Biography

Soprano Shira Patchornik has received the OPUS Klassik Award for Nachwuchskünstler*in des Jahres (Upcoming Artist of the Year 2026) for her solo recording Bella Furia with the acclaimed CHAARTS Chamber Artists, led by David Castro-Balbi. She will appear at the award ceremony in October 2026 at the Berlin Konzerthaus in a concert to be broadcast on ZDF.

Celebrated for her extraordinary expressivity and emotionally engaging stage presence, Shira brings exceptional depth and authenticity to every role she inhabits. Her artistry spans a remarkably wide range of repertoire — from Baroque opera to Mozart, Romantic, and contemporary works — and she is widely regarded as one of the most compelling young sopranos performing today. 

Future highlights include a return to the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music for Antonio Cest's il Pomo d'Oro under the baton of Ottavio Dantone (August 2026), a return to the National Theatre in Prague in January 2027 for La Folie in Rameau's Platée — a role for which she has become particularly celebrated — her role debut as Jenny Hill in Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny in a new production at Deutsche Oper am Rhein directed by Elisabeth Stöppler (Spring 2027), and Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni with Collegium 1704 under Václav Luks (Early 2027).

The 2025/26 season brought numerous highlights, including her role debut as Ilia in a new production of Mozart's Idomeneo at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels, directed by Calixto Bieito and conducted by Enrico Onofri. She also sang Dalinda in Handel's Ariodante with La Cetra Barockorchester Basel under Andrea Marcon on a major European tour, with performances in Basel, Paris (Théâtre des Champs-Élysées), the Halle Handel Festival, Vienna (Theater an der Wien), Oviedo, and Madrid (Teatro Real), followed by a CD recording of the production.

In 2024/25, she made her house debut at the National Theatre in Prague as La Folie in Rameau's Platée with a broadcast on ARTE, sang Almirena in G. Bononcini's Griselda at Theater an der Wien, appeared as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at the Komische Oper Berlin, and shone as Laodice in Handel's Siroe at the Händelfestspiele Karlsruhe. She debuted at the Musikverein in Vienna with a solo program accompanied by Le Musiche Nove under Claudio Osele. She also performed as soloist with Ensemble I Gemelli in Monteverdi's Vespers, and appeared as soloist in Bach's Magnificat under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado in the opening concert of the Internationale Barocktage Stift Melk festival, broadcast on ORF. Additionally, she participated in CD recordings as Miranda in Arsilda and in a recording of Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine.

Earlier highlights include her role debut as Adina in L'elisir d'amore at the New Israeli Opera, her role debut as Constance in Poulenc's Les Dialogues des Carmélites at the New Israeli Opera, a house debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Weinberg's Sieben jiddische Lieder, and a role debut as Adina in R. Kaeser's Nebuchadnezar at the Rokoko Theater Schwetzingen. She has also appeared at the Bregenzer Festspiele, the Händelfestspiele Karlsruhe, and guested at houses including Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Morgana in Alcina) and Theater Dessau (Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare). During the 2018–20 seasons, she was a member of the ensemble at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where she performed roles including Pamina, Zerlina, Susanna, Micaela, and Gretel.

Shira is the first prize winner of two prestigious international baroque competitions: the Concours Corneille 2021 in Rouen, France, and the Pietro Antonio Cesti Competition 2021 in Innsbruck, where she also received the audience award and several engagement prizes including the prize of the Vienna Konzerthaus. 

Born in Tel Aviv in 1993, Shira showed exceptional talent for singing and acting from an early age. She joined the Bal-Kol choir at age seven and began performing on stage across Israel at nine, including dubbing films and television shows. Her operatic solo career began at fourteen when she sang The Young Vixen in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen at the Israeli Opera. She pursued advanced studies in Tel Aviv with Prof. Sharon Rostorf-Zamir and in Leipzig with Prof. Jeanette Favaro-Reuter, and has been supported by foundations including the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, the Meitar Foundation, and the Ronen Foundation.

In addition to her operatic and concert career, Shira recently co-founded Trio Cyrene, a new vocal ensemble dedicated to early music repertoire.