Biography « Elza van den Heever

“Blessed with a plush, dramatic voice capable of formidable power and dazzling high notes …” (Associated Press), South African-born Elza van den Heever is one of the world’s leading lyric-dramatic sopranos.

In the 2025/26 season, Ms. van den Heever brings her “breathtaking” (Bachtrack) Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre to the Opéra National de Paris, Teatro alla Scala, and the Bayreuther Festspiele. She will also join the San Francisco Opera as Chrysothemis in Strauss’ thrilling Elektra, and makes a highly anticipated role debut as Puccini’s Turandot at Oper Frankfurt.

On the concert stage, she sings Act I of Die Walküre with the Vienna Philharmonic and Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Salzburg Festival, joins the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra at the Musikverein for Bruckner’s Te Deum conducted by Lahav Shani, and sings Beethoven’s triumphant 9th Symphony at the Bayreuther Festspiele, led by Christian Thielemann.

Highlights from last season include the Empress in Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten, where she was praised for her “technically polished, empathetic and outlandishly beautiful singing” (Observer), as well as Strauss’ Salome in a new production, both at The Metropolitan Opera. Audiences around the world experienced her Salome as part of The Met’s Live in HD broadcasts, a performance that inspired the Observer to crown her “the most outstanding Strauss soprano of her generation,” saying, “She opens her mouth and out pours rivers of controlled, sparkling, and nuanced sound. Van den Heever’s Salome is anything but shrill; instead, the singer leverages her natural warmth to imbue Salome with a pitiable sensitivity, even as she swings wildly between aggressor and victim.”

She also made an exciting debut at Teatro alla Scala as Sieglinde, appeared as Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin at Staatsoper Berlin, and bowed as Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio at Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also brought her “rafter-shaking” (San Francisco Chronicle) Elettra in Mozart’s Idomeneo to San Francisco Opera, and bowed as the Empress at the Wiener Staatsoper. Van den Heever made two important role debuts in the 2024/25 season: Elisabeth in Wagner’s Tannhäuser at The Met and Sieglinde with the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

International audiences have celebrated Ms. van den Heever for her outstanding performances in a vast range of repertoire, including Handel (Rodelinda), Mozart (Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, Elettra in Idomeneo, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni), Beethoven (Fidelio), the bel canto repertoire (Norma, Anna Bolena, Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda) to Verdi (Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Desdemona in Otello, Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in Il trovatore), Puccini (Suor Angelica, Giorgetta in Il tabarro), Wagner (Elsa in Tannhäuser, Senta in Der fliegende Holländer, Sieglinde in Die Walküre) and into the 20th century to Strauss (Salome, Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Chrysothemis in Elektra), Berg (Marie in Wozzeck), and Britten (Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes).

Ms. van den Heever also appears regularly on the concert stage, and has performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, and Strauss’ Four Last Songs. She regularly collaborates with renowned conductors such as Christiann Thielemann, Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Bertrand de Billy, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Her interpretation of Giorgetta in Puccini’s Il tabarro can be heard on CD from Capriccio. Her performance of Elettra in Idomeneo at The Met is available from Apple Music, as is her performance as Chrysothemis in Elektra from the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony is available on streaming platforms worldwide. Ms. van den Heever’s Met debut, as Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda, was captured for a DVD release as part of The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series.

Ms. van den Heever was an ensemble member of Oper Frankfurt from 2008 to 2013, where she developed her extensive repertoire. She made her European debut there as Giorgetta in Puccini’s Il trittico, and since then, she has become one of the most sought-after sopranos of her generation. A dual citizen of France and South Africa, Ms. van den Heever now makes her home in France.

Biography current as of August 2025 – please replace all previous versions.

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