Ylva Sofia Stenberg is a Swedish lyric coloratura soprano born and raised in Arvika, Sweden, and currently based in Weimar, Germany. From the 2019/20 season through the 2025/26 season, she was engaged as a principal soloist at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, where she performed a wide range of lyric and coloratura repertoire.
Opera Repertoire
During her time in Weimar, Ylva performed several major roles, including Violetta Valéry (La traviata), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), and Olympia (Les contes d’Hoffmann). She also portrayed Zerbinetta in a production of Ariadne auf Naxos directed by Martin Berger, which won the German theatre prize “Der Faust” for Best Staging in 2020. Her other roles with the company included the Queen of Schemacha in The Golden Cockerel, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Sophie in Werther, Euridice in Jacopo Peri’s Euridice, and Yvette in Weinberg’s Die Passagierin.
As a guest artist, Ylva has performed extensively as the Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte) at houses such as the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, Komische Oper Berlin, Oper Leipzig, Staatstheater Kassel, and Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. Her guest engagements also include Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Stadttheater Bremerhaven.
Concert and Contemporary Music
Alongside her work in opera houses, Ylva maintains an active schedule as a concert and oratorio singer. She has performed at venues including the Frauenkirche Dresden, the Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen, and the Gothenburg Symphony Hall. Notable concert performances include the soprano solo in Carmina Burana with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and the title role in Handel’s Acis and Galatea at the Confidencen Festival in Stockholm, which was broadcast by Swedish Television and Radio.
Ylva also works frequently with contemporary music. She has performed pieces by living composers including Aribert Reimann and Detlev Glanert, and is a member of the Equilibrium Young Artists mentorship program founded by Barbara Hannigan.
Background and Education
Ylva grew up in a musical family and began her training at age seven with violin lessons and children’s choir at her local municipal music school. She went on to study at Vadstena Folk High School and the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover (HMTMH).
After completing her degrees, she joined the opera studio at the Hannover State Opera, singing roles such as Papagena, Barbarina, and Giannetta, as well as several roles in contemporary repertoire. She has furthered her training in masterclasses with Helen Donath, Francisco Araiza, Hedwig Fassbänder, and Juliane Banse.
Awards and Scholarships
- First Prize – Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin (2018)
- Third Prize – ARD International Music Competition in Munich (2018)
- The Jenny Lind Scholarship – Resulting in a concert tour of North America (2017)
- Engagement Prize & Special Prize – Ottavio Ziino Competition in Rome (2021 and 2023)
