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 resides in France. She was quickly invited to perform on major international stages, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Paris Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, La Scala in Milan, and the Opéra national de Bordeaux, where she has taken on a wide range of roles, from Mozart (Elettra in Idomeneo) to Strauss (the title role in Salome, the Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Chrysothemis in Elektra) and Britten (Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes), as well as bel canto, Puccini (Giorgetta and Suor Angelica in Il Trittico) and Wagner (Sieglinde in Die Walküre, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Elsa in Lohengrin, Senta in The Flying Dutchman).*

She made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Elsa and at the Salzburg Festival in concert in Act I of Die Walküre. During the 2025–2026 season, she notably performs Elsa in Berlin, Sieglinde in Milan, the title role in Turandot in Frankfurt, Chrysothemis in San Francisco, and Sieglinde at the 2026 Bayreuth Festival.

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

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