The Indonesian mezzo-soprano Devi Suriani was born into a family who raised her in an environment that nurtured her passion for music. She started her musical journey by taking keyboard lessons at the tender age of 4.

In 2006, she moved to Singapore to study voice at LASALLE College of the Arts on scholarship. During her time at LASALLE, Devi emerged as concert singer and has performed in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Australia, and Brazil with repertoire ranging from Schumann, Wolf, and Fauré to Berio, Bolcom, Barber, and numerous world premieres. In 2010, she completed her Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Classical Performance with specialisation in Contemporary Classical Music.

Devi relocated to Berlin in 2015 to pursue her master studies at Universität der Künste Berlin. She studies voice under the tutelage of Julie Kaufmann, and took part in masterclasses with Susanne Kelling, Hilde Sveen, Wolfram Rieger, and Helmut Lachenmann. She studied Lied interpretation with Axel Bauni, Eric Schneider, and Hendrik Heilmann. In April 2021, her songs comparison project titled Im Schatten der Großen [In the Shadow of the Great Ones] was selected for a scholarship supported by the Germany Music Council (Deutscher Musikrat) with the aim of bringing lesser known compositions and/or composers to light.

Throughout her studies at UdK Berlin, Devi became aware of her passion for acting. Right after the completion of her first master’s degree in Lied, Oratorium and Concert in 2017, she seized the opportunity to further her music education and obtained her degree in Master of Arts in Opera in 2020.

Devi works closely with Institute of Church Music Berlin and has sung as alto soloist in Oratorium workshops, namely excerpts from Haydn’s Il ritorno di Tobia, Handel’s Messiah, and J.S. Bach’s Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes (BWV 76) with Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche’s Bach-Choir.

Devi gained her stage experience and appeared in various productions staged by the university. Her opera debut was in 2017 where she sung The Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. In 2018, she performed the role of Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, followed by Jacques Ibert’s Angélique as Deucième Commère. In 2019, Devi gave the Berlin premiere of Peter Eötvös’ Angels in America as Harper Pitt/Ethel Rosenberg. She also performed as the lead role Arzu Blumfeld in Sven Daigger’s world premiere opera Dead End for Cornelius R. (2019) in commemoration of 600 years anniversary of University of Rostock.

In February 2021, Devi was invited under the support of Peter Eötvös Foundation to perform Ligeti’s Aventures and Nouvelle Aventures to celebrate György Kurtág’s 95^th birthday in Budapest.

When Devi is not leading her rebellious lifestyle (by going to bed at 10pm most nights), she takes pride in being a respectable Berliner by dancing under the heavy influence of Cola Zero at Berlin’s techno mecca. During COVID-19 pandemic, she stays home with her books, houseplants, and film cameras.