Adela Zaharia

Adela Zaharia (Romanian pronunciation: ; born 1987) is a Romanian operatic soprano. She is currently a soloist at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf. In 2017, Zaharia took first place at the Operalia, The World Opera Competition.

Born in Arad, Romania, Zaharia started studying piano when she was six and later music theory. She started singing with the church and high school choir. According to Silvia Demian, former director of the Sabin Drăgoi College of Art where Zaharia studied, the soprano's "lucky star" was meeting Mariana Nicolesco during a National Music Olympiad, which she won.

Zaharia got her bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, both from Gheorghe Dima Music Academy where she studied voice and piano with Marius Budoiu.

Zaharia made her debut in 2010 with the Romanian National Opera, Cluj-Napoca as Gilda in Rigoletto, followed by Norina in Don Pasquale, Musetta in La bohème, and Michaela in Carmen.

From 2012 to 2014 Zaharia was an ensemble member of the Komische Oper Berlin, where she performed as Musetta (La bohème), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and Micaëla (Carmen). Other roles include Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Norina's (Don Pasquale) and Gilda's (Rigoletto) repertoire. Since the 2015/16 season, Zaharia has been a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where she performed as Snow Queen in The Snow Queen, Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos Lucia di Lammermoor, Konstanze (Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio), (Mozart's Don Giovanni) among others. In the 2017/18 season she will perform as Le Feu in L'enfant et les sortilèges, Gilda, Lucia and Konstanze. Guest engagements include Zaharia as Pamina at the Komische Oper Berlin; Gilda in Rigoletto and Violetta in La traviata at the Los Angeles Opera.