Julia Kamenik – lyric soprano

Julia Kamenik was born in Vienna, where she studied chemical engineering and pursued a career as a corporate consultant. Concurrently, she studied singing with private voice teachers, including Carol Byers since 1997, and participated in diverse master classes (with Thomas Quasthoff, Jean-Pierre Blivet, Kurt Widmer and KS Gundula Janowitz). Julia Kamenik won Second Prize in the Operetta division of the 19th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, was a prize winner in the 6th International Singing Competition Ferruccio Tagliavini in Deutschlandsberg and a semifinalist of the ARD Music Competition 2000.

During her education, the young artist began appearing in productions within Vienna’s independent opera scene, including “Stallerhof” by Gerd Kühr and as the Countess in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro”. Her professional operetta debut was in the title role of “Madame Pompadour” at the Stadttheater Gießen, followed by a Robert Stolz operetta gala at the Wiener Kammeroper. She was engaged by the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg under the auspices of the “Jeunes Voix du Rhin” for the season of 2001-2002, where she interpreted a broad range of repertoire. Since the 2002-2003 season, Julia Kamenik has appeared regularly with the Oper Bonn, where she has been celebrated as Pamina, Antonia, Mary Lloyd (“Die Herzogin von Chicago” by E. Kálmán), Iphis (“Jephta”), Euridice, Rosalinde, Helena (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), Donna Elvira, Mimì, Marguerite and most recently as Konstanze (“Die Entführung aus dem Serail”).

Additionally, she has appeared in guest engagements with the Staatsoper Hannover in the title role of Mozart’s “Zaide” and as Marianne Leitmetzerin (“Der Rosenkavalier”), as well as with the Staatstheater Nürnberg and the Theater Dortmund as Micaëla. At the Staatstheater Wiesbaden she sang Pamina, Rosalinde, Marguerite (under Maestro Marc Piollet) and Donna Elvira, a role she also has sung at the Festwochen Gmunden (Austria). In 2008/09 she made her debut at the Komische Oper Berlin as Julia de Weert in Künneke’s operetta “Der Vetter aus Dingsda”

In the 2009-10 season, Julia Kamenik will sing  Fulvia in Handel’s “Ezio” and the title role in Jánácek’s Katja Kábánova” at the Oper Bonn, and she will return to the Komische Oper Berlin as Julia de Weert.

Alongside her opera engagements, the artist frequently appears in concert and recital. Numerous tour performances have brought her throughout Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, but also to Japan and Lebanon. In September of 2006, she made her New York recital debut at the Austrian Cultural Forum and performed in Werner Schroeter’s “Die Schönheit der Schatten” at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. In 2007 she sang a concert at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, and in 2008 she appeared in several concert performances as Donna Elvira with the Het Gelders Orkest at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and other venues. CD recordings include a live performance of the “Requiem” by Antonio Salieri (recorded by the Austrian Radio in the Vienna Minoritenkirche) and the “Petite Messe solenelle” by Gioacchino Rossini.