Frankian, Alexa

Soprano
(Oakville, Ontario, Canada)

Hailed by Opera Canada as “abundantly talented” and praised for her “radiant, surging sense of purpose” (San Francisco Chronicle), Canadian soprano Alexa Frankian brings to the stage a rare fusion of youthful freshness and interpretive depth.

In 2024, Frankian joined the Merola Opera Program, debuting as a “simple, unaffected, and beautifully sung” Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème (San Francisco Classical Voice). Her performances drew acclaim for their emotional honesty and musical richness, including her “voluptuously rich Russian” in the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. Invited back for a second Merola season in 2025, she expanded her repertoire with excerpts as the title role from Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Alice Ford from Verdi’s Falstaff and Fidelia from Puccini’s Edgar.

As a Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia, Frankian has performed roles including Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Suzel in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz and Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte. She has distinguished herself on the competition stage as well, receiving Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Philadelphia and Buffalo-Toronto Districts) and as the youngest finalist and third-prize winner at the 2023 Mildred Miller International Voice Competition.

She has appeared in groundbreaking contemporary productions such as the North American premiere of the Yiddish opera Bas Sheve and the Dora-nominated world premiere of Alice Ho’s The Monkiest King.

A graduate of the University of Toronto (BMus) and the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory (Artist Diploma), Frankian performed Madame Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Older Woman in Dove’s Flight and Coach in Chan Ka Nin’s chamber opera Ice Time.