Elissa Pfaender

The mezzo-soprano Elissa Pfaender will join the ensemble of the Theater & Orchester Heidelberg from the 2026/27 season onwards. Her other engagements have taken her to venues including the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Palm Beach Opera, the Wolf Trap Opera Company, the Teatro Real, the New York City Opera and the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Her repertoire includes roles such as the title role in Bizet’s »Carmen«, Olga in »Eugen Onegin«, Maddalena in »Rigoletto«, Marcellina in »The Marriage of Figaro«, Waltraute in »Die Walküre«, the Third Lady in »Die Zauberflöte«, Isabella in »L’Italiana in Algeri«, Alisa in »Lucia di Lammermoor« and the Second Squire in »Parsifal«. She also appeared as Jane Kennedy in the world premiere of Brett Dean’s »Of One Blood« at the Bavarian State Opera.

Elissa Pfaender has received numerous awards, including the Opera Foundation Award and the Anne J. O’Donnell Outstanding Apprentice Artist Award. She has also taken part in various competitions, such as the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the Orpheus National Music Competition, and the competitions organised by the NEA YoungArts Foundation, the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the National Opera Association.