Named “Emerging Opera Singer of the Year” by Opernwelt magazine and first-prize winner at the renowned Neue Stimmen Competition in 2019, Anna El-Khashem is a rising star. Lebanese Russian Soprano, Anna El-Khashem completed her musical studies at the State Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

El-Khashem made her Russian debut at the Conservatory as Luisa in Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery and made her international debut at the Bregenzer Festspiele the following year as Bastienne in Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne in 2016 and Soprano Solo in C. M. v. Weber´s “Jubelmesse“. El-Khashem was subsequently invited to join the Opera Studio of the Bayerische Staatsoper and became a member of the company ensemble in 2017. El-Khashem performed in a series of new productions at Bayerische Staatsoper, singing Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, the Mermaid in Oberon, Esmeralda in Die Verkaufte Braut, Inès in La Favorite, and Coryphée in Alceste. She also sang under the baton of many of today’s leading conductors, including Kirill Petrenko, Constantinos Carydis, Ivor Bolton, Giacomo Sagripanti, Bertrand de Billy, Simone Young, Philippe Jordan, Teodor Currentzis and Riccardo Minasi.

In August of 2019, Anna El-Khashem sang her first Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at the New Generation Festival in Florence. El-Khashem then joined the ensemble of Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where her roles have included Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Second Niece in Peter Grimes, the soprano in a staged production of St. Matthew Passion, Susanna in their new production of Le Nozze di Figaro, Sophie in a new production of Massenet’s Werther, Woglinde in Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung. 

Season 2020/21, El-Khashem made her house debut at Opéra national de Paris as Servilia in La clemenza di Tito. Anna then returned to Paris to reprise the role of Susanna in a new production of Le Nozze di Figaro under Maestro Dudamel and for her debut as Zerlina in Don Giovanni in Season 2020/21. She debuted at Opernhaus Zürich on the concert stage with the Orchestra La Scintilla under Maestro Minasi to perform rare works of Johann Christian Bach. This was followed by a series of Mozart Concerts at Bad Reichenhall and Augsburg with the Orchester Philharmonie Bad Reichenhall. In Summer of 2022, El-Khashem made a triumphant debut at the Verbier Festival as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She also presented a solo recital at Verbier alongside internationally renowned pianist Semion Skigin.

Season 2022/23 began with El-Khashem’s debut in the wild Calixto Bieito production of the rare Francesco Cavalli opera for her role debut as Flavia Gemmira in Eliogabalo presented at Opernhaus Zürich. She returned to Staatstheater Wiesbaden for her role debut as Marzelline in Fidelio. This season, El-Khashem collaborated on a unique recording of historical war songs in honor of the lost souls of war. She also performed a series of private concerts.   

In addition to her role debut in Zurich, El Khashem also debuted in a special performance as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Wiener Staatsoper Company and Orchestra for their guest appearance at Opéra de Monte-Carlo. The young soprano also performed for the first time at the Tonhalle Zürich with G. F. Händel‘s oratorio “Alexander‘s Feast“ (conductor-Riccardo Minasi) and sang at Philharmonie de Paris and Festival de Pâques d‘Aix-en-Provence performing J. S. Bach‘s “Matthäus-Passion“ together with Les Talens Lyriques under the baton of Maestro Christophe Rousset. 

Season 2023/24, El Khashem returned to Opernhaus Zürich for her role debut as Clarine and Thalie in a new production of Rameau’s Platée. She then made her house debut at Dutch National Opera as Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio a role she first performed in Wiesbaden. El Khashem returned to Verbier Festival as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro following her debut in the festival in 2022. She closed the season with her debut at the Salzburger Festspiele as Zerlina in Don Giovanni under Maestro Teodor Currentzis.

This Season 2024/25 the young soprano returns to Zurich in yet another role debut this time as Romilda in G.F. Händel’s Serse. Following her debut in Amsterdam last season, El-Khashem returns to Dutch National Opera for a very special project. In a long-awaited role debut, El Khashem debuts the role of Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo. Later in the season she will perform for the first time at the Semperoper Dresden. Apart from the operatic stage and staged productions, the young soprano is scheduled to perform a series of concerts and recitals internationally throughout the season. 

First prize winner at the Neue Stimmen in 2019, Anna El-Khashem also won the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg in February of 2018 and received a special prize for the best interpretation of a work by Mozart. In the same year, she was awarded the Trude Eipperle Rieger-Preis. She was also the first-prize winner at the Elena Obraztsova International Competition for Young Vocalists, the first-prize winner at the Zara Dolukhanova International Art Songs Competition – Amber Nightingale in Königsberg, and the recipient of a Russian Ministry of Culture national scholarship. Ms. El-Khashem has participated in master classes with Elena Obraztsova, Brigitte Fassbaender, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Edith Wiens, Natalie Dessay, and Larissa Gergieva.