Australian mezzo-soprano Xenia Puskarz Thomas has rapidly established herself as one of the most exciting young artists of her generation. Following her acclaimed performances as Aglaja in Krzysztof Warlikowski’s production of Weinberg’s Der Idiot at the 2024 Salzburg Festival, conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, The New York Times named her one of its “Top Five Breakout Artists of the Festival.”

A recent graduate of the Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio, she spent two seasons working with some of opera’s leading conductors, including Vladimir Jurowski, Daniele Rustioni and Henrik Nánási. During her tenure in Munich, she performed a wide range of roles, among them Lucienne (Die tote Stadt), Krystina (Die Passagierin), Dachshund/Woodpecker (The Cunning Little Vixen) in Barrie Kosky’s celebrated production, Flora (La Traviata), and Mercédès (Carmen). At the Cuvilliés-Theater, her portrayal of Saiko in Thomas Larcher’s Das Jagdgewehr earned unanimous critical praise.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include a number of significant international debuts. She appears as The Woman in George Benjamin’s Picture a Day Like This at Teatro San Carlo under the baton of Corinna Niemeyer, and as La Messaggera in William Kentridge’s new production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Glyndebourne Festival, conducted by Jonathan Cohen. Her concert engagements include Michael Haydn’s Requiem with the Münchner Philharmoniker and Riccardo Minasi, Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Raphaël Pichon, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.

A dedicated interpreter of early music, Puskarz Thomas enjoys an ongoing collaboration with the New York-based ensemble Twelfth Night. Recent appearances include performances at Early Music Seattle, festivals across Arizona, and the Caramoor Festival in Handel’s Aminta e Fillide, as well as the ensemble’s curated programme Elemental at Carnegie Hall. While studying at The Juilliard School, she performed the title role in Luigi Rossi’s Orfeo, a work she revisited this season as part of Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion’s residency at the Adelaide Festival.

Puskarz Thomas holds degrees from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University and The Juilliard School, where she studied with Edith Wiens as a Kovner Fellow. Her accolades include the Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship, the Tinkler Encouragement Award, and a Melba Opera Trust Scholarship. In 2021, she was a Young Artist with Opera Queensland.