Hailed by critics for her “ethereal”, “powerful yet lucid”, “silvery bright” voice and “refined technique”, Canadian soprano Ellen Wieser has performed on opera, concert and recital stages throughout Canada and the United States, and in South Korea and Japan. Regularly called upon to interpret and create contemporary operatic roles, her commanding stage presence has been described as “mesmerizing”, “tremendous”, “especially compelling”, and “vibrant”. Career highlights have included Brahms’ Ein deutches Requiem with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jacques Lacombe, solo appearances at the Jeonju International Sori Festival and with the Korea Union Orchestra in South Korea, Steve Reich’s Tehillim with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, as well as the role of Ruth Bader-Ginsburg (Scalia-Ginsburg, world premiere) at the Castleton Festival in Virginia. During recent seasons, Ellen created the roles of Erin in Rebecca Gray’s Raccoon Opera (Musique 3 femmes, Montreal) and Elle in Rosa Lind and Christian Lapoint’s Hiroshima mon amour (Chants libres, Carte Blanche, Quatuor Bozzini, Festival TransAmériques, Montreal), she was the soprano soloist in the 2022 Tapestry Opera LibLab program and Opera Briefs production in Toronto as well as Musique 3 femmes and Opéra de Montréal’s 2025 Opera Creation Forum in Montreal, and she was a featured soloist at the 2024 Agassiz Chamber Music Festival in Winnipeg. She also made waves in 2024 by replacing the soprano soloist for Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Kent Nagano on 30 minutes’ notice.

World premiere of Matthew Ricketts' "No Masque for Good Measure"

A graduate of the prestigious San Francisco Opera Merola Opera Program, Ms. Wieser has previously appeared in lead and supporting roles with Tapestry Opera, Musique 3 femmes, Chants Libres, The Castleton Festival, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Palm Beach Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Highlands Opera Studio, Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, the Pazzia Collective in collaboration with the Cluster New Music and Integrated Arts Festival, the Compagnie Baroque de Mont-Royal, and Opera da Camera. Solo concert highlights have included featured appearances with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra, the Saint-Lawrence Choir, the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, The Choir of the Church of Saint-Andrew and Saint-Paul, the Korea Union Orchestra the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Wieser was awarded the Emerging Artist prize in the 2019 Récital-Concours international de mélodies françaises in St. Lambert, Quebec. She was a two-time laureate of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques (2013 and 2014), and the recipient of the FIDAPA prize at the 2014 Alcamo International Voice Competition in Sicily. 

Backstage with Steve Reich and soloists of "Tehillim" with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Visiting with Ruth Bader Ginsburg following the world premiere of "Scalia-Ginsburg"

Ellen holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Manitoba, School of Music, and a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. A strong advocate for contemporary opera and song literature, Ellen maintains working relationships with numerous gifted Canadian and American composers and has performed world premieres of over three dozen works featuring the solo soprano voice. A passionate chamber musician, she has performed Fauré’s La bonne chanson with piano and string quintet, Chausson’s Chanson perpétuelle with piano and string quartet, and Hugo Wolf’s complete Italienisches Liederbuch at Montreal’s Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur, as well as Barber’s Hermit Songs with pianist Stéphane Lemelin, and Ana Sokolovic’s Tanzer Lieder with chamber ensemble at the Prince Edward County Music Festival. She has been a featured soloist on several occasions at the Music and Beyond Festival in Ottawa, including several recital programmes with Juno-nominated harpist Caroline Leonardelli. Ellen is founder and Artistic Director of the soprano, cello and piano trio Noise Partout, an ensemble dedicated to social and environmental advocacy, community engagement, and multidisciplinary creation and collaboration, which has received funding and support for the creation of new works from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Schevchenko Foundation, the Maison de la culture Janine-Sutto (Montreal), and the Maison de la culture Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie (Montréal). 

On set for the filming of "Justine et les machines" by Sonia Paço-Rocchia

As Justine in the live premiere of "Justine et les machines" by Sonia Paço-Rocchia

Ellen is equally active as a teacher and pedagogue. She maintains a private studio for voice and piano students of all ages, and produces two student recitals per year in which her 30-plus students are given the opportunity to share their progress. She has previously held teaching positions at the Maîtrise des Petits chanteurs de Montréal, in the Fine Arts Focus program at Heritage Regional High School in St. Hubert, Quebec, at the Conservatoire de la Montérégie in St. Lambert, Quebec, at Center Stage Dance and Performing Arts Studio in West Islip, New York, and at Belvoir Terrace in Lennox, Massechussetts.

​Ellen Wieser lives in Montreal with her husband and duo partner, cellist Jean-Christophe Lizotte, and their two daughters.