Maayan Licht

Maayan Licht
Maayan Licht in solo concert in Michael Sela auditorium in Rehovot
Background information
Born	(1993-05-20) 20 May 1993 (age 33) Israel
Genre	Baroque opera • Classical music • Early music • contemporary opera
Occupation	Sopranist
Instrument	Vocals (soprano)
Years active	2021–present
Website	www.maayanlicht.com

Maayan Licht (Hebrew: מַעְײַן לִיכט, born 20 May 1993) is an Israeli classical singer and sopranist. He performs in opera and concert repertoire in Europe and Israel, with a focus on Baroque and early Classical works.

Early life and education

Licht was born in Israel in Rehovot, near Tel Aviv, Israel.

He expressed interests in making sounds starting at age 2, mimicking his family's microwave. He started singing and also whistling very young, developing both skills quickly due to being hard on himself and also enjoying making sounds. His vocal talent in the high soprano register was identified by a local voice teacher, Vita Gurevich, with whom he began his formal studies. He later studied Early Music and classical singing at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with singing professor Xenia Meijer, completing bachelor's and master's degrees, both awarded cum laude in 2021.

During his studies he performed as a soloist in oratorio repertoire, including Handel's Messiah and Bach's Mass in B minor in Amsterdam. These engagements led to appearances with Dutch early‑music ensembles and opera projects.

He currently resides in both The Hague Netherlands, and Tel Aviv, Israel. He is gay and supports both Israelis and Palestinians, wanting peace in the war between the two countries.

Career

Licht's career centres on Baroque opera and sacred music, alongside Classical and early Classical roles. He has appeared at venues including the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Theater an der Wien, the Janáček Theatre in Brno and opera houses in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. In 2026 Licht made his Australian debut with a four-city tour for Vladimir Fanshil's and Eleanor Lyons' [de] series "Live at Yours".

His stage roles have included Laertes in Gasparini's Amleto at Theater an der Wien, Achille in Porpora's Ifigenia in Aulide at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival and Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at Oper Dortmund and the Janáček Theatre. He has also appeared in Stradella's San Giovanni Battista and in the premiere of Ľubica Čekovská's opera Here I Am, Orlando in Brno.

In concert, Licht has sung soprano parts in Handel's Messiah, Handel's Theodora, Bach's Mass in B minor and his St John Passion. He has collaborated with ensembles such as the Netherlands Bach Society and Opera2Day, among other orchestras and early‑music groups.

Selected performances

Projects and collaborations

Licht participates in staged and crossover projects that combine opera with other performance forms. He has performed in CarMEN, a queer‑themed adaptation of Bizet's Carmen created with drag performers and presented at venues including the Concertgebouw, Muziekgebouw and Dutch festivals. He is also involved in Technopera, a project that integrates electronic music and operatic singing and has appeared at Dutch concert halls and festivals.

Awards and recognition

Licht has received several international prizes and distinctions for his singing.

• Winner of the "Best Newcomer" award at the Oper! Awards [de] 2025.
• Recipient of the Bajazzo Sponsor Award 2025 from Theater- und Konzertfreunde Dortmund for his performance as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro at Oper Dortmund.
• Grand Prize at the Vienna International Music Competition in 2023.
• Jury and audience prizes at the Grachtenfestival Competition 2020 with his ensemble Duo Zeffiretti.

References

External links

• Media related to Maayan Licht at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website