Layla CLAIRE

Canadian soprano Layla Claire is celebrated internationally for her “rich, luminous instrument” (Chicago Classical Review), with a career spanning opera, concert, and recital stages. She recently created three world-premiere roles: Venere in Salvatore Sciarrino’s Venere e Adone at the Hamburg Staatsoper, Sibyl in Bruneau-Boulmier’s Die Illusionen des William Mallory also at Hamburg, and Jeanne Boitel in Opéra de Montréal’s La beauté du monde. Other recent highlights include her role debut as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer at Opera North; the title role in Alcina at both Hamburg Staatsoper and the Karlsruhe Handel Festival; Catherine in Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights with Opéra National de Lorraine; and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra de Montréal, and Opernhaus Zürich. Upcoming performances include reprising Venere at Teatro La Fenice under Kent Nagano and singing Die Aufseherin in concert performances of Strauss’ Elektra with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester.

Over the past decade, Ms. Claire has demonstrated her exceptional artistry through a diverse array of operatic roles. Her compelling portrayal of Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress received acclaim with both Pittsburgh Opera and The Metropolitan Opera, where The New York Times praised her rendition of “No Word From Tom” for its “kaleidoscopic colors of her top notes.” At the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. Claire also took on the roles of Marenka in The Bartered Bride, and Helena in The Enchanted Island. Further credits include the Governess in The Turn of the Screw and Nitocris in Belshazzar with Opernhaus Zürich; Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; Tusnelda in Arminio at the Karlsruhe Handel Festival; and Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites with the Washington National Opera.

A leading figure in Mozart's operatic repertoire, Claire has performed Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with the Canadian Opera Company, Sandrina in La finta giardiniera at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro for Opera Philadelphia, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at both the Glyndebourne Festival and Tanglewood Music Festival. She has also portrayed Donna Elvira at the Salzburger Festspiele and taken on the role of Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at both Pittsburgh and Minnesota Operas. Claire has received the Prix des Amis d’Aix-en-Provence for best Mozart performance and the Mozart Prize at the Wilhelm Stenhammar International Competition.

Ms. Claire is also a highly sought-after concert artist, lauded for her "clarity and robustness" and "luminous soprano" (The New York Times). She is particularly acclaimed for her interpretations of the soprano solos in Mahler's Symphony No. 2, with performances alongside the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Université de Montréal, and the Baltimore Symphony. She has also graced the stage with other prestigious ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Cairo Opera Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, and at festivals such as the Grant Park Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival, and Festival de Lanaudière. Her expansive symphonic repertoire includes major works such as Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Mass in C and Choral Fantasy, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Haydn's Harmoniemesse and The Seasons, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate, and Dvořák's Requiem. As a committed recitalist, she has collaborated with the Boyne Music Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition, and was featured in a special recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, presented alongside its Carpeaux exhibit. Ms. Claire debuted her album, Songbird, alongside pianist Marie-Eve Scarfone under the ATMA Classical label in 2017. She has also made notable appearances in documentaries, including the BBC program What Makes A Great Soprano? hosted by Dame Kiri te Kanawa, and the PBS American Masters special James Levine: America’s Maestro. Additionally, she has been featured in Met Live in HD performances of The Enchanted Island, L’elisir d’amore, and Don Carlos.

Layla has earned recognition from several esteemed foundations and competitions in the classical music world. In 2013, she received the Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, awarded annually to Canada’s most promising young classical musician, and the previous year, she was honored with the Bernard Diamant Prize from the same organization. Ms. Claire made history in 2010 as the inaugural recipient of The Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award, an honor she received again the following year for her continued excellence. Her competitive success includes top honors at the Eckhardt-Gramatté Music Competition and recognition at prestigious events such as the Queen Elisabeth International Competition, the Palm Beach Opera Competition, the George London Foundation, and the Marian Anderson Prize for Emerging Classical Artists. Additionally, she was a CBC Radio-Canada Jeunes Artistes recital winner and has received scholarships from the J. Desmarais Foundation.

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program, Ms. Claire received additional training at the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Britten-Pears Arts, the International Vocal Arts Institute, the Banff Centre, and the Académie d’Aix-en-Provence. Originally from British Columbia, she holds degrees in Vocal Performance from l’Université de Montréal and the Curtis Institute of Music.