Sonya Yoncheva | Soprano

Sonya Yoncheva is one of the leading sopranos of her generation, a fixture at the world’s most important opera houses and concert halls, including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper, Berlin Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper and Opéra de Paris.

Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, in 1981, Yoncheva trained in piano and voice at her hometown conservatory under Nelly Koitcheva before completing a master’s degree in voice at the Conservatory of Geneva with Danielle Borst. She won top prize at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition in 2010, a breakthrough that launched an international career built on a repertoire spanning Baroque opera to Verdi, Puccini and the Verismo school.

Her signature roles include the title parts in Tosca, Norma, Médée and Iolanta, alongside acclaimed portrayals of Mimì (La bohème), Violetta (La traviata), Desdemona (Otello) and Maddalena (Andrea Chénier). She is equally recognised for her Baroque credentials, having emerged from William Christie’s Le Jardin des Voix and gone on to sing Dido, Cleopatra and Poppea under conductors including Christie and Emmanuelle Haïm.

Yoncheva has made house and role debuts across the major European and American stages, and her performances have been broadcast internationally, including via the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series and France’s annual Concert de Paris at the Eiffel Tower. Her voice and stage presence have taken her from Vienna, Milan and Paris to Tokyo, Buenos Aires and São Paulo, with regular concert and recital appearances alongside her operatic work.

Beyond the stage, Yoncheva founded the production company SY11 in 2020 to produce her own concerts and recordings, including the Inmost Voices recital series in Sofia and the 2023 photo book Fifteen Mirrors. In October 2025 she co-organised and served on the jury of the Operalia Competition in Sofia, the same competition that launched her own career.

Her honours include the Opus Klassik Award for Singer of the Year, the ECHO Klassik Newcomer of the Year award, the International Opera Awards’ Readers’ Award, and France’s Officière de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She holds an honorary doctorate from the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts of Plovdiv, and has served as a UNICEF Ambassador in Bulgaria.

Sonya Yoncheva lives and performs internationally, continuing to expand a repertoire already recognised as one of the most distinctive in opera today.