Soprano Layla Claire has captivated audiences across the world’s most prestigious opera houses with her radiant tone, dynamic range, and vivid stage presence. Renowned for her Mozart interpretations, her repertoire spans signature roles such as Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Salzburg Festival, Zurich Opera), Countess (Le nozze di Figaro at Opera Philadelphia and Glyndebourne), and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte at Minnesota Opera and Pittsburgh Opera). Expanding into more dramatic repertoire, this season marked her role debuts as Senta in Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer with Opera North and Ellen Orford in Britten's Peter Grimes with Estonian National Opera.

A passionate advocate of contemporary opera, she created the title role in the world premiere of Venere e Adone at the Hamburg Staatsoper to critical acclaim from The New Yorker and continues to expand into the young dramatic repertoire. Notable performances include Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and the Governess (The Turn of the Screw), with lauded appearances at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Washington National Opera, and Zurich Opera.

Layla Claire made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, returning in Don Carlos, The Enchanted Island, and L’elisir d’amore (Live in HD). Equally at home on the concert stage, she has sung Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Boston Symphony and Dvořák’s Requiem at the Grant Park Music Festival, and appeared with orchestras including the Toronto Symphony, New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute and the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program, Ms. Claire is a recipient of the Virginia Parker Prize and laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. She is celebrated for a voice that combines “sweet-toned” lyricism (The New York Times) with “supremely affecting vocalism” (Chicago Classical Review), making her one of Canada’s most distinguished operatic artists today.