A graduate of Warsaw’s Academy of Music in the class of Krystyna Szostek-Radkowa and recipient of the “Magna Cum Laude” medal (2003). Holder of a scholarship from the Marshal of the Podlaskie Province for 2010. She is a prize-winner of the Ada Sari Vocal Competition in Nowy Sącz (twice), the Polish Artistic Songs Competition in Warsaw (First Prize), and the competition in Duszniki Zdrój (First Prize in the oratorio and lied category, and the Grand Prix). She has been a semifinalist of the Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition in Andorra, and a finalist of the International Singing Competition Schloss Rheinsberg (Germany). The artist took part in master classes with Marjana Lipovšek, Ileana Cotrubas, Denyce Graves, Alberto Zedda, Izabella Kłosińska, Tom Krause, José van Dam, and Margarita Lilova.
Małgorzata Pańko is associated with the Wielki Theatre – Polish National Opera, where she performs the roles of Polina in Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades”, Madelon and Bersi in Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier”, Margret in Berg’s “Wozzeck”, the Third Lady in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”, Zosia in Kurpiński’s “Superstition, or Cracovians and Mountaineers”, Aunt Pelagia in Ptaszyńska’s “Magic Doremik”, Suzuki in Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly”, Rosalie in Tansman’s “Le Serment”, Jadwiga in Moniuszko’s “The Haunted Manor”, Olga in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”, and Krystyna in Weinberg’s “The Passenger”.
At the Silesian Opera in Bytom and in the Baltic Opera she appeared as Olga in “Eugene Onegin”. At the Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz she sang the role of Hansel in Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel”.
In January 2010, she debuted at the Latvian National Opera in Riga with the role of Charlotte in Massenet’s “Werther”. In the same theatre, she sang Olga in “Eugene Onegin” and the title role of Carmen in Bizet’s opera.
She worked with many excellent directors such as Laco Adamik, Achim Freyer, David Pountney, Maciej Prus, Mariusz Treliński, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Andrejs Žagars, and Marek Weiss-Grzesiński.
The artist’s oratorio and cantata repertoire includes works from Johann Sebastian Bach to Frank Martin (e.g. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Prokofiev’s “Alexander Nevsky” and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2).
Her chamber repertoire incorporates works by Polish and foreign composers such as Moniuszko, Karłowicz, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Mahler.
She performed with Polish and foreign philharmonic orchestras in Austria, Latvia, Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia, North Korea, Italy, Russia, Belarus and France. With the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra she sang in Verdi’s “Requiem” and in Dvořák’s and Szymanowski’s “Stabat Mater”.
She also collaborates with the Romuald Traugutt Philharmonic in Warsaw, the orchestras of Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic, the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz, the Cracow Philharmonic, the Wrocław Philharmonic, the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Sinfonia Iuventus and the Sinfonietta Cracovią. She performed under the baton of such conductors as Gabriel Chmura, Lawrence Foster, Valery Gergiev, Jacek Kaspszyk, Kazimierz Kord, Miguel Gómez Martínez, Krzysztof Penderecki and Antoni Wit.
It is also worth noting the role of Old Lady in a concert performance of Bernstein’s “Candide” (2006), participation in the 49th International Festival of Contemporary Music “Warsaw Autumn”, the 9th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival (Frank Martin’s “Pilate” oratorio with Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster) and the 13th Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival (concert performance and CD recording of Cherubini’s “Lodoïska”), in concerts inaugurating the artistic season of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Verdi’s “Falstaff”, 2007) and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra (Kurpiński’s “Te Deum”, 2007), performance of Krzysztof Penderecki’s “Polish Requiem” under the composer’s baton in St Petersburg Philharmonic, and opera performances conducted by Valery Gergiev (Polina in Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” in 2009, and Olga in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” in 2010).


Małgorzata Pańko is represented by Ludwig van Beethoven Association.

Photo Piotr Sobkowicz