The young Spanish soprano Serena Sáenz has established herself within just a few years as one of the most versatile artists of her generation and is praised by the press for her “musicality and radiant high notes” (Scherzo). Since her triple success at the prestigious Operalia Competition 2022 in Riga, she has been a regular guest at leading opera houses worldwide.
In the 2025/26 season, Serena Sáenz makes her staged debut as Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Vienna State Opera, and appears for the first time as Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu. With the Bavarian State Opera, she gives her eagerly awaited role debut as Gilda in a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. She also debuts as Aminta in Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau at the Staatsoper Berlin under Christian Thielemann and as Susanna in Barrie Kosky’s production of Le nozze di Figaro at the Vienna State Opera. She returns to the Staatsoper Berlin as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and to the Gran Teatre del Liceu as Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff. On the concert stage, Sáenz is heard as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid at the Auditorio Nacional, and performs baroque programs with Vespres d’Arnadí in Valencia and Oviedo.
The young Spanish soprano Serena Sáenz has established herself within just a few years as one of the most versatile artists of her generation and is praised by the press for her “musicality and radiant high notes” (Scherzo). Since her triple success at the prestigious Operalia Competition 2022 in Riga, she has been a regular guest at leading opera houses worldwide.
In the 2025/26 season, Serena Sáenz makes her staged debut as Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Vienna State Opera, and appears for the first time as Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu. With the Bavarian State Opera, she gives her eagerly awaited role debut as Gilda in a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. She also debuts as Aminta in Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau at the Staatsoper Berlin under Christian Thielemann and as Susanna in Barrie Kosky’s production of Le nozze di Figaro at the Vienna State Opera. She returns to the Staatsoper Berlin as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and to the Gran Teatre del Liceu as Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff. On the concert stage, Sáenz is heard as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid at the Auditorio Nacional, and performs baroque programs with Vespres d’Arnadí in Valencia and Oviedo.
Despite her young age, Serena Sáenz has already appeared in leading roles at many of the world’s top theaters. At the Staatsoper Berlin, where she was a member of the Opera Studio, she sang Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and Nannetta (Falstaff). At the Vienna State Opera, she has been heard as Zerbinetta, the Queen of the Night, Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) and in the double role of Olympia/Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann. At the Bavarian State Opera, she made her debut in the role of Marie (La fille du régiment) in the 2024/25 season, following her company debut the previous year in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. At the Gran Teatre del Liceu, where her career began, she has sung Lucia, Pamina, Norina (Don Pasquale) and the role of Angelus Novus in the world premiere of Antoni Ros-Marbà’s Benjamin a Portbou. Further highlights include appearances at the Teatro Real de Madrid (Lisa in La sonnambula), at the Teatro de la Zarzuela (Marola in La tabernera del puerto), at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, at Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia (Pamina), at Teatro Regio di Torino (the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte) as well as at the Auditorio de Tenerife and the Royal Danish Opera as Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos). In 2023 she made her U.S. debut at Festival Napa Valley as Norina in Don Pasquale.
As a sought-after soloist, Serena Sáenz has appeared worldwide alongside renowned artists such as Plácido Domingo, Elīna Garanča and Rolando Villazón. In 2024 she made her debut at La Scala in Milan in concert performances of Luigi Nono’s Como una ola de fuerza y luz and at the Salzburg Mozart Week in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor and Salieri’s Prima la musica poi le parole. Further highlights include an open-air gala concert in Sant Sebastià in Barcelona as well as the international gala “The New Divas: Live in Vienna” (recorded for PBS) at the Wiener Konzerthaus. She also gives regular recitals with guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas, among others at the Palau de la Música Catalana, at Ithra in Saudi Arabia, and at the National Theater of Santo Domingo.
In 2025 Serena Sáenz released her debut album BIRDS (EuroArts), recorded with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra – a lyrical coloratura program inspired by the fascinating world of songbirds.
Serena Sáenz won first prize and the Audience Award at the Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition in 2021 and received several distinctions at both the Paris Opera Competition and the Francisco Viñas Competition in Barcelona. In 2023 she was honored with the Opera Actual Award as Most Promising Young Artist and with the Opera XXI Award as Best Young Singer.
Born in Barcelona, she made her debut at the age of 13 as a soloist in Hans Krása’s children’s opera Brundibár at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. She studied initially with Prof. Anna Ollet, and later at the Conservatori Superior del Liceu with Prof. Dolors Aldea and Prof. Eduard Giménez, supported by two merit scholarships. She completed her Master’s and Konzertexamen degrees at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Prof. Anna Samuil. Alongside her vocal training she studied ballet and modern dance and holds a professional qualification as a fitness and nutrition coach.
