Ilia Staple
Biography
Ilia Staple, an Austrian coloratura soprano, has been a member of the ensemble at the Vienna State Opera since 2024. She made a convincing debut at this theatre in 2022, performing the role of Adele in Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus. This season, she will perform the role again, as well as Tebaldo in Don Carlos, the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte für Kinder, and Fiakermilli in Arabella. In 2025, she appeared as Countess Falconi in Der Karneval von Rom at the Theater an der Wien as part of the Johann Strauss 2025 Vienna Festival.
From 2018 to 2024, she was a member of the ensemble at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, where she demonstrated her versatility in roles such as Adele in Die Fledermaus, the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Olympia in Die Märchenerzählerin, Cunegonde in Candide, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Sophie in Werther, Gilda in Rigoletto and Musetta in La Bohème. At the Tyrolean Festival Erl, she performed in Der Ring des Nibelungen, appearing as Woglinde in Das Rheingold, Helmwige in Die Walküre, Waldvogel in Siegfried and Woglinde in Götterdämmerung.
She was hailed by critics at the Salzburg State Theatre as ‘the star of the evening’ for her role debut as Eliza in a new production of My Fair Lady in autumn 2019. She had previously made a highly successful guest appearance at the theatre in the 2018–19 season, performing the role of Franziska Cagliari in Johann Strauss's Wiener Blut.
She enjoyed further operetta successes at the Baden Theatre: as Christel von der Post in Carl Zeller's Der Vogelhändler in 2019; as Bronislawa in Millöcker's Der Bettelstudent in 2018; and as Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld in 2017. She also appeared as Midili Hanum (Rose of Stambul) and Miss Edith (Die Juxheirat) at the Lehár Festival in Bad Ischl. She also attracted attention at the Musical Festival in Bad Leonfelden, performing as Maria in West Side Story and Christine in The Phantom of the Opera.
As well as performing on the opera stage, Ilia Staple regularly gives concerts, performing works such as Bach's St John Passion, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's The Creation, Schwertsik's Sonnengesang, and solo parts in various masses.
From 2016 to 2018, she was a member of the Upper Austrian Opera Studio at the Landestheater Linz, where she sang the roles of Despina in Così fan tutte, Sandmännchen and Taumännchen in Hänsel und Gretel, Klärchen Hinzelmann in Im weißen Rössl, Ciboletta in Eine Nacht in Venedig, Rosetta in Leonce und Lena (EA) and Flaminia in Il mondo della luna.
The young soprano had already made her debut as Gwendolen in Mein Freund Bunbury at the Leipzig Opera and as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte at the Chemnitz Opera. She played Frau Herberstorff in Alea (world premiere), Bubikopf in Der Kaiser von Atlantis and Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the International Bruckner Festival in Linz, as well as Bellezza in Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, Ermengarde in Hello, Dolly! and Cis in Albert Herring in guest productions.
She received her vocal training first privately with Hildegard Krichbaumer and then at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz under Katerina Beranova.