Elza van den Heever

Elza van den Heever Soprano

Biography

Born in South Africa, Elza van den Heever holds dual French and South African citizenship and lives in France. After performing at the San Francisco Opera, she made her European debuts at the Frankfurt Opera and the Bordeaux National Opera.

She soon became a guest at leading international opera houses and festivals, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Paris Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, La Scala in Milan, and the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals.

Her repertoire includes the Empress (Die Frau ohne Schatten), Elettra (Idomeneo), Chrysothemis (Elektra), Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes), Marie (Wozzeck), Armida (Rinaldo), Elisabeth (Don Carlo), Leonora (Il trovatore), Elisabetta (Maria Stuarda), Sieglinde (Die Walküre), Elisabeth (Tannhäuser), Elsa (Lohengrin), Senta (Der Fliegende Holländer), as well as the title roles in Salome, Turandot and Rodelinda.

During the 2026–2027 season, she will perform, among other roles, Anna Sørensen (Silent Night by Kevin Puts) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the title role in Turandot at the Paris Opera.

At the Paris Opera: Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi), 2011; Elektra (Chrysothemis), 2022; Salome (title role), 2022; La Vestale (Julia), 2024; Die Walküre (Sieglinde), 2025.

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