Soprano Elles Venhuizen (2000) graduated in 2025 with distinction (9.5) from the Master of Music programme at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she studied with Selma Harkink and received coaching from Roberta Alexander, Ira Siff, and Alexander Oliver.

​

Recent highlights include her performances of Le Rossignol and Le Feu in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges under the direction of conductor Ed Spanjaard; her debut as Zerbinetta in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos in Berlin; touring with Dutch National Opera as part of the ensemble in Dido and Aeneas; her role as Bibi in Ellen Reid’s p r i s m at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam; her portrayal of Despina (Così fan tutte) with Opera Cherubino Amsterdam; and her performances as Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) with Opera aan Zee during the summers of 2024 and 2025. In 2025, she won the Critics’ Prize at the Niccolò van Westerhout Competition in Italy, followed in 2026 by the Miluška Duffková Prize for promising young talent in Amsterdam. That same year, she will perform the role of Amina in Bellini’s La Sonnambula (Bossche Opera) and Lady Harriet in von Flotow’s Martha (WOK Music Theatre). Elles currently sings as a project singer with the chorus of Dutch National Opera.

​

Prior to her master’s studies, Elles graduated from the ArtEZ Conservatorium in Zwolle, where she studied with Claudia Patacca and received the highest final assessment, Outstanding. Her graduation project—Mozart’s Don Giovanni, coached by soprano Lenneke Ruiten—marked her transition into an operatic career. During her bachelor’s degree, she spent a semester in Italy, performing in Rome and L’Aquila and preparing the role of Donna Anna. She also portrayed Marie in Berg’s Wozzeck at the Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, sang in Handel’s Giulio Cesare with the Nederlandse Reisopera, and performed numerous solo roles in oratorios, including Mozart’s Great mass in C minor, Orffs Carmina Burana, and Bach’s St Matthew Passion. In 2021, she won the Northern Audience Prize at the Princess Christina Competition.

​

In the field of art song, Elles has been collaborating since 2026 with pianist Katie Yao Morgan. Together, they present recital programmes with a focus on songs by female composers.

​

Elles is fluent in Dutch, English, and German, and has a B1 level of Italian.