera arias with electronic pop. Part of this project, entitledDoloroso, was presented at a sold-out concert on March 8, 2022 at theCankar Centre. She returned to thePopevka[8] festival in 2023 as a hostess, and together with her co-host Helena Blagne, she introduced her new song "Ikona". With it, she announced the release of the EPSirene. Her Eurovision 2024 song "Veronika" is included in the album.
Raiven participated in the national finalEvrovizijska Melodija (EMA), the selection process forSlovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Črno bel", placing second. Raiven returned toEMA in2017, placing third with the song "Zažarim", and again in2019 with the song "Kaos", placing second.
In December 2023, it was announced that Raiven would finallyrepresent Slovenia in theEurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Veronika".[9] She qualified for the Grand Final on 7 May 2024 from the first semi-final. In the Grand Final on 11 May, "Veronika" placed 23rd out of 25 with 27 points (15 from the professional juries and 12 from the televoting).
In 2018, she also performed on theatrical boards in the playTrojanke, produced by the Slovenian National Theatre Nova Gorica, where she portrayed the character of Cassandra. The work in the new translation by Jere Ivanc was directed by Jaša Koceli.
In 2021, she accepted the main role of Urška in the musicalPovodni mož (The Water Man).
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Magenta |
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| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| REM [sl] |
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| Sirene, Pt. 1 |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLO [13] | LTU [14] | |||
| "Jadra" | 2014 | — | — | Magenta |
| "Bežim" | 2015 | — | — | |
| "Črno bel" | 2016 | 42 | — | |
| "Nov planet" | — | — | ||
| "Zažarim" | 2017 | — | — | |
| "Nisem kriva" | 2018 | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Kaos" | 2019 | — | — | REM |
| "Širni ocean" | — | — | ||
| "Kralj Babilona" | — | — | ||
| "Ti" | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Volkovi" | 2021 | — | — | |
| "Habanera" | 2022 | — | — | Sirene, Pt. 1 |
| "Ikona" | 2023 | — | — | |
| "Veronika" | 2024 | — | 72 | |
| "Ofelija" | — | — | ||
| "Mama" | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Hedonista"[15] | 2025 | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
| Year | Competition | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | EMA | Črno bel | Runner-up | [16] |
| 2017 | Zažarim | Third place | [17] | |
| 2019 | KAOS | Runner-up | [18] | |
| 2021 | Slovenian song festival | Volkovi | Winner | [19] |
| 2024 | Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | Veronika | 23rd place |
| Year | Award | Nominee/work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Zlata piščal | Nov planet | Song of the Year | Nominated | [20] |
| 2018 | Povej | Nominated | [5] | ||
| Raiven | Artist of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Magenta | Album of the Year | Won | |||
| 2022 | My Global Fashion Award | Raiven | Regional Fashion Icon | Won | [21] |
| 2024 | Eurovision Awards | Raiven | Style Icon | Nominated | [22] |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| Artists | |
