Silvana Sintow-Behrens was born into a musical family and grew up travelling the major cities of the classical music world. Following piano and singing lessons throughout her childhood she went on to study musicology and theatre arts. A graduate of the London Theatre School, she performed as an actress in London and Edinburgh. Owing to the career of her mother, soprano Anna Tomowa-Sintow, she was immersed into the world of opera from a very early age on. She became fluent in seven languages and gathered extensive insights into the various facets of the music business.
She started her career as a public relations manager for BMG Classics/RCA in London, where she was soon in charge of illustrious artists such as Evgeny Kissin, Barry Douglas, James Galway and Yuri Temirkanov. The French recording label Erato Disques later appointed her Director of International Promotions and Artist Development in Paris. During this time, she became Daniel Barenboim’s personal PR agent, a responsibility she then went on to carry out for Teldec Warner Classics in Berlin. She further handled the planning and coordination of Maestro Barenboim’s recording projects with the Chicago Symphony, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Berlin. At the same time, she was in charge of attending renowned singers such as Placido Domingo, Cecilia Bartoli, Thomas Hampson, Ferruccio Furlanetto and others. She also led the office for Erato Disques during the Salzburg Summer Festival and organized major press conferences for Erato and Teldec in Paris, Tokyo, Chicago, New York, Madrid, London, Amsterdam, Geneva, Berlin and Bayreuth for Maestro Barenboim, Kent Nagano, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Armin Jordan, Ton Koopman, Claudio Scimone, Vadim Repin and Maxim Vengerov.
Silvana served as artistic advisor to the Athens Concert Hall, the Megaron, for eleven years. She further was active as personal assistant to Daniel Barenboim until the conclusion of his tenure at Teatro alla Scala Milan in 2014 and has worked with him on various projects in Berlin as well as for the West Eastern Divan Orchestra in Sevilla. In December of 2017 Silvana served as a member of the jury for the prestigious Maria Callas competition in Athens, held in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the passing of the legendary soprano. In July 2018, she was a jury member of the 3rd International “Zinka Milanov” Competition in Rijeka, Croatia.
Silvana is the founder and director of Classicalia International Promotions & Management, her Munich-based agency through which she has been representing some of the finest singers and conductors for over two decades. She also enjoys working with talented young artists and holds regular vocal auditions and career coaching sessions allowing her to share her expertise and experience regarding the demands of building successful careers on the international music scene.
