Sharon Azrieli is a soprano singer and cantor from Montreal, Quebec. She moved to New York City after attending Vassar College, from which she graduated with a degree in Art History. She also holds degrees from Parsons School of Design, Juilliard School, and the University of Montreal.
Azrieli performs classical, operatic, and musical theatre works, playing parts such as Juliette in Charles Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Mimi in La Bohème and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. She has performed with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the New Israeli Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company at well-known venues including Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Opera, and l’Opéra Bastille de Paris.
Azrieli has recorded many albums in a variety of genres, including classical, jazz, and musical theatre. She has also appeared in movies and has worked as a Cantorial soloist.
Early life and education Azrieli was born in Montreal, Quebec to Canadian architect, philanthropist and Holocaust survivor, David Azrieli. Azrieli moved to New York City after attending Vassar College, where she graduated with a degree in Art History, and an Associate Degree in Illustration from the Parsons School of Design. While studying illustration she got a Diploma in Vocal Performance under Ellen Faull at the Juilliard School, where her mentors included Joan Dornemann, Principal Prompter at the Metropolitan Opera and the late Herbert Breslin. Joan Dornemann invited her to attend her Vocal Arts Institute in Israel over three successive summers where she performed several leading roles, including Norina in Don Pasquale and Musetta in La Bohème. In 2006, Azrieli obtained a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Université de Montréal, and in 2011 a Doctorate in Music from the same university.
Professional work Azrieli became a student of Bill Schuman, a teacher who had previously worked with Celine Dion and Aprile Millo and currently teaches at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. With Schuman's help, Azrieli primed her voice for Verdian soprano roles. Azrieli performed Leonora in Il trovatore and Aida. She performed the roles of the prioress in Dialogues des carmélites and Leonora in La Forza del Destino with One World Symphony Orchestra.
Azrieli sang the role of La Gioconda in La Gioconda with the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera and Mimi in La Bohème with the New Jersey Association and the Canadian Opera Company. She has performed at several major festivals, including Brott Music Festival in Hamilton, Ontario,"The Whole Note, Vol. 15, iss. 10, July 2010, p.3" Retrieved February 16, 2013. and Festival Sefarad"Festival Sefarad." Retrieved February 16, 2013. in Montreal.
In 1991, Azrieli performed the role of Laurette in Le Docteur Miracle with L’Opéra Français de New York. Andrew Porter, music critic for the New Yorker, praised Sharon Azrieli on her performance as Laurette.
In 1994, Azrieli performed the role of the chambermaid Susanna in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with Sarasota Opera.
Azrieli has, on numerous occasions, captured the eyes and ears of audiences at Carnegie Hall. Her first appearance at the world-renowned theater was in April 1996 for the Altamura/Enrico Caruso International Voice Competition, in which she performed Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur: Act I. Io son l'umile ancella.
Azrieli enrolled at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York and began her first job as a Cantor for Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor.
Azrieli and her sons moved back to Montreal in 2000, where she became a full-time cantor at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom from 2001 until 2003."The Times of Israel." Retrieved February 16, 2013.
While completing her D.Mus. at the Université de Montréal in 2011, she wrote her thesis on ethnomusicological links between the music of Giuseppe Verdi and ancient Jewish scales/modes.
On September 11, 2013, Azrieli sang in "It's Better with Music" a black-tie benefit for the McGill Chamber Orchestra. The benefit program featured baritone Étienne Dupuis performing the famous "Figaro" aria from The Barber of Seville. Azrieli performed arias and a duet from Verdi's La Traviata.
In 2014, Azrieli performed at the world premiere of The Esther Diaries, by Canadian composer Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis, with the McGill Chamber Orchestra at the La Maison symphonique de Montréal. The one-woman show is about the Old Testament's Queen of Persia.
On April 8, 2015, Azrieli sang at the concert Song of Songs at Congregation Chevra Kadisha-B'nai Jacob with maestro Joseph Milo. She sang several vocal works at the concert, including Max Janowski's Avinu Malkeinu.
On November 28, 2015, Azrieli performed in a benefit concert for the Château Dufresne in Montreal. The concert featured her roles in arias by Mozart, Verdi and Puccini, as well as a world premiere of the score composed by Charles Gabriel Foignet in 1813, dedicated to Marie Louise, Empress of the French.
In 2015, Azrieli sang the song "When the Music Played" on the CD for the Broadway cast album Doctor Zhivago.
In 2016, she was the soprano soloist in Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, Op. 48 under conductor Alex Qian with the New England Symphonic Ensemble at Carnegie Hall.
In 2017, she performed twice at Carnegie Hall. Once in April, for the Opera Gala Honoring the Career of Tenor Giuseppe Giacomini under conductor Eve Queler and Members of the Opera Orchestra of New York. Secondly, in June for Dan Forrest's Jubilate Deo under conductor Tracey S. Resseguie and once again with the New England Symphonic Ensemble.
In September 2017, Azrieli performed with Pavel Feldman conducting the Centennial Youth String Orchestra. During the performance, Israel Bonds presented Azrieli with their Dor L’Dor ("from generation to generation" in Hebrew) Award for her artistry, commitment to local and Israel-based causes, and for being a role model as a philanthropist.
In 2018, Azrieli performed at the Metropolitan Opera as Sister Dolcina in Puccini's Suor Angelica. In May 2018, she performed with the Hebrew University Orchestra at the Jerusalem Theatre. The concert featured Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, Deux mélodies hébraïques and Chanson Hébraique, and excerpts from Bizet's Carmen.
In 2019, she was awarded the National Order of Quebec (Chevalière du Québec) for her lifetime performance achievements.
Her 2019 performances include a performance at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, singing Marcellina in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro under conductor Alexander Shelley. She performed regularly in her hometown of Montreal with L'Orchestre Classique de Montréal under the late conductor Boris Brott. Azrieli also performed with L'Orchestre Métropolitain under Dutch conductor Vincent De Kort as part of the Violins of Hope concert, which featured restored violins previously owned by Holocaust victims and survivors.
Azrieli released two music albums, Sharon Azrieli Sings Broadway in 2019, and Frankly Sharon in 2020. Frankly Sharon features arrangements by Jason Howland, to compositions by Frank Wildhorn on piano, and Azrieli's own translation of most of the lyrics into French, Italian, and Hebrew.
In October 2021, she performed the compositions of the late composer Pierre Mercure as a soloist for the New York-based Talea Ensemble at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Of Azrieli's excerpt, Noémie Chemali from BlogCritics wrote:"Dissidence by the late Canadian composer Pierre Mercure was next on the program with Sharon Azrieli as soprano soloist. I must say, this piece was a perfectly packaged little gem, short yet so full of contrasting emotions, keeping me on the edge of my chair throughout. This composition could not have been executed so perfectly without the poise of such an accomplished performer as Ms. Azrieli and the virtuosity of all of the players in the Talea Ensemble."
In June 2022, Azrieli performed with the musicians of the Orchestre Classique de Montréal under the baton of Geneviève Leclair for the Benefit Gala Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Maestro Boris Brott. In the following July, she performed and taught a masterclass in Athens and Syros, Greece, for the sixteenth Festival of the Aegean. In August, Azrieli toured five cities in South America with violinist Alexandre Da Costa and the Orchestre Symphonique de Longueuil. Concerts were held in Bogotá, Medellín, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.
In October 2022, she performed the world premier of Aharon Harlap's Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord, a suite of psalms set for voice and symphony orchestra at Maison Symphonique with the Orchestre Métropolitain under the direction of Alexandre Bloch.
In April 2023, Azrieli performed as Soprano with the Orchestre Classique de Montréal. She sang songs by Michel Legrand taken from her album, A Tribute to Michel Legrand, which was released in 2022. She played the role of Helen in the film Irena's Vow, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2023.
In October 2023, Sharon Azrieli performed the European premiere of 2022 Jewish Music laureate Aharon Harlap's Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord, for soprano and orchestra at Cadogan Hall.
In March 2024, Azrieli performed Aharon Harlap's Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord at Alice Tully Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, conducted by Steven Mercurio. It was the U.S. premiere of the works by the 2022 Azrieli Music Prizes winners.
In June 2024, Azrieli sang a selection of Jewish songs in different languages from various time periods in a recital honoring Jacob Israël de Haan in the Uilenburgersjoel in Amsterdam.
Also in June 2024, Azrieli performed at the Berlin Philharmonic alongside pianist Mikhail Shekhtman and cellist Arseniy Chubachin. She sang pieces by Tchaikovsky, Sol Zim and Bizet, in addition to a medley by Naomi Shemer.
On November 10, 2024, Azrieli performed with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Québec as part of the Violins of Hope concert. She sang Ladino songs and two songs by Quebecois composer Gilles Vigneault.
On February 14 and 16, 2025, Azrieli performed at Montreal's Maison Symphonique and the Grand Theatre de Quebec with Ensemble Caprice, under the direction of Matthias Maute.
In April 2025, Azrieli sang jazz standards at the Festival de la Voix Big Band, under the direction of Ron Di Lauro.
In May 2025, she sang excerpts from West Side Story and Candide at the Pierre-Mercure Hall with the Orchestre Classique de Montreal, conducted by Melanie Leonard.
In September 2025, she performed French 19th-century art songs accompanied by Meagan Milatz, piano, and Cameron Crozman, cello, for HausMusique: Cabaret in Montreal's Art Deco heritage venue, Le 9e Grande Salle.
Azrieli sang Mendelssohn Psalm 42 with the Israel Symphony Orchestra as part of the Hatikvah (Hope) concert series from October 21–28, 2025, during which eleven different orchestras performed across Israel in eight cities.
In February 2026, Azrieli sang with L'Orchestre symphonique de Laval conducted by Adam Johnson. Also in February, Azrieli starred in SHARON! Mostly Canadian, a musical revue directed and choreographed by Warren Carlye. The show was presented by OpéraM3F at Montreal's 9e Grande Salle.
Film Azrieli sang two songs on the soundtrack for the film SHEPHERD: The Story of a Jewish Dog, released in May 2021.
Azrieli sang the end credits title song of the Canadian film Stand!, which was released in December 2020.
In August 2020, Azrieli sang the song "Hurry! it's lovely up here" in the Hollywood film Stage Mother, starring Lucy Liu.
In 2021, Azrieli acted the role of Dina in the film Shttl. This film, about the destruction of a Jewish town during the Holocaust, was filmed in Ukraine prior to the 2022 Russian invasion. Set in 1941, it was filmed in black and white with flashbacks in colour, and performed in Yiddish.