After the riotous critical success of her role debut as Lulu, the “grandiose soprano” (FAZ) was nominated for the prestigious German Theater Prize Der Faust and featured on the cover of the May 2023 edition of Opernwelt Magazine. She was also nominated Opus Klassik’s Singer of the Year for her interpretation of Bubikopf in her recording of Der Kaiser von Atlantis.
On the opera stage this season she sings Najade Ariadne auf Naxos for Opernhaus Zurich directed by Andreas Homoki, makes her role debut as Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos on tour with the Nederlandse Reisopera, and Shoko in a new production of Thomas Larcher’s Das Jagdgewehr at the Bayerische Staatsoper (Cuvillies Theater) directed by Ulrike Schwab. She also returns to Staatstheater Darmstadt to sing Adina/ L'elisir d'amore. In concert she performs a world premiere with the Copenhagen Philharmonic by Matias Vestergård titled Melodrama; a musical collaboration between director Christian Lollike and the internationally renowned German video scenographer, Astrid Steiner and conducted by the orchestra’s music director Christoph Gedschold and gives a recital with pianist Marlene Heiss at the Berlin Philharmonie.
Her recent role debuts have included Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Morgana in Alcina for Staatstheater Darmstadt where she was a member of the ensemble (2021-2024). Other recent operatic highlights include her role debut as Najade in Robert Carsen’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos for the opening of the Hong Kong Arts Festival with the Bayerische Staatsoper, her role and house debut at Nationaltheater Mannheim with Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, and the Cheshire Cat in concert version of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland at Concertgebouw Amsterdam under the baton of Markus Stenz as part of the prestigious Saturday Matinee series. Last season she made her North American debut at Carnegie Hall (Zankel) singing Unsuk Chin’s Puzzles and Games for soprano and orchestra with the Sejong Soloists under Earl Lee.
An enthusiastic interpreter of 20th/21st century repertoire other recent contemporary highlights have included her role debut as Tinkerbell in a world-premiere of Peter Pan by Frank Schwemmer with the Luxembourg Philharmonic, György Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre and Nouvelles Aventures with Patrick Hahn conducting the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere of Transstimme, a full-length opera for only one singer and one actor, by Fabià Santcovsky at the invitation of the Munich Biennale as well as the world premiere of Singularity by Miroslav Srnka at the Cuvilliés-Theater/Bayerische Staatsoper with the Klangforum Wien. She also covered the title role in the world premiere of Girl with the Pearl Earring at Opernhaus Zürich.
In spring 2023, the Opercussion ensemble of the Bayerische Staatsorchester released their award nominated debut album Original Grooves on which Juliana sang their ultimate track “Gracias a la vida.” The recording of Der Kaiser von Atlantis (BR Klassik) was nominated by Opus Klassik for Best Opera Recording featuring Juliana Zara, and conductor Patrick Hahn leading the Munich Radio Orchestra.
From 2019-2021, Juliana was a member of the Opernstudio at the Bayerische Staatsoper and sang roles such as Frasquita (Carmen), Philine (Mignon) and Mercedes (Schön ist die Welt) as well as Luciano Berio’s Sequenza III. Her repertoire also includes Ophelia (Hamlet), Blonde (Entführung aus dem Serail), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Norina (Don Pasquale), Isotta (Die Schweigsame Frau), Fiakermilli (Arabella), Philippe (Der Teufel von Loudun), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Griet (Girl with a Pearl Earring), Cunegonde (Candide), and Chief of Gepopo (Le Grand Macabre).
She is graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin.
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Cheshire Cat, Unsuk Chin's Alice in Wonderland
Concertgebouw Amsterdam, June 2024
In addition to her brilliantly powerful colouratura, she impressed the audience with her very natural-sounding, melodious laughter.
Bachtrack, Michael Klier
Juliana Zara virtuosically crooned as the Cheshire Cat...
NRC, Loni Verweij
Juliana Zara as Cheshire Cat looked equally so enchanting, and she sang accordingly.
TROUW, Peter van der Lint
And Juliana Zara, with cat ears on her head, is delightful as the teasing Cheshire cat.
VOLKSKRANT, Jenny Camilleri
Unsuk Chin's Puzzles and Games with Sejong Soloists
Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall), May 2024
"Zara never seemed daunted by the vocal writing: in fact, she seemed to revel in it."
"In Cat's Aria, Zara ventured impressively into the upper extremes of the soprano range, lingering there is a series of amazing (and intentionally annoying) meows-in-alt."
"Zara didn't simply manage it, she triumphed over it - as cymbal crashes bring this dazzling, quirky piece to a close. The soprano basked in a shouting ovation from the crowd, so truly deserved..."
Oberon's Grove
"American soprano Juliana Zara, who's spent much of her career in Europe, delivered a wild, no-holds-barred performance..."
"While the Sejong players (conducted by Earl Lee) were uniformly excellent, Zara stole the show; keep an eye out for her on an opera stage near you."
Feast of Music
Title Role, Lulu
Staatstheater Darmstadt, 2023
“Her Lulu in the opera of the same name at the Staatstheater Darmstadt was an event that made waves throughout Germany in the recent season. In Ewa Maria Höckmayr's production, the American coloratura soprano juggles with male fantasies and plays them against each other with virtuosity. Zara's Lulu moves across the stage with the infinite lightness of being until she gets caught up in the mills of sex work and is physically and emotionally crushed. The compelling acting is matched by stupendous vocal merits. Juliana Zara's voice is also ideal for this delicate role. Slender, fluid and with weightlessly dabbed top notes, she exuded that rare vocal mercury which the role absolutely needs and which makes it a phenomenon in the first place. Not in a metropolis, but on the edge of the Odenwald.”
Die Deutsche Bühne
“The brilliant… Juliana Zara, whose soprano sounds glassy clear, high, pure and at the same time completely unstrained, plays a terrifically noncommittal Lulu who is nevertheless devoted, in that uniquely Lulu-like way. So unbelievably youthful, fit and without exaltation, she conquers the role and she does so until the end, without any tiredness that so often characterizes the role.”
Opernwelt Magazine
“Juliana Zara is the ideal vocal choice for the title role [of Lulu] . Slender, fluid and confidently setting the top notes, Zara commands the vocal quicksilver essential to the character.”
Die Deutsche Bühne
“Above all, Juliana Zara in the title role proves her central part in extreme complexity. She succeeds, despite a permanent onstage presence, to keep a secret. Vocally, the young Californian soprano is an ideal choice because, in addition to her stage presence, she possesses the certainty in the extreme high notes that Berg expressly demands. Thus Zara maintains the desirable fascination of Lulu in the second part of the opera as well, embodying Lulu’s descent with dissecting sharpness and clarity. ”
FAZ
“For Zara, it is a highlight of her young career. For years, the soprano has been dealing with this complex part, with this dazzling character, you can feel it in every moment.
She spreads a fantastic spectrum of vocal colors and expression: Seductive oaths with velvety soft timbre, the ecstatic top notes clear and electrifying when her Lulu sings the misery of the soul.”
Oberhessische Zeitung
“Simply magnificent... Juliana sings this insane role with an ease that is very impressive... She plays the ambivalent Lulu very convincingly, sometimes very fragile, then again very antagonistic, and all this in this small space, on this pedestal that is maybe a good metre long. That was really incredible to watch.”
Hessische Rundfunk
Olympia, Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Staatstheater Darmstadt, 2023
“… from the razor-sharp coloratura, which Juliana Zara underpins with grotesquely exaggerated movements of the puppet Olympia…”
FAZ
“Juliana Zara is a grandiose Olympia…”
Frankfurter Rundschau
“A highly virtuosic performance in sky blue was delivered by Juliana Zara as Olympia. While the nightmarish-dream woman sings her breakneck coloratura, she moves with grotesquely twisted limbs.”
Echo Online
“Juliana Zara gives the most virtuoso performance as Olympia. Between her breakneck coloraturas, the soprano acts like a creature from a Frankenstein laboratory - a sewn-up creature in sky blue with only one breast and twisted limbs. She is not entirely harmless: in an unobserved moment, she greedily bites into a pigeon.”
Opernwelt Magazin
Adina, L’elisir d’amore
Staatstheater Darmstadt, 2023
“The soloist roles are also ideally cast, with the soprano Juliana Zara, a highly expressive Lulu by Alban Berg in Darmstadt last season, and now, a completely relaxed bel-canto singer as Adina… Everyone finds happiness in Darmstadt.”
FAZ
“Juliana Zara as Adina is in no way inferior to him in the audience's favor, effortlessly serving up her coloratura lines with a clear soprano…”
Das Opernfreund
“Adina is ravishingly embodied by Juliana Zara. Zara lets her focused soprano voice flatter, glitter and shine according to all the rules of the art of seduction. She convincingly and movingly transforms from the flighty love fugitive into a person deeply in love who has no choice but to capitulate to the overwhelming power of her own feelings.”
Oberhessischer Zeitung
“Juliana Zara shines as Adina. There was even an extra round of applause for her octopus skirt with tentacles.”
Hessische Rundfunk
Mysteries of the Macabre
Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra, 2023
“The excellently agile Juliana Zara, who was vocally confident even at the highest levels, enchanted the audience with this music... Frenetic applause was the result, so there was an encore before the break. With the aria Glitter and be Gay and her radiant coloratura, she completely captivated the audience, who thanked her again with long applause.“
Musenblätter
“In Ligeti’s “Mysteries of the Macabre”, it’s taken to the extreme by Juliana Zara, who’s gone off the rails, theatrically, clownishly, and with unrestrained energy, she exceeds everything that characterizes a normal performance with an orchestra. Juliana offers a brilliant singing and acting performance and is met with storms of enthusiasm.”
Westfalenpost
Zerlina, Don Giovanni
Staatstheater Darmstadt, 2022
“Juliana Zara also masters the character of Zerlina, often wrongly devalued as a supporting role, and dominates the stage... ”
“Zara sings a silvery, refined Zerlina, but can also bring forth [in her] a great sadness.”
“The singers enhance the way Mozart uses his musical means, how the three women are annoyed by the Don Giovanni in principle, and yet get excited with their eyes wide open: …Juliana is the most modern, active and youthful Zerlina.”
Der Kaiser von Atlantis CD
BR Klassik, Naxos, released in 2022
“As the bob-haired Bubikopf, the lively soprano Juliana Zara shines as a ray of hope.”
Abendzeitung München
“The cast are uniformly strong… and Juliana Zara and Johannes Chum make ardent battlefield lovers.”
Gramophone.co.uk
Unerhört! Lili Boulanger Recital
Staatstheater Darmstadt, 2021
“Juliana Zara… sang ‘Clairières dans le ciel’ with dramatic expression, an enchanting voice, gently trembling, blooming into a cry”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Schön ist die Welt
Bayerische Staatsoper, Nationaltheater, 2020/2021
“Juliana Zara (Opera Studio) and Manuel Günther (Ensemble) shine as a comedic pair, as if operetta was part of the National Theatre’s core business.”
Abendzeitung München
Juliana Zara's Opera Repertoire
| Abraham | Daisy Ball im Savoy |
|---|---|
| Abrahamsen | Princess The Snow Queen |
| Adams | Chian Ch'ing Nixon in China |
| Ades | Maid Powder her Face Letcia The Exterminating Angel |
| Berg | Title Role Lulu |
| Bernstain | Cunegonde Candide |
| Benjamin | Agnès Written on Skin |
| Bizet | Frasquita Carmen |
| Braunfels | Die Nachtigall Die Vögel |
| Britten | Tytania A Midsummer Night’s Dream Miss Wordsworth Albert Herring Lucia The Rape of Lucretia |
| Chin | The Cat Alice in Wonderland |
| Dean | Ophelia Hamlet |
| Donizetti | Marie La fille du régiment Adina L'elisir d'amore Norina Don Pasquale |
| Dove | The Controller Flight |
| Händel | Morgana Alcina Dalinda, Ginerva Ariodante Poppea Agrippina |
| Lehar | Mercedes Schön ist die Welt |
| Haydn | Flaminia Il mondo della luna |
| Ligeti | Gepopo, Venus Le grand macabre |
| Massenet | Sophie Werther La Fée Cendrillon |
| Mozart | Zerlina Don Giovanni Susanna Le nozze di Figaro Königin der Nacht, Papagena Die Zauberflöte Blondchen, Konstanze Die Entführung aus dem Serail |
| Offenbach | Olympia Les contes d‘Hoffmann |
| Penderecki | Philippe Die Teufel von Loudon |
| Poulenc | Soeur Constance Les dialogues des Carmélites Thérèse-Tirésias Les mamelles de Tirésias |
| Puccini | Musetta La Bohème Lauretta Gianni Schicchi |
| Santcovsky | Sie Transstimme |
| Schreier | Alice Wunderland |
| Srnka | Sie Singularity |
| J. Strauss | Adele Die Fledermaus |
| R. Strauss | Fiakermilli Arabella Isotta Die Schweigsame Frau Zerbinetta, Najade Ariadne auf Naxos Sophie Der Rosenkavalier |
Juliana Zara's Concert Repertoire
| Crumb | Star Child |
|---|---|
| Debussy | Ariettes Oubliées |
| Delage | Quatre poèmes hindous |
| Fauré | Requim |
| Händel | Lucrezia HWV 145 |
| Haven | Dream House |
| Haydn | Lord Nelson Mass |
| Ligeti | Mysteries of the Macabre |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 2 |
| Mozart | Coronation Mass |
| Neuwirth | Piazza dei Numeri |
| Orff | Carmina Burana Catulli Carmina |
| Poulenc | Gloria |
| Pergolesi | Stabat Mater |
| Schubert | Der Hirt auf dem Felsen |
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