SOPRANO

Japanese soprano Mari Moriya made her début at the Metropolitan Opera New York as the Queen of the Night in the acclaimed Julie Taymor production of Die Zauberflöte conducted by James Levine, a role she has also performedwith Glyndebourne On Tour, Palm Beach Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Portland Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington. In 2007 / 2008 Ms Moriya made her European debut as Liù in Turandot with Opera Ireland, returning as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos andZerlina in Don Giovanni. She also travelled to Seoul for concerts with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra singing arias from Lucia di Lammermoor and Rigoletto.

Recently in the USA, Ms Moriya has sung Adina in L’elisir d’amore for Tulsa Opera, the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor for the International Vocal Arts Institute, New York, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette for Center City Opera, Philadelphia, and was the soprano soloist in an all Handel Gala Concert with Connecticut Grand Opera where she also sang her first Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. Her repertoire further includes Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Elisetta in Il matrimonio segreto, the title role in Lakmé, the title roles in Linda di Chamonix, Madame Mao in Nixon in China, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Gilda in Rigoletto. Her concert repertoire includes the J. S. Bach Passions, Handel Messiah and Samson, Mozart Mass in C Minor and Orff Carmina Burana.

Ms Moriya has won several singing competitions including National Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, First Prize at the Cla Muze Vocal Competition, Second Prize at the 11th National Classical Music competition, First Prize at the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in Dublin, the HansGaborPrize at the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition and the Charles A. Lynman Vocal Competition. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Musashino Academy of Music in her native Japan, and attended Mannes College of Music in the Professional Study Diploma programme.

Selected to represent Japan at the 2007 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, she lives in New York, and during 2009 / 2010 makes her debut at the Oper Leipzig as the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, a role she repeats for the Seattle Opera in 2010 / 2011. Other future engagements include the title role in Lakmé at the Landestheater Linz and Mozart Requiem at the Chopin in Gdansk Festival.

Please note that this biography is not to be used for programmes. Current information is available on request.