Winner of the 2007 Mozart Singing Competition, British mezzo-soprano Julia Riley studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio in London.

Recent highlights have included Julia’s French debut as Nancy Albert Herring (Opéra comique, Paris and Rouen Opera House); Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro, Nancy Albert Herring and Zweite Dame Die Zauberflöte (Glyndebourne on Tour); the title role of Xerxes, Donna Elvira Don Giovanni and Giovanna Seymour Anna Bolena (English Touring Opera); Flora La Traviata (Opera Holland Park); Alessandro Eliogabalo (Grange Park Opera); and roles in both I Puritani and L’Italiana in Algeri (Scottish Opera).

On the concert platform, Julia has performed at the BBC Proms under Sir Andrew Davies; the Leeds Lieder Festival; the BBC Welsh Proms; the London Bach Festival; the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon; and the Glyndebourne Festival in a staging of Jonathan Dove's mezzo song cycle All you who sleep tonight. She has also sung with the Academy of Ancient Music under Richard Egarr in concerts at the Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid and the Cadogan Hall, and with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Opera and Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse.

In the 2010/11 season Julia sang her first Sesto La Clemenza di Tito for English Touring Opera to great critical acclaim: “It was her vocal ability which stole the show. I could not only hear every note but every word; combine this with poignancy and conviction of her acting and for me her performance was the tour de force of this production.” (Opera Britannia).

Future highlights include Dorabella Cosi fan tutte (Opera Holland Park) and concerts with the English Chamber Orchestra and the Mozart Festival Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. From the 12/13 season Julia will become a member of the ensemble at Zurich Opera House.

Julia Riley is represented by Intermusica.
April 2012 / 297 words. Not to be altered without permission. Please destroy all previous biographical material.

Xerxes / English Touring Opera
Cond Jonathan Kenny / Dir James Conway
“Julia Riley in the title role was clear, bright and possessed of good diction.”
Gareth Jones, Evening Star, November 2011

“Julia Riley turns in a performance of star potential as the temperamental protagonist…”
Hugh Canning, The Times, October 2011

“No praise can be too high for mezzo Julia Riley in the title role.”
Michael Church, The Independent, October 2011

“Particularly good are Julia Riley – a powerful mezzo who impressed in last season's Clemenza di Tito” Guy Dammann, The Guardian, October 2011

“Riley camps a splendidly masculine Xerxes, pipe firmly clamped in lantern jaw, upper body lurching with testosterone-fuelled swagger, and disbelief is suspended throughout her fraternal confrontations with Arsamenes (…)”
Mark Valencia, Whats on stage, October 2011

Sesto, La Clemenza di Tito
English Touring Opera
“The finest performance comes from the Sextus of Julia Riley. A mezzo of considerable presence, she projects Andrew Porter’s English translation well and relishes her character’s opportunities with the best music in Mozart’s still undervalued masterpiece.”
John Allison, The Telegraph, March 2011

“Against Riley, no-one else stands much of a chance.”
Catriona Graham, The Opera Critic, May 2011

“There was some impressively passionate characterisation in the show, especially from a scorching Julia Riley’s fiercely-ardent Sextus.”
Michael Tumelty, The Herald, May 2011

“Sesto is played by the mezzo-soprano, Julia Riley whose acting was so convincing that it took me a few minutes to realise I was looking at a young woman, so successfully had she captured the stance and the mannerisms of a young officer. But it was her vocal ability which stole the show. I thought this was a superb performance from a young singer and promises so much for the future. She has a lovely warm, focused mezzo voice without too much vibrato. In the circle of the Hackney Empire I could not only hear every note but every word; combine this with poignancy and conviction of her acting and for me her performance was the tour de force of this production. How heartening that we as a nation are producing young singers of this international quality from the National Opera Studio.”
Miranda Jackson, Opera Britannia, March 2011

Alessandro, Eliogabalo
Grange Park Opera
“That leaves me with the stand-out performance of the evening, the trouser role of Alessandro beautifully taken by Julia Riley. The part lay perfectly for her interesting voice, a mezzo soprano that can clearly encompass higher lying roles as well. What Riley exuded was calm assurance: as she sang, I found myself relaxing into the Cavalli idiom and relishing the expressiveness of the musical line. She is clearly an Octavian in the making: I found her performance simply glorious.”
Mark Reynolds, MusicCriticism, June 2009

Jane Seymour, Anna Bolena
English Touring Opera
“Julia Riley is outstanding - powerful, passionate and intelligent - as a conscience-stricken Jane Seymour.”
Richard Morrison, The Times, March 2008