Julia Faylenbogen

The Ukrainian mezzo-soprano Julia Faylenbogen has recently established herself very successfully in the dramatic repertoire.

The singer has been a permanent member of the Mannheim National Theatre ensemble since 2015/16. Here she has made important role debuts, including Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera), Amneris (Aida), Klytämnestra (Elektra), Adalgisa (Norma), Eboli (Don Carlos), Azucena (Il trovatore), Amme (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Kundry (Parsifal).

Julia Faylenbogen also sang specialised roles such as Erda (Das Rheingold), Fricka (The Valkyrie), Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), 3rd Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Isaura (Tancredi) and Gertrud (Hänsel und Gretel) at her home theatre in Mannheim. She also enjoyed great success as Babushka in Prokofiev's ‘The Gambler’ and Yelisaveta Prokofievna Yepanchina in ‘The Idiot’ by M. Weinberg.

In 2023/24, she made her role debut in Mannheim as Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos), in the world premiere of ‘Der Fremde’ by Cecilia Arditto Delsoglia and appeared repeatedly as Azucena. In 2024/25, Verdi's Requiem, Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the role of Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana) are on her agenda in Mannheim.

Julia Faylenbogen has appeared as a guest at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, at the Norske Opera Oslo, in the world premiere of Rihm's opera ‘Dionysos’ at the Salzburg Festival and subsequently in this production at the Nationale Opera Amsterdam and the Staatsoper Berlin. She also sang Erda (Das Rheingold) at the Halle Opera and appeared there as Fricka (The Valkyrie). At the Nationale Opera in Amsterdam, the singer also appeared as the 3rd lady (The Magic Flute) and as Schwertleite (The Valkyrie). Other guest engagements include the role of Mercédès (Carmen) at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Amneris (Aida) at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Babushka (The Gambler) at the Basel Theatre, Eboli (Don Carlo) at the Bonn Opera and Venus (Tannhäuser) at the Bielefeld Theatre and the Lübeck Theatre.

In 2019, she made a guest appearance as Siegrune (The Vakyrie) at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari. In the same year, she also sang this role with Katharina Wagner and the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra in Abu Dhabi. In 2020 she sang Azucena in Linz. In 2022/23, she appeared as Amneris in Bielefeld and as Mary in ‘The Flying Dutchman’ at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe and as Erda in ‘Rheingold’ and ‘Siegfried’ at the Staatstheater Kassel.

In concert, Julia Faylenbogen can be heard primarily in the romantic repertoire at renowned venues with renowned orchestras, e.g. in Stravinsky's ‘Le Rossignol’ with the Berlin Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez. In 2016, she sang various concerts with Enoch zu Guttenberg, including at the Vienna Musikverein, the Philharmonie am Gasteig in Munich, the Rheingau Music Festival and the Herrenchiemsee Festival; in 2017/18, she performed with him at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, among others.

Julia Faylenbogen completed her vocal studies at the Nezdanova Conservatory in Odessa, Ukraine, and at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. She is a prize winner at the ‘New Names’ competition in Kiev and represented her home country at the Singer of the World competition in Cardiff.

The young mezzo-soprano then spent a year as a member of the opera studio at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf before joining the Hanover State Opera as a permanent ensemble member in 2006/07, where her roles until 2011/12 included Hänsel in ‘Hänsel und Gretel’, Niklaus in ‘The Tales of Hoffmann’ and the Child in ‘L'enfant et les sortilèges’, as well as Octavian in ‘Der Rosenkavalier’, the Composer in ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ and her highly acclaimed debut as Carmen.