Described as a “world-class mezzo with scrupulous musicality and fine technique” (Opera Now), Monika-Evelin Liiv trained at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and the Lithuanian Music Academy, and is an alumna of the prestigious Royal Opera House Jette Parker Young Artist Programme.
Liiv made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Flora in La Traviata alongside Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. She has since established a prolonged relationship with the house, performing numerous roles including Mercédès (Carmen), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Second Maid (Elektra), Ines (Il Trovatore), Popova (The Bear), Grimgerde (Die Walküre in the Ring Cycle), and Die Kunstgewerblerin (Lulu—released on DVD by Opus Arte), as well as covering major roles such as Filipjevna (Eugene Onegin), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Mary (Der fliegende Holländer), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), Amneris (Aida), and the roles of Jocaste and Merope in Enescu’s Oedipe.
Her continuous work at Covent Garden has drawn consistent acclaim from major UK press; most recently, she delivered what critics called a "delightful comic turn" as Marthe Schwertlein in Sir David McVicar's production of Faust (London Unattached), and was hailed as a "formidable Emilia" (The Evening Standard) and a "forthright, outraged Emilia" (Opera Today) in Keith Warner's production of Otello. Her upcoming engagements at Covent Garden include performing La Badessa and covering Zia Principessa in Il trittico.
Winner of the Estonian Cultural Endowment Award and a two-time recipient of the Estonian Theatre Award for outstanding performance, her leading operatic milestones include Amneris (Aida), Polina (Pique Dame), Cornelia and the title role in Giulio Cesare, and the title role in Rinaldo at the Estonian National Opera. Her dynamic career spans major international houses, featuring performances as Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) and Polina (Pique Dame) with the Israeli Opera; Polina (Pique Dame), Voice from Above (Parsifal), and Serving Maid/Voice of an Unborn Child (Die Frau ohne Schatten) at the Finnish National Opera; as well as La Badessa (Suor Angelica) at the Edinburgh International Festival, Annina (Der Rosenkavalier), Eboli (Don Carlo), Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera), and Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana) for Opéra de Baugé.
A premier interpreter of the dramatic Verdi repertoire, she has performed the signature role of Azucena (Il Trovatore) to critical acclaim at the Royal Opera House, as well as in Estonia, Finland, and France. Other notable house debuts include performing Federica in Luisa Miller at the Latvian National Opera and Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. In the concert hall, she recently appeared at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival and the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.
Concert and symphonic performances have taken her across Italy, France, Canada, China, Finland, Estonia, Israel, Lithuania, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, and the USA. Her expansive repertoire spans Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Bruckner's Mass No. 1, Mozart’s Requiem, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, Respighi’s Il tramonto, De Falla’s Siete Canciones populares Españolas, Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Penderecki’s Dies Illa, Dvořák’s Requiem, Sibelius’ Kullervo Symphony, and Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky.
She has collaborated with internationally renowned conductors such as Sir Antonio Pappano, Daniel Oren, Sir Mark Elder, Carlo Rizzi, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Giacomo Sagripanti, Maurizio Benini, Olari Elts, Daniele Rustioni, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Julian Rachlin, Stefano Ranzani, Eri Klas, Andres Mustonen, and Mikko Franck, performing with top-tier ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, the London City Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Vaasa City Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia.
Standing among the world's elite vocalists, Liiv's upcoming engagements include joining the Metropolitan Opera in New York to cover the leading role of Amneris in Aida, alongside future performances as Erda (Das Rheingold) at Saaremaa Opera Days, and as La Badessa (Suor Angelica) and cover of Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.