Elza van den Heever Soprano

Born in South Africa, Elza van den Heever has both French and South-African nationalities and lives in France. From 2008 to 2013 she was a member of the Frankfurt Opera Company where she made her debut as Giorgetta (Il Tabarro) and where she subsequently acquired a wide repertoire.

She was quickly invited to perform on international stages (Vienna Staatsoper, New York Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco, Chicago, Zurich, Munich, Hamburg, Bordeaux) where she sang numerous roles, from Mozart (Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, Elettra in Idomeneo, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni) and Beethoven (Leonore in Fidelio), to Berg (Marie in Wozzeck), Strauss (Chrysothémis in Elektra) and Britten (Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes), as well as the bel canto repertoire (the title-roles of Norma and Anna Bolena, Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda), Verdi (Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Desdemona in Otello, Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in Il Trovatore), Puccini (Giorgetta et Suor Angelica) and Wagner (Elsa in Lohengrin, Senta in The Flying Dutchman).

She made her debut at the Paris Opera in Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi). She added to her repertoire the roles of the Empress in a concert version of Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Julia (Spontini's La Vestale) at the Theater an der Wien and Marie in Wozzeck at the New York Metropolitan Opera.

Concert performances include Beethoven's Symphony N°9, Verdi's Requiem, Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, Mahler's Symphony N°8, Strauss's Four Last Songs with Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Bertrand de Billy and Yannick Nézet-Seguin. She has recorded Il Tabarro for the Capriccio label and her debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera as Maria Stuarda was released on DVD.

Recently she has appeared as Leonore (Fidelio) in San Francisco, Elsa (Lohengrin) at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the title role of Rodelinda at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Chrysothemis (Elektra) at the Paris Opera.