A Voice for Stories

Dutch coloratura soprano Channa Malkin combines virtuosic coloratura with emotional honesty and compelling storytelling. Her career spans opera, concert and recital, complemented by self-created artistic projects and artistic leadership.

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Opera Feats

Following her operatic debut at the age of sixteen as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro at Dutch National Opera, Channa's operatic appearances have included the title role in Handel's Acis and Galatea in Málaga, recent performances with the Nederlandse Reisopera as Papagena and in multiple roles in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen, as well as Despina (Così fan tutte), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Poppea in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea at Rotterdam Opera Days, and the Second Niece in Britten's Peter Grimes.

International Concert Artist

She has appeared with ensembles and orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Holland Baroque and the Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra. Recent appearances at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam include Mozart's Mass in C minor and a self-curated recital. She has collaborated with conductors including Mariss Jansons, Ingo Metzmacher, Joshua Rifkin, Andrew Parrott, Alexander Weimann and Mike Fentross. Her performances have taken her throughout Europe, as well as to Turkey, Israel and the United States, in programmes ranging from Bach and Handel to Rossini, zarzuela and contemporary music.

Recording Artist

In 2025, Channa released her third solo album, FURY / MERCY, on Challenge Classics, featuring Vivaldi arias with La Sfera Armoniosa under the direction of Mike Fentross. The album received widespread acclaim, including a five-star review in NRC, and the programme is touring throughout the Netherlands during the 2026/27 season.
Channa also has a long-standing recital partnership with guitarist Izhar Elias, with whom she has performed across Europe for over a decade. Their anniversary programme ¡Fiesta! celebrates ten years of musical collaboration, while their album Songs of Love and Exile explores Sephardic songs.
Her album This Is Not a Lullaby, an honest musical portrait of motherhood through works by Weinberg, John Tavener and Josef Malkin, was created with pianist Artem Belogurov and cellist Maya Fridman.

Thinking the future of early music

Alongside her performing career, Channa develops original artistic projects that combine music, theatre and storytelling. She co-created the internationally touring multimedia production Handel goes Tinder with violinist Anastasia Kozlova and writer-director Michael Diederich, which has been performed more than fifty times, including at the Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen.
Since 2026, Channa has served as Artistic Director of Musica Antica Den Haag, where she is responsible for the artistic vision and programming of one of the Netherlands' leading early music concert organizations.

In her own words

What drives Channa, what makes her tick, and what does she get up to when she’s not on stage? A few things, in her own words.

Read the Interview

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"It is the affect—not the effect—that grips you by the throat. Through the soprano and ensemble's profound commitment and their unaffected yet highly expressive rhetoric, a wide range of emotions is brought to life with rare poignancy."

OpusKlassiek — Fury / Mercy

"Channa Malkin has created a beautiful album with a thoughtful, intelligent programme. Her approach is deeply felt, and her voice sounds youthful and fresh."

OpusKlassiek — This Is Not a Lullaby

"Listening to Channa Malkin's clear, flowing voice is a true pleasure, but her new album is much more than an aesthetic experience."

de Volkskrant ★★★★ — Songs of Love and Exile

"An extraordinary album. Her voice is beautiful: youthful in timbre, mature in interpretation. Her storytelling is compelling."

de Volkskrant ★★★★ — Songs of Love and Exile

"The melody is comforting and sung with persuasive suggestiveness by Malkin, subtle use of vibrato and colour creating an enticing embrace."

Opera Today — This Is Not a Lullaby

"Malkin's soprano is pure and smooth but full of feeling."

Opera Today — This Is Not a Lullaby

"Neither registral extreme troubles Malkin, who sings with impressive focus. [...] Malkin's registral range and sheer power and presence are stunning."

Opera Today — This Is Not a Lullaby

"She makes the drama profoundly tangible."

Theaterkrant — Non muore mai

"Her melancholic timbre is perfectly suited to Respighi's music and the story. Alongside her flawlessly pure vocal performance, Malkin also proves herself to be a gifted actress."

Theaterkrant — Non muore mai

"Among the soloists, Channa Malkin stood out for her musicality, vocal artistry and phrasing, captivating the audience from beginning to end, particularly through her agility and ornamentation in the freer passages of her arias."

La Opinión de Málaga — Acis & Galatea

"De Nederlandse sopraan Channa Malkin voegt zich navenant in deze kolkende muziek met een verbazingwekkende coloratuurtechniek. Malkin is ook niet te beroerd om haar borststem aan te spreken voor maximaal theatraal effect."

Trouw ★★★★ — Fury / Mercy

"The flexible voice of Channa Malkin moves radiantly and freely through the notes, with emotional accents. Beyond the thematic content, naturalness is the guiding principle, both in the voice and in the use of instruments. A lively energy resonates in every note, every phrase, every sound—rhetorically natural and full of beauty."

Fanfare Magazine — Fury / Mercy

"It is always about the authenticity of emotion rather than polishing the sound. That is what makes this album so compelling: something genuinely meaningful is at stake."

NRC ★★★★★ — Fury / Mercy