Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Bruckner - Te Deum - Soprano
Sep 26/28 Rotterdam
Dec 6 Musikverein Wien

OPERA NATIONAL DE PARIS
Wagner - Walküre - Sieglinde
PREMIERE Nov 11
Nov 15/18/21/24/27/30

BERLIN STATE OPERA
Wagner - Lohengrin - Elsa
Jan 18/25, Feb 1/7

TEATRO ALLA SCALA DI MILANO
Wagner - Walküre - Sieglinde
March 3/11

OPER FRANKFURT
Puccini - Turandot - Turandot
PREMIERE Apr 12
Apr 16/19/25, May 3/9/14/17

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA
Strauss - Elektra - Chrysothemis
June 7/11/14/19/23/27

BAYREUTH FESTIVAL
Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 - Soprano
July 25
Wagner - Walküre - Sieglinde
July 28, August 5/13

Biography

The South African soprano Elza van den Heever is one of the world’s foremost exponents of the jugendlich-dramatisch repertoire.

Elza van den Heever opens the 2025/26 season with the new production of Die Walküre at the Opéra de Paris. The Berlin State Opera has engaged the soprano for a series of Lohengrin performances. She will then return to La Scala, Milan, as Sieglinde in Die Walküre, make her role debut as Turandot at Oper Frankfurt, and sing Chrysothemis in Elektra at San Francisco Opera. With the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra she will be heard in concerts in Rotterdam and Vienna.

Among the outstanding engagements of the past seasons the artist made her Bayreuth debut as Elsa in Lohengrin under the direction of Christian Thielemann, the Empress ( Frau ohne Schatten ) and Salome at the Metropolitan New York, her Sieglinden debut at La Scala in Milan under Simone Young, the Empress under Christian Thielemann at the Vienna State Opera; her role debut as Elisabeth ( Tannhäuser ) and as Senta ( The Flying Dutchman ) under Thomas Guggeis at the MET; Chrysothemis ( Elektra ) under Kirill Petrenko at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival and concert version at the Berlin Philharmonie; her role debut as Salome in Paris (Simone Young / Lydia Steier) and Juliet in Spontini's La Vestale in a new production by Lydia Steier under the direction of Bertrand de Billy.
Audiences in Vienna, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Zurich, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Bordeaux have acclaimed the soprano for her outstanding performances. Her vocal capabilities allow her to embrace a wide-ranging repertoire: from Handel (Rodelinda), Mozart (Vitellia, Elettra, Donna Anna), Beethoven (Fidelio-Leonore), the belcanto repertoire (Norma, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda), to Verdi (Elisabetta, Desdemona, Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in Il trovatore), Puccini (Suor Angelica, Giorgetta), Wagner (Elisabeth, Elsa, Senta, Sieglinde), through to the 20th century with Strauss (Salome, Kaiserin, Chrysothemis) and Britten (Ellen Orford).
Alongside her operatic engagements, Elza van den Heever also cultivates a rich concert repertoire. Notable examples include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, and Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder. In the concert field she collaborates regularly with conductors such as Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Bertrand de Billy, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Elza van den Heever was a member of the ensemble of the Oper Frankfurt , where she was able to build her extensive repertoire. She made her brilliant European debut there with Giorgetta in Puccini's Il trittico. Since then, she has been one of the most sought-after sopranos of her generation.
Her interpretation of Giorgetta, conducted by Bertrand de Billy, has been released on CD by Capriccio. Her MET debut as Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda is documented on DVD.
2025/26
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