Julia Lezhneva

Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva makes her Royal Opera debut in the 2014/15 Season, singing Zerlina (Don Giovanni).

Lezhneva studied at the Moscow State Conservatory, the Cardiff International Academy of Voice under Dennis O'Neill and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Yvonne Kenny. Her many operatic performances in concert include Caio (Ottone in villa) with Il Giardino Armonico at the Barbican, Asteria (Tamerlano) with Plácido Domingo and Les Musiciens du Louvre, Rossane (Alessandro) with Max Emanuel Cenčić on tour in Europe , Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) at the Beaune Festival under Marc Minkowski and Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) under Roger Norrington at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. On stage her appearances include Urbain (Les Huguenots) for La Monnaie, Brussels, and Laodice (Siroe) in Versailles.

Lezhneva is a prolific concert performer and has a close association with Minkowski and Giovanni Antonini. She is an exclusive recording artist for Decca. Her first solo disc, of Rossini arias, won the Diapaison d’Or award and her second, Alleluia, was recognized at the 2013 ECHO Klassik Awards. Her many other awards include first prize at the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition (2009), first prize at the Paris Opera Competition (2011) and a Helpmann Award (2014).