Biography
Born in 1990, Australian soprano Kiandra Howarth is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, where she completed a Bachelor of Music with Honours in 2010. From 2009 to 2012, she was a member of both the Opera Queensland and Opera Australia Young Artist Programs, making her international debut as Norina in Don Pasquale in Tokyo, 2012.
In autumn 2012, Kiandra began a one-year intensive study program at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where she performed Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, while also making her Italian debut as Belinda in Dido and Aeneas for the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma at the Terme di Caracalla. In summer 2013, she returned to Salzburg as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Der Friedensbote in Rienzi, and Voce dal Cielo in Don Carlos as part of the Salzburger Festspiele Young Singers Project.
From 2013 to 2015, Kiandra was a member of the prestigious Jette Parker Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, during which time she performed numerous solo recitals and in main-stage productions including Zweites Blumenmädchen in Parsifal, Sœur Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites, Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Adina and Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore. She also performed at notable venues, including Cadogan Hall, the Barbican Centre, and Wigmore Hall.
Since completing the Jette Parker programme, Kiandra has made significant debuts across Europe, the UK, and Asia, including performances as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Basel, Luxembourg, Guangzhou, and Nancy), Zweites Blumenmädchen in Parsifal at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and the Berliner Philharmonie, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Royal Opera House, 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Dorotka in Schwanda der Dudelsackpfeifer at the Komische Oper Berlin, and Freia in Das Rheingold at Opernhaus Zürich. Her repertoire also includes leading roles such as Mimì in La bohème, the title role in Mascagni’s Iris, and Regan in Reimann’s Lear.
Since the summer of 2021, Kiandra has been a member of the ensemble at the Staatsoper Hannover, where she has performed roles including Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Desdemona in Otello, Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Alcina, Mimì in La bohème, Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites, and the title role in Rusalka. The 2023-24 season saw her perform as Freia at the Royal Opera House and Opernhaus Zürich and make company debuts with Oper Leipzig as Desdemona and as Magda in La Rondine for Victorian Opera.
Looking ahead to the 2024-25 season, Kiandra will reprise some of her most celebrated roles and will also make notable debuts, including the title role in Arabella for Bühnen Bern and Die Feldmarschallin in Der Rosenkavalier with Staatsoper Hannover. In the summer of 2025, she will return to Opera Australia as Contessa in Sir David McVicar’s production of Le nozze di Figaro.
