With a range spanning over three octaves, world-renowned American soprano Laura Aikin embraces repertoire from baroque to contemporary, making her a most welcome artist in the most renowned opera houses and concert halls. She began her career as a member of the ensemble at the Berlin State Opera (1992-98) under the artistic direction of Daniel Barenboim, where she appeared over 300 times in major roles such as Lulu, Queen of the Night, Zerbinetta, Amenaide (Tancredi), Sophie, Adele, and in the title role in Zaide.

Laura Aikin is regularly invited to leading opera houses worldwide such as the Vienna State Opera, La Scala Milano, the Bavarian State Opera, Opernhaus Zurich, the Netherlands Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Semperoper Dresden, Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona, Opera Frankfurt, the Chicago Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, San Francisco Opera and Metropolitan Opera New York.

At the Salzburg Festival, alongside numerous concert appearances since 1995, the soprano has performed as Queen of the Night, in the world premiere of Henze's opera l’Upupa (Bad’iat), as Blondchen and Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and was highly acclaimed by audience and press alike for her interpretation of Marie in Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten in 2012 and for Birtwistle‘s Gawain in 2013.

An equally sought-after concert singer, Laura Aikin performs with orchestras such as the Berlin, Munich and Vienna Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, WDR, SWR and MDR Radio Symphony Orchestras, as well as with the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Les Arts Florissants, Concerto Köln and Concentus Musicus Wien.

The comprehensive list of leading conductors with whom she has collaborated includes names such as Claudio Abbado, Alain Altinoglou, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Martin Brabbins, Sylvain Cambreling, William Christie, Christoph von Dohnányi, Iván Fischer, Mikko Franck, Daniele Gatti, Michael Gielen, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Manfred Honeck, Jakub Hrůša, René Jacobs, Fabio Luisi, Kent Nagano, Zubin Mehta, Cornelius Meister, Ingo Metzmacher, Riccardo Muti, Helmuth Rilling, Donald Runnicles, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Michael Tilson Thomas and Franz Welser-Möst. One of her most notable collaborations was with Nikolaus Harnoncourt for Beethoven’s Missa solemnis at Styriarte in Graz and at the Salzburg Festival, which was also eternalised on CD.

Among the soprano’s recent operatic successes stands her critically acclaimed interpretation of Emilia Marty in the new production of Janáček´s Vec Makropulos at the Vienna State Opera. An equally huge success was Henze’s Elegie für junge Liebende (Elegy for young lovers) at the Theater an der Wien. Highlights of the 2017/18 season included Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) under the baton of Iván Fischer in Budapest, at the Edinburgh International Festival and in New York; Schoenberg’s Erwartung in Salzburg; the world première of Ti vedo, ti sento, mi perdo by Salvatore Sciarrino at Milan´s La Scala and the Berlin State Opera, as well as Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus) at the Vienna State Opera and performances of Feldma’s Neither in Munich and Cologne.

More recent highlights include the role of Helena in Manfred Trojahn's Orest at the Vienna State Opera, revived later at the Haus am Ring in autumn 2019. The 2021-2022 season brought Shostakovich's The Nose to the Bavarian State Opera, as well as the world premiere of Stefan Wirth's Girl with a Pearl Earring at Opernhaus Zurich, and a concert version of Der Rosenkavalier conducted by Lawrence Foster, where Laura Aikin was heard for the first time as the Marschallin. At the start of the 2022/23 season she took on the role of Mrs Grose in a production of Britten's The Turn of the Screw, conducted by Iván Fischer in Budapest and Vicenza, while also returning to the Vienna State Opera as Rosalinde in the traditional Fledermaus. In January 2024 she could be heard in Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten (as Countess de la Roche) with the Gürzenich Orchestra conducted by FX Roth in Cologne, Paris and Hamburg. Later in the season she returned to the Bavarian State Opera for a revival of Shostakovich's The Nose.

Laura Aikin’s numerous acclaimed recordings include Beethoven's Christus am Ölberge with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Schoenberg’s Die Jakobsleiter with the Südwestfunk Symphony Orchestra, Respighi's La campana sommersa (Montpellier Opera), DVDs of Lulu (Opernhaus Zurich), Henze’s l’Upupa and Die Entführung aus dem Serail (both from the Salzburg Festival) and Dialogues des Carmélites with Riccardo Muti (La Scala). She can be heard on a solo recording of Songs and Cycles by Rorem with pianist Donald Sulzen for Orfeo, as well as in Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge and his Missa solemnis - both under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt for Sony Music. Laura Aikin’s most recent widely acclaimed recording was as Rosalinde in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus for Pentatone, recorded with the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Lawrence Foster.

Alongside her concert and opera engagements, Laura Aikin is an outstanding vocal teacher. She can regularly be found on the jury of international singing competitions and gives master classes at home and abroad. Since autumn 2022 Laura Aikin has held a professorship for singing at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

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