Born in Belgrade, soprano Jelena Bankovic earned her Master Piano Degree (class of Prof. Aleksandar Serdar and Bachelor Singing Degree (class of Prof. Aneta Ilic) at University of Music in Belgrade as well as her Master Opera and LOK
Degree at University of Arts in Berlin, class of Prof. Peter Maus.
She refined her education in collaboration with a.o. Ruggero Raimondi, Brigitte Fassbaender, Teresa Berganza, Snezana Nena Brzaković, James Hooper, Doreen Defeis and with Ruth Falcon, Diana Soviero and Mignon Dunn as part of International Vocal Arts Institute in New York.
She performed as soloist with Serbian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Serbian Military Symphony Orchestra, with Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra, with Berlin Chamber Symphony Orchestra in the large broadcasting hall of RBB, with Leipzig Symphony Orchestra in Berlin Philharmonic and with Munich's I Virtuosi Ambulanti at “Esterhazy Festival” in Haydnsaal in Austria and in Auditorio Nacional in Madrid. For two years in a row she was a guest of honor at Achilleon Palace in Corfu (Greece), where she gave two solo recitals accompanied by pianists Alexis Agrafiotis and Sotiris Louzios. She made her debut at Berlin State Opera in Hermann's »Die Luft hier: scharfgeschliffen« and in Mozart's »La finta giardiniera«, production of Christoph Hagel, as well as in Landestheater Coburg, where she performed in Korngold's »Die stumme Serenade« and as the flower girl in »Parsifal«.
She has already won several renowned competitions, including “International Competition Giacomo Lauri Volpi” in Latina with Teresa Berganza as jury president.
In cooperation with the “Asociación Luigi Boccherini”, a CD (World Premiere) with arias by Boccherini and Brunetti was produced for the music label Lindoro in Madrid and in cooperation with Braunschweig State Orchestra a CD with excerpts from Humperdinck's opera "Hänsel und Gretel" was made, where she sang the role of Gretel for the music label Coviello Classics. She was an ensamble member of the State Theater Braunschweig from 2017 - 2022.
Over the years, Ms. Banković presented herself to the audience, (a o.) as Gretel (»Hänsel und Gretel«), Lidotschka (»Moscow, Tscherjomuschki«), Fünfte Magd (»Elektra«), Servilia (»La clemenza di Tito«), Sophie (»Werther«), Musetta (»La Bohème«), Flora (»The Turn of the Screw«), Charlotte (E. Krenek »Diktator«), Ursula/Marie/Ygraine (Aribert Reimanns »L`Invisible«), Lucy (Menotti »The Telephone«), Angel (» Angels in America«), The Voice (»Transstimme« Munich Biennale 2020), Hanako (Toshio Hosokawa`s »Hanjo«), Erste Waldenfee (»Rusalka«), Morgana (»Alcina«), Sister Rose (»Dead Man Walking«), Micaela / Frasquita ( »Carmen«), Pamina / Papagena (»Die Zauberflöte«), Gretchen (»Der Wildschütz«), Hasenscharte (Sidney Corbetts'»Das große Heft«), La Sacerdotessa (»Aida«).
Jelena Bankovic worked together a.o. with conductors like Andreas Hotz, Mino Marani, Ivan Lopez Reynoso, William Kelly, Harish Shankar, Florian Csizmadia, Christopher Lichtenstein, Tommaso Turchetta, Srba Dinić, Alexis Agrafiotis, Vinzenz Weißenburger, Paul Nadler, Rainer Armbrust, Lucy Arner, Errico Fresis, Gustavo Sanchez, Michael Balke, Joongbae Jee, Keita Matsui, also with stage directors like Joshua Major, Adriana Altaras, Frank Hilbrich, Paolo Miccichè, Brigitte Fassbaender, Jürgen Flimm, Benjamin Prins, Florentine Klepper, Jakob Peters-Messer, Dagmar Schlingmann, Dirk Schmeding, Christoph Diem, Andrea Schwalbach, Ben Bauer, Andrea Moses, Ulrich Mokrusch, Isabel Ostermann und Nicolas Trees.
Ms Bankovic is a Richard Wagner Scholarship holder for the year 2023.
Jelena Bankovic has been working as a freelancer since the 2022/23 season and since then has appeared at Theater Osnabrück as Thekla in Weinberger's “Wallenstein”, as Angel in “Angels in America” at Bremen Theater, as Musetta in “La Boheme” at Meiningen State Theater and as Morgana in “Alcina” at Theater Vorpommern. She can currently be seen in the role of the 1st Niece in Britten's “Peter Grimes” at Theater Osnabrück as well as Musetta in “La Boheme” at Aalto Theater Essen.