Biography
Australian lyric soprano Kiandra Howarth was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from 2013-15 where roles sung and covered included Zweiten Blumenmädchen Parsifal, Eine der Kinderstimmen Die Frau ohne Schatten, Echo Ariadne auf Naxos, Fiordiligi Così fan tutte, Contessa Ceprano Rigoletto, Adina L’elisir d’amore, Soeur Constance Les Dialogues des Carmélites, Juliette Roméo et Juliette, Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro, Gilda Rigoletto, Mimi La boheme, Nannetta Falstaff, Ilia Idomeneo and Pamina Die Zauberflöte.
Having graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music in 2010, Kiandra then studied on the Opera Queensland Young Artist Programme and subsequently joined the company at Opera Australia. She was the recipient of several prizes in the prestigious 2010 Australian Singing Competition, which included a scholarship to study at the Mozarteum Institute in Salzburg, which she undertook in late 2012 after making her international debut in Tokyo, performing the role of Norina Don Pasquale for Opera Australia.
Whilst at the Mozarteum, Kiandra performed the role of La Contessa Le Nozze di Figaro in a new production directed by the late Eike Gramss and subsequently joined the Salzburg Festival Young Singer’s Project, performing; Konstanze Die Entführung aus dem Serail (für Kinder), Pamina Die Zauberflöte (für Kinder), der Friedensbote Rienzi and Una voce dal Cielo Don Carlos conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano.
After graduating from the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme in July 2015, Kiandra was awarded the ‘Culturarte Prize’ in the 23rd Edition of Plácido Domingo’s Operalia. She then returned to the Royal Opera House for the 2015/16 season to cover the role of Zerlina Don Giovanni on a company tour to Japan and reprised the role of Echo in the acclaimed Christof Loy production of Ariadne.
Kiandra made her house début at Theater an der Wien performing the role of First Niece Peter Grimes in a new production by Christof Loy which won the award for ‘Best New Production’ at The 2016 International Opera Awards. Kiandra became member of the company at the Staatsoper Hannover in 2020/21 where roles have included the title role in Alcina, Sieglinde Die Walküre, Fiordligi, the Countess, Rusalka, Desdemona Otello and Madame Lidoine Les Dialogues des Carmélites.
Recent and future engagements include: Fiordiligi Cosi fan tutte for West Green Opera and Northern Ireland Opera, a concert series for the Salzburg Festival Young Singers Project in China, Donna Anna Don Giovanni at Theater Basel, the Opéra de Nancy and Opéra de Luxembourg, 2nd flower maiden Parsifal in Baden Baden and Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle, Konstanze for The Grange Festival, First Lady Die Zauberflöte and Freia Das Rheingold for Covent Garden, Magda La Rondine for the Teatro Massimo in Cagliari and Victorian Opera, Australia, Freia for the Opernhaus Zurich, Ellen Orford Peter Grimes in Venice, Mimi La bohème for Klagenfurt Opera, Pamina at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, as well as a performance of the Sea Symphony at Salisbury Cathedral, a concert performance of Hasse Piramo e Tisbe as well as a performance of arias by Mozart and his contemporaries with the Classical Opera Company, Handel arias with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Bilbao, 4th Maid / Elektra with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Stanford’s Mass Via Vixtrix with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
Kiandra continues to perform regularly throughout Australasia with recent appearances including Mozart’s Requiem with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Lauretta Gianni Schicchi for Western Australian Opera, Missa Solemnis and Mahler Symphony no.2 with the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra and a gala concert with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
In 2019 she won the Richard Bonynge and Dame Joan Sutherland Bel Canto prize, The Grange Festival International Singing Competition and The Wagner Society Singing Competition.
