Canadian soprano Layla Claire is no stranger to Mozart’s operas. Her singing of Mozart’s roles are award-winning (Prix des Amis d’Aix-en-Provence, Wilhelm Stenhammar International Competition Mozart Prize); she has appeared as the Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), and Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), and in the ²⁰¹⁶⁄₁₇ season she returns to the Metropolitan Opera to sing Pamina in The Magic Flute.

Claire makes her debut at the Salzburg Festival this summer, singing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and she’s part of a stellar cast, including Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (Giovanni) and Luca Pisaroni (Leporello). With the help of the kind folks in Salzburg, we were able to chat with Claire about the dream of singing Mozart in his birth-city, and how a cast of Italians helps her raise the bar with all those recits.

For details and ticket information for Don Giovanni, running August 4-21, click here.