Anna Leese became an inaugural Associate Artist of The Mozartists (then Classical Opera) in 2006. She studied at the University of Otago and the Royal College of Music in London, and won the 2005 Richard Tauber Prize and the 2007 Maggie Teyte Competition. Her previous appearances with The Mozartists include Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and Tamiri (Il re pastore), as well as our début recording ‘The A-Z of Mozart Opera’ and numerous concerts. She made her début at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Musetta (La bohème), returning as Micaëla (Carmen), First Lady (Die Zauberflöte) and Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos). Further operatic engagements include Tatyana (Eugene Onegin) for the Flanders Opera and New Zealand Opera, Musetta for the Canadian Opera Company, and Suzel (L’amico Fritz) for Opera Holland Park. She has also released a recording for EMI with Graham Johnson.
