Armenian-American Ani Maldjian has been described as a "remarkable soprano," with a voice that is "richly mature and full of lyric nuance," and her singing "elegant, commanding, brilliant, fresh and strong… definitely a name to watch as she rises through the ranks of young sopranos." This season began with a European tour of The Diary of Anne Frank with Opera Theatre Company of Ireland. This one-woman opera has brought Ms. Maldjian recognition and success in the U.S., UK, Europe and the Republic of Ireland over the last four years. Her spring program includes the lead roles in Les mamelles de Tirésias and Les larmes du couteau, and Nuria in Ainadamar with Long Beach Opera. Next season she will return to Seattle Opera as Clorinda in La Cenerentola.
Last season, Ms. Maldjian joined the New York Philharmonic for their production of The Cunning Little Vixen, where she covered the role of Vixen. She also sang Papagena in The Magic Flute with Seattle Opera, Leila in The Pearl Fishers with Opera in the Heights of Houston, Dirce in Medea with Long Beach Opera, and The Diary of Anne Frank in Portland, the UK, and Ireland.
Maldjian has performed over 30 major operatic roles including Clorinda, Nannetta, Lauretta, Leila, Cleopatra, Adele, Despina and such Armenian title roles as Zvart, Armine and Zemire, premiered in Los Angeles. With a great passion and enthusiasm for 20th and 21st century music, she has also performed the title roles in The Diary of Anne Frank and The Cunning Little Vixen with Long Beach Opera, Fire/Princess/Nightingale in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges with Seattle Opera’s YAP, and Princess (No. 1) in Susa’s Transformations with the Merola Program, among others. She also created the role of Jane in the world premiere of Wet by Anne LeBaron at the Walt Disney Center in Los Angeles to critical acclaim.
She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts and a Master of Music degree from The California State University of Northridge. She received additional opera training at Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival, and OperaWorks. She was the First Place Winner of the Western Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2005.