Born in
Innsbruck and raised in
Salzburg, Sima was trained at the
Mozarteum University Salzburg and the
Academy of Music in Vienna. In 1979 she made her professional opera debut with Spectaculum, a Vienna-based opera company dedicated to performing baroque operas. From 1979 to 1982 she was a member of the young artist program at the
Vienna State Opera (VSO). She was then promoted to the role of resident artist with the VSO, a position she maintained until 1988 when she became a principal artist at the
Zurich Opera. She made her debut at the
Salzburg Festival in 1980 in
Ernst Krenek's
Karl V, and continued to perform there regularly over the next decade. Her roles at Salzburg included Johanna in the world premiere of
Friedrich Cerha's
Baal (8 July 1981) and the Nurse in the world premiere of
Luciano Berio's
Un re in ascolto (7 July 1984). She appeared at Salzburg in performances of
Othmar Schoeck's
Penthesilea (1982),
Gottfried von Einem's
Dantons Tod (1983), a concert of works by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1987, and
Richard Strauss Elektra (1989). Other roles Sima has performed on stage include Barbarina in
The Marriage of Figaro, Berta in
The Barber of Seville, Esmeralda in
The Bartered Bride, The Fortuneteller in
Arabella, Flora in
La traviata, Giannetta in
The Elixir of Love, Papagena in
The Magic Flute, the Shepherd Boy in
Tannhäuser, Siébel in
Faust, and Xenia in
Boris Godunov among others. ==Death==