“Never mind how! [Le Van] is nothing short of amazing.”
Born in Colmar, France, 26-year-old soprano Solène Le Van has been recognized as “nothing short of amazing” (Norman Lebrecht, SlippedDisc), a “peerless soloist” (Rafael de Acha, All About the Arts), and “an enrichment for every opera house" (Boris Anifantakis, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin).
Following an acclaimed debut in the role of Marie in La fille du régiment in Los Angeles with Opera Buffs in Los Angeles, Le Van made European concert debuts at the Musikverein in Vienna and the Markgräfliches Opernhaus in Bayreuth, singing arias from Lucia di Lammermoor and La fille du régiment, ensembles from Rigoletto, and Act III of Tannhäuser as Elisabeth. Ms. Le Van’s other engagements with orchestra last fall included gala concerts with the Johann Strauss Orchester Wiesbaden and the Virtuosi Brunensis Orchestra, National Theater Brno (Czech Republic). As the Grand Prize Winner of the opera division in the Classicalia - Global Televised Music Competition, her performance in the finals will be broadcast internationally on PBS.
In the summer, she joined Opera Classica Europa in Germany to make her role debuts as Musetta in La bohème and Micaëla in Carmen and appeared as a soloist at the Vienna Konzerthaus with the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra. She joined Opera Classica Europa in Germany to make her role debuts as Musetta in La bohème and Micaëla in Carmen and performed excerpts from the French lyric repertoire as a guest artist of the New York Chamber Festival, including acts from Thaïs, Manon, and Faust. Le Van will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Enrico Caruso’s birth as a soloist with the Alte Oper Frankfurt and on tour with the Thüringen Philharmonie at the Kulturlhaus Gotha and the Landestheater Eisenach. In 2026, she will inaugurate the newly formed Opera Orchestra of San Francisco as Desdemona in Otello opposite Issachah Savage and Michael Chioldi.
Featured as the soprano soloist in the American premiere of Handel’s 1741 Messiah, she has previously performed with the Young Musicians Foundation, the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, and the Malaga Philharmonic in Spain, at venues such as Carnegie Hall and the New National Theater Studio in Tokyo, Japan. Le Van has been recognized for outstanding singing ability by organizations such as the Metropolitan Opera (Joyce Castle Award) and the French Embassy in New York City (Cultural Services Award). She has been awarded top prizes by the juries of eighteen national and eight international competitions, including the “Premier Prix” of the Concours International Léopold Bellan in Paris, one of the oldest and most significant competitions in France; 1st place in the Ise-Shima International Singing Competition in Japan; 2nd place in the Classical Singer’s National Competition; the Absolute Winner Prize of the Danubia Talents International Liszt Competition in Budapest, Hungary. Equally comfortable in jazz and musical theater idioms, she headlined the International Jazz Festival in Munster, France and worked as a principal artist-standby at the Shubert Theater on Broadway.
“An artist with a clear understanding of the text and situation, gifted with the ability to build a real sense of scena on a bare stage, taking care always — beyond the considerable technical demands of her repertoire — with projecting emotion in a text. Definitely not usual.”
Le Van will soon release her debut recording of French mélodies by Reynaldo Hahn and Émile Paladilhe for Centaur Records, featuring recording premieres. An artist with Reference Records, she was selected to sing the soprano solo for the premiere recording of “Colores Magicos”, a symphonic work by conductor José Serebrier. Hailed by Pizzicato Magazine as an “excitingly performed” collaboration, the disc under the maestro’s baton was released in 2021 to positive acclaim.
Le Van is a graduate of Princeton University in music and literature and the recipient of highest honors from the Royal College of Music, London in voice and violin. She held the title of Associate Instructor at the Indiana Jacobs School of Music, where she worked with Carlos Montané. Le Van is the co-founder of the Jon Fredric West Vocal Academy with her long-time mentor, heldentenor Jon Fredric West.
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Photographer: Myriam Lyczba