British Mezzo-Soprano Lydia Shariff captivates audiences with her commanding vocal presence and luxurious tone, earning acclaim as a versatile performer of opera, art song, and jazz.
 
A recent graduate of the Opera School at London’s prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she has honed her craft through intensive training with leading institutions, including The Glyndebourne Academy and British Youth Opera, and has collaborated with eminent professionals including Sir Thomas Allen, Susan Bullock CBE, Roderick Williams OBE, and Eva-Maria Westbroek in high-profile masterclasses.
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Lydia was named a 2024 Wagner Prize Nominee at the IVC s’Hertogenbosch Competition in the Netherlands and has been distinguished as a Britten Pears Young Artist (2023) and Serena Fenwick Artist with British Youth Opera. Her studies have been generously supported by the Sybil Tutton Award from Help Musicians and a bursary from the International Opera Awards Foundation.
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Past operatic roles include: Juno Agrippina (Hampstead Garden Opera), First Norn Götterdämmerung (Longborough Festival Opera - Cover), Mrs Herring Albert Herring (Clonter Opera Company), Mrs Peachum The Beggar’s Opera. In opera scenes at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Lydia has performed the following roles: Baba the Turk The Rake’s Progress, Carmen Carmen, Lucretia The Rape of Lucretia, Federica Luisa Miller, Madame de Croissy Dialogues des Carmélites, Ursule Béatrice et Bénédict, Madame de la Haltière Cendrillon, Third Lady The Magic Flute. 

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The upcoming season will see Lydia performing contemporary opera in the Paris Lido Theatre, Bach in s’Hertogenbosch (NL), Purcell with Longborough Festival Opera, and multiple concert performances including the Verdi and Mozart Requiems. 

With a voice described as both powerful and nuanced, she continues to establish herself as a rising star in the operatic world.