This week, Canadian soprano Layla Claire returns to Karlsruhe’s famous Händel-Festspiele as the eponymous Alcina in James Darrah’s new production. Andreas Spering conducts the run which opens on 16 February and marks Claire’s debut in the role. 

After her critically-acclaimed debut at the 2016 Festival as Tusnelda in Handel’s little-performed Arminio, also recorded for Decca, Der Neue Merkur praised Layla Claire’s ​“highly individual timbre with lustre and brilliance” and Gramophone her ​“brilliance at the top”. Other recent highlights include performances as Contessa Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) for Opera Philadelphia, and as Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) for both Salzburger Festspiele under Alain Altinoglu and Opernhaus Zürich under Riccardo Minasi.