Biography « Elza van den Heever

“Blessed with a plush, dramatic voice capable of formidable power and dazzling high notes …” (Associated Press)

South African-born soprano Elza van den Heever is one of the world’s most important representatives of the youthful dramatic genre.

In the 2023/24 season, Elza van den Heever will be heard in her showpiece role of the Empress (Frau ohne Schatten) under Christian Thielemann at the Vienna State Opera. At the MET, she will make her role debut as Elisabeth (Tannhäuser). Following her triumphant success as the Empress, she now returns to the Baden-Baden Easter Festival as Chrysothemis (Elektra) under Kirill Petrenko, which she will also sing in concert in Berlin. She also has a long-standing artistic partnership with Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In the new season, Elza van den Heever will sing Sieglinde (Walküre) under his direction with the Rotterdam Philharmonic in Rotterdam, Dortmund and Paris. She will return to the Opera de Paris as Julia in Spontini’s La Vestale (Lydia Steier / Bertrand de Billy).

Elza van den Heever caused quite a stir recently with several important role debuts: As Senta (Der fliegende Holländer) under Thomas Guggeis at the MET, as Salome in Paris (Simone Young / Lydia Steier), as Julia in La Vestale at the Theater an der Wien under the baton of Bertrand de Billy, and in each case under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin as Wozzeck-Marie at the MET and as the Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten in concert with the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

Audiences in Vienna, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Zurich, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Bordeaux have celebrated the soprano for her outstanding performances. Her vocal capabilities allow her to sing a wide range of repertoire from Handel (Rodelinda), Mozart (Vitellia, Elettra, Donna Anna), Beethoven (Fidelio-Leonore), the bel canto repertoire (Norma, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda) to Verdi (Elisabetta, Desdemona, Ernani-Elvira, Trovatore-Leonora), Puccini (Suor Angelica, Giorgetta), Wagner (Elsa, Senta) and into the 20th century to Strauss (Empress, Empress, Empress). Century to Strauss (Empress, Chrysothemis), Berg (Wozzeck-Marie) and Britten (Ellen Orford).

Elza van den Heever also cultivates the concert repertoire in addition to her opera engagements. Examples include Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Gustav Mahler’s 8th Symphony and Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs. In concert, she regularly collaborates with conductors such as Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Bertrand de Billy and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Elza van den Heever was an ensemble member of the Frankfurt Opera from 2008 to 2013, where she was able to build up her extensive repertoire. She made her brilliant European debut there as Giorgetta in Puccini’s Il trittico. Since then she has become 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 (Maria Stuarda) is documented on DVD.

2023/24

(This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by ARSIS Artist Management.)

Returning to Europe, Ms. van den Heever made her greatly anticipated role debut as Die Kaiserin in Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten, singing it first in Paris and then in Rotterdam presented in concert; both performances were conducted by Mo. Nézet-Séguin. Later in the season, she revisited the role in a staged production at Dutch National Opera. She starred as Leonore in Fidelio in Paris under the baton of Simone Young, and lastly, sang Elsa von Brabant in Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Opernhaus Zürich.

Additionally, Elza performed Verdi’s Requiem with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Edward Gardner at the Royal Festival Hall; Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 8 at the Bayerische Staatsoper with the Orchestra Academy of the Bayerisches Staatsorchester under the baton of Kirill Petrenko; and Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra led by Mo. Nézet-Séguin at Carnegie Hall.

Elza has performed several roles to great acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera, including Elettra in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Elisabetta in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda in her notable Met debut: “[Elza is] a vocally burnished and emotionally tempestuous Elizabeth … her voice has penetrating depth and character. She turns flights of coloratura passagework into bursts of jealousy and defiance” (The New York Times).

She was unforgettable in the title role of Norma in a new Christopher Alden-directed production for Opéra National de Bordeaux. Other signature portrayals in Europe have included Ellen Orford in Britten’s Peter Grimes at the English National Opera and Wiener Staatsoper. As Elsa in Lohengrin at the Opernhaus Zürich, she was described as “… sharing more than a first name with the Wagnerian heroine. Her vocal lines are sophisticated, diction impeccable, and her inflection and nuances serve to depict Elsa as a young woman who is at once daring, bold and strong. This is truly wondrous in the second act during the verbal sparring with Ortrud, as well as in the final dramatic scene, in which her defiance is breathtaking” (Forum Opéra).

Ms. van den Heever has also been lauded for her artistry as Desdemona in Otello at Oper Frankfurt, where she received praise for her “… huge voice, full of tenderness and precision” (Frankfurter Rundschau). In addition to Desdemona and Elisabetta di Valois in Verdi’s Don Carlo, she has also appeared on the Frankfurt stage as Elsa in Lohengrin, Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, Antonia in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, and Elettra in Idomeneo. She has also performed the role of Elsa (Lohengrin) at Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper, Agathe in Weber’s Der Freischütz at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte for Opéra National de Paris, and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) as well as Giselda in Verdi’s I Lombardi at Hamburgische Staatsoper. Previous roles at the Opéra National de Bordeaux also include Elettra (Idomeneo), Der Komponist in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, the title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, and Leonora in Verdi’s Il trovatore.

In addition to performances at The Metropolitan Opera across several seasons, Elza’s appearances in North America have included Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) and Norma at The Dallas Opera, and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) with Santa Fe Opera. She has also starred as Norma at the Canadian Opera Company. At San Francisco Opera, where she participated in both the Merola Opera Program and the Adler Fellowship, she created the role of Mary Custis Lee in the world premiere of Philip Glass’s Appomattox and sang Donna Anna in the company’s 2007 presentation of Don Giovanni, performances that were seen nationwide via the company’s Grand Opera Cinema Series, and broadcast on Northern California’s KQED Public Television.

Ms. van den Heever enjoys a flourishing performance partnership with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, with performances of Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder and Grammy Award-winning performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in San Francisco, on tour throughout Europe, and on disc for SFS Media. Ms. van den Heever’s depiction of Ellen Orford for the English National Opera was repeated with Mr. Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony in June 2014, where she was lauded as “… a brilliant Ellen, deploying her focused, penetrating instrument with urgency upon discovering the Boy’s bruises in Act II, and singing with ineffable beauty and poignancy in the Embroidery Aria” (Opera News).

Ms. van den Heever was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa and received her musical training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Winner of the 2008 Seattle Opera International Wagner Competition, she continues to study with soprano and master teacher Sheri Greenawald. A dual citizen of France and South Africa, Ms. van den Heever makes her home in France.