“One of the fiercest dramatic talents in the field” (The New York Times), Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian’s “versatility is astounding” (The Times) with a “wild voice [that is] rich and dark” (Le Monde). Regularly engaged at the world’s leading opera houses, she has recently performed at the Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, the Salzburger Festspiele, and Teatro alla Scala. She was a founding member of Vilnius City Opera, has twice been awarded the Golden Stage Cross (the highest award for singers in Lithuania), was named Best Female Lead in 2019 and 2026 at the Austrian Music Theater Awards, Female Opera Singer of the Year in 2022 by the Ópera XXI Association, and Female Singer of the Year at the Opus Klassik Awards in 2023. In 2024, she received the prestigious Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis in the "Special Jury Prize" category, an award celebrating exceptional contributions to Austria's opera and theater scene, and was named Opernwelt’s Opera Singer of the Year.
2026/27 Season
Her 2026/27 season begins with a return to Wiener Staatsoper for the Opernair Gala before making her role debut as Judith in Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Biance in Zemlinsky’s Eine florentinische Tragödie. She then returns to The Metropolitan Opera as Jenůfa in Claus Guth’s acclaimed production, where she also gives her first solo recital at the company with pianist Lukas Geniušas and performs later in the year for the company’s 60th Anniversary Lincoln Center Gala. Later in the season, her roles include a return to Norma, Manon Lescaut at Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Madama Butterfly at Royal Ballet and Opera and Lisa in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades at Bayerische Staatsoper. Asmik reunites with pianist Lukas Geniušas for recitals at venues across Europe and the Americas, including Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, as well as continuing performances of her acclaimed theatrical concert Una Diva is Born worldwide. Concert performances include Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by further performances in Asia.
Recordings.
Asmik has released several recordings with Alpha Classics, including her debut album, in collaboration with the pianist Lukas Geniušas, Dissonance, featuring Rachmaninov romances, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14, recorded with the l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck, and Laws of Solitude, a recording of Strauss’ Four Last Songs, recorded both with orchestra and piano. Her most recent recording is Verdi’s Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst. She is also featured on multiple DVDs of the opera productions, including Elektra and Macbeth from the Salzburger Festspiele, and Rusalka from the Royal Opera House.
“…an absolutely exceptional singer and cannot be assigned to any discipline. Whether as Marie in Wozzeck, the title role in Jenufa, various Puccini operas or just as Jolanthe - Grigorian makes every role her own in every language and epoch with minimal yet haunting gestures and a sensual, mesmerizing, metallically colored voice.”
— DAS OPERNMAGAZIN
Asmik has made a name for herself on both the concert and operatic platforms since her international career began with a triumphant performance in Madama Butterfly at the Royal Swedish Opera. She then went on to perform to conquer role after role including: Salome at the Salzburg Festival (described as “a Salome to end all Salomes” (Financial Times), now available on DVD), Rusalka at the Royal Ballet and Opera and Teatro Real, Jenufa at the Royal Ballet and Opera and Wiener Staatsoper, and Tatiana (Eugene Onegine) at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera, and Teatro alla Scala. Following her internationally acclaimed performance as Salome at the Salzburger Festspiele, she regularly returns, performing roles such as Chrysothemis (Elektra), the three leading soprano roles in Puccini’s Il Trittico, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Marie in Wozzeck (all recorded on DVD) and Polina in The Gambler. In 2025, she returned to the Salzburg Festival as Lady Macbeth before making her role debut as Carmen at the festival in 2026. As a regularly engaged performer at the Wiener Staatsoper, she has performed the title role in Manon Lescaut, the title role in Turandot, Elisabetta (Don Carlo), Nedda (Pagliacci), Jenufa, and Tatiana (Eugene Onegin). She has also performed Marietta in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt and Liza (Pique Dame) at Teatro alla Scala, Nastasya in Charodeika at Oper Frankfurt, Cio-Cio San at the Arena di Verona, Royal Opera House, Metropolitan Opera, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at Vilnius City Opera, and Senta in Der Fliegende Hollander at the Bayreuth Festspiele (available on DVD).
On the concert stage, she has performed Shostakovich 14 with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Rotterdam Philharmonic, Beethoven IX under Riccardo Muti at the Salzburg Festival, Verdi’s Requiem at the Cēsis Vidzeme Concert Hall in Latvia and with the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig conducted by Welser-Möst and R. Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder with the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Teatro Massimo in Palermo and the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Gustavo Dudamel. Asmik also tours internationally with pianist Lukas Geniušas, performing a programme of Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky songs featured from their album, Dissonance.
Asmik works with many of the world's leading conductors including Gianandrea Noseda, Vasily Petrenko, Franz Welser-Möst, Yves Abel, Vladimir Jurowski, Markus Stenz, Mikhail Tatarnikov, Alan Gilbert, and Michael Tilson Thomas. Asmik frequently collaborates with top stage directors including Dmitri Tcherniakov, Romeo Castellucci, Claus Guth, Dalia Ibelhauptaitė, Christof Loy, Barrie Kosky, Alex Ollé, Peter Konwitschny, Robert Wilson, and Vasily Barkhatov to name a few.