The soprano Julia Kleiter, originally from Limburg, studied with William Workmann in Hamburg and Klesie Kelly-Moog in Cologne. She made her debut in 2004 at the Opéra Bastille in Paris as Pamina – a role she went on to perform in numerous productions over the years at leading houses such as Madrid, Zurich, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Munich, and the Salzburger Festspiele, under conductors including Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Marc Minkowski, Claudio Abbado, and Philippe Jordan.
She has built a wide-ranging opera and concert repertoire through collaborations with renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Ivor Bolton, René Jacobs, and Fabio Luisi. Recent highlights include her acclaimed performances as the Marschallin in "Der Rosenkavalier" in Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, and Baden-Baden; as Agathe in "Der Freischütz" and Rosalinde in "Die Fledermaus" at the Bavarian and Hamburg State Operas; and as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro at the Semperoper Dresden.
In the 2024/25 season, she was heard in Zemlinsky’s "Lyric Symphony" with the Staatskapelle Berlin, Mendelssohn’s "Elijah" at Zurich Opera (Andreas Homoki’s farewell production), and on a European tour with Brahms’ "German Requiem" with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Andris Nelsons.
In the 2025/26 season, she again joins the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Andris Nelsons for Brahms’ "German Requiem" in San Sebastián, Santander, and Paris. She also performs Strauss’ "Four Last Songs" in Barcelona, Sabadell, and Terrassa. She returns to the Berlin State Opera to make her role debut as Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, followed by her appearance as Donna Elvira in a new Don Giovanni in Munich. Further engagements include Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and his "Rückert-Lieder" in Granada, a recital in Stuttgart, and a Strauss Lieder tour with Christian Thielemann in Berlin, Munich, and Vienna. She reprises her celebrated Marschallin in "Der Rosenkavalier" in Berlin (with Thielemann) and in Baden-Baden with the SWR Symphony Orchestra under François-Xavier Roth.
Renowned for her song interpretation, she regularly appears at London’s Wigmore Hall, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg and Vilabertran, the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, and Heidelberger Frühling. Together with Christian Gerhaher, she has performed Hugo Wolf’s "Spanisches Liederbuch" in Heidelberg, London, Madrid, Salzburg, and Schloss Elmau. Most recently, the duo performed Schumann recitals in London, Hohenems, and at the Munich Opera Festival.
Her work is documented on numerous CDs and DVDs, including Liszt songs with Julius Drake and her contributions to Sony’s complete Schumann edition.