After the riotous critical success of her role debut as Lulu, the “grandiose soprano” (FAZ) has been nominated for both prestigious German Theater Prize “Der Faust” for that portrayal, and Opus Klassik’s Singer of the Year for her interpretation of Bubikopf in her recording of Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Juliana Zara was featured on the cover of the May 2023 edition of Opernwelt Magazine.

For the 2025/26 season, Juliana makes her house debut at Theater an der Wien as the Cheshire Cat in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland. She will also perform Woglinde in a concert version of the Ring Cycle, conducted by Patrick Hahn with the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, Juliana debuts at the Royal Theater Copenhagen as Sœr Constance in Dialogues of the Carmelites and will reprise her acclaimed portrayal of Lulu in an upcoming production, details to be announced. In concert, she will revive Puzzles and Games with both the Ann Arbor Symphony and the Münchener Kammerorchester, and make her debut in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, performing with the Ann Arbor Symphony under the baton of Earl Lee.

Juliana recently performed Shoko in Thomas Larcher’s Das Jagdgewehr at Bayerische Staatsoper (Cuvilliés Theater), Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with Nederlandse Reisopera, and Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos at Opernhaus Zürich. She also made her house debut at Theater Bonn as Adina in L’elisir d’amore and returned to Staatstheater Darmstadt for a revival of the same role. Most recently she sang Leonard Bernstein’s Wonderful town at the Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos.

In concert, Juliana sang a New Year’s Gala with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, premiered Matias Vestergård’s Melodrama with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, and gave a recital with pianist Marlene Heiss at the Berlin Philharmonie. She also performed the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Further, she made her North American debut at Carnegie Hall with the Sejong Soloists, performing Unsuk Chin’s Puzzles and Games.

A passionate interpreter of contemporary music, Juliana Zara has performed György Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre with the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra and starred in the world premieres of Fabià Santcovsky’s Transstimme at Munich Biennale and Miroslav Srnka’s Singularity at Bayerische Staatsoper. She also debuted as Tinkerbell in the world premiere of Frank Schwemmer’s Peter Pan with the Luxembourg Philharmonic and covered the title role in the world premiere of Stefan Wirth’s Girl with the Pearl Earring at Opernhaus Zürich. From 2021 to 2023, Juliana Zara was a member of the ensemble at Staatstheater Darmstadt, where she performed a range of roles, including Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Morgana in Alcina.

From 2019 to 2021, Juliana Zara was a member of the Opernstudio at Bayerische Staatsoper, where she performed a variety of roles, including Frasquita (Carmen), Philine (Mignon), and Mercedes (Schön ist die Welt).

She is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin.