ABOUT

"Indyana Schneider’s imperiously cruel Jezebel created a vivid antagonist without sacrificing vocal beauty.” - OperaWire, 2025

​​​​​

Hailed as “outstanding” (The Guardian) and “a fabulous young mezzo, the voice full of crimson depth and character” (Opera Magazine), mezzo-soprano Indyana Schneider is building a reputation as a compelling presence on international opera and concert stages.

 

She recently completed two seasons at the International Opera Studio, Opernhaus Zürich, where her roles included: Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Marchesa Melibea (Il Viaggio a Reims), a lead role in the world premiere of Jonathan Dove’s In 80 Tagen um die Welt, and Femme Grecque (Iphigénie en Tauride). She also sang in contemporary operas: Jakob Lenz (Rihm) and Wir pfeifen auf den Gurkenkönig (Penderbayne) and covered Komponist, Stefano, Nicklause, and Page (Salome). Indyana completed her second season singing the Königin / Alt 2 in a dramatised production of Mendelssohn’s Elias directed by Andreas Homoki and conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, and then in concert with Cecilia Bartoli and Orchestra La Scintilla, conducted by Gianluca Capuano.

​

Further highlights include her Sydney Opera House debut singing Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte) and covering Christophe Dumaux as Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice); singing Zita opposite Sir Bryn Terfel’s Gianni Schicchi, conducted by Domingo Hindoyan with the Liverpool Philharmonic; her German debut at the Theater für Niedersachsen as Mércèdes in Carmen; singing a cashier in Neuwirth's Orlando at the Wiener Staatsoper as well as in the semichorus of Handel's Ariodante with Les Talens Lyrique and Christophe Rousset, and a tour singing Carmen in Carmen with Kent Chamber Opera. As an Alvarez Young Artist with Garsington Opera in 2023, she won the Helen Clarke Award covering the Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos.  

​

In 2026, Indyana won a grant from Create NSW to devise and perform Lip Service: An Opera Cabaret with Rosalind Dobson. She will sing Tisbe in State Opera South Australia’s Golden Jubilee production of La Cenerentola alongside Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Anna Dowsley, and Helena Dix, before returning to the UK to sing Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito with Buxton International Festival.

Alongside her operatic work, Indyana enjoys a varied career both on the concert stage and in the writing room. As the Bergos 2026 Artist in Residence, she is writing the libretto for and performing in a set of new songs by Cecilia Livingston. In Spring 2027, these will tour through Zurich, New York, and the UK. She has also published two novels with Scribner, Simon & Schuster. More information here.

​

Indyana also enjoys devising regular themed Liederabende in Zürich and looks forward to singing Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the Windsor & Maidenhead Symphony Orchestra. Other recent concert performances include: Zemlinsky’s Maiblumen blühten überall with members of the Zurich Philharmonia, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony Symphony in Borken for the 800 Jubiläums-Konzert with the Westfalen Philharmonie, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with Lisa May-Appenzeller in Zürich.

 

Indyana studied a Bachelor of Music at Magdalen College, Oxford University and a Master of Opera at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater, und Medien, Hannover. She has received awards from the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Foundation, the Walter und Charlotte Hamel Opernwettbewerb, and has sung in masterclasses with: Sir Antonio Pappano, Brigitte Fassbaender, Dame Emma Kirkby, Stephen Langridge, Katie Mitchell, Andreas Scholl, James Conlon, and Dame Ann Murray.

​​​​​​​

For a detailed CV and repertoire list, please contact Indyana.