About
Biography
Alenka Gotar was born on August 23, 1977, in Rodica pri DomĹľalah, Slovenia. She grew up with an interest in music and started her journey by attending a small music school where she learned to play the piano and guitar. Later, she enrolled at the music and ballet school in Ljubljana, studying solo singing under Marcos Bajuk. In 1996, she graduated from both this school and Gimnazija Poljane with her matura exams.
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After finishing school, Alenka moved to Switzerland to study singing at the Musical Academy in Basel. In 1999, she transferred to the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg in Austria, where she worked with professor Lilijan Sukis. She earned her diploma in 2000 and stayed in Salzburg to continue her studies in singing and opera. She also trained in Rome with Maya Sunari-Biankini and later with Marjana Lipovšek and Alfred Burgstaller, completing her master’s degree in 2006.
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Her professional career began to take shape in 2000 when she started performing as a guest singer at the SNG Opera and Ballet in Ljubljana. There, she took on roles like Gran Sacerdotessa in Verdi’s Aida, Kristine in the premiere of Alojz Ajdič’s Slovenian opera Brata, and Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème. That same year, she worked with composer György Kurtág for Swiss radio DRS3. In 2001, she sang the soprano role in the premiere of Beato Gysin’s multimedia opera Skamander at the Europäische Musikmonat festival in Basel.
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Alenka’s career expanded beyond opera. She performed as a concert soloist with orchestras and chamber groups across Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Croatia, and Scandinavia. Her repertoire covered music from the Baroque period to modern compositions. She also became a guest singer at the Maribor Opera and performed at state theaters in Salzburg and Ljubljana. Alongside performing, she worked as a music teacher.
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In 2007, Alenka gained wider recognition when she won EMA, Slovenia’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, with her song Cvet z juga (Flower of the South). On May 10, she competed in the semi-final in Helsinki, Finland, placing seventh and becoming the first Slovenian to reach the grand final. On May 12, she performed again and finished fifteenth with 66 points. The song, written by Andrej Babić and arranged by Aleksandra Valenčić, mixed a fast ballad with operatic vocals.
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From 2004 to 2005, Alenka joined the soloist ensemble at the SNG Opera and Ballet in Ljubljana as a permanent member. Over the years, she appeared in more than ten operas, including The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni. In 2008, she took part in the Slovenian TV show Stars Are Dancing, reaching the final but losing to Regina, a former Eurovision contestant from 1996.
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Outside of music, Alenka entered politics in 2018, running as a candidate for the Slovenian Democratic Party in the parliamentary election. Although her party won, she did not secure a seat in the National Assembly. On a personal note, she married musician Anže Šuštar in 2015, and they celebrated their tenth anniversary in 2023. Throughout her career, Alenka has remained active in Slovenia’s cultural scene, balancing her roles as a singer, teacher, and public figure.
Entries
Cvet z juga
Backings
Andrej Babić
Polona Furlan
Amira Hidić
Martina Majerle
Rudi BuÄŤar
Results Semi
Points: 140
Position: 7
Running order: 25
Results Finals
Points: 66
Position: 15
Running order: 7
