Anna Leese

Dr Anna Leese has had an extensive and diverse international performing, recording and teaching career.

Anna has performed many lead roles at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Classical Opera Company, Opera Köln, Vlaamse Opera, Opera Holland Park, the Canadian Opera Company; and with New Zealand Opera. Concert engagement highlights include Mahler's Symphony No.2 with Bernard Haitink; BBC Proms with Sir Roger Norrington; and Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony with the Malaysian Philharmonic. Anna has performed on numerous occasions alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as well as Andrea Bocelli, and has toured the UK, Asia and New Zealand with Jose Carreras.

Anna appears regularly with all the main orchestras in NZ and Australia. As part of her recently earned doctoral qualification, Anna co-composed (with Kenneth Young) and starred in the operatic film 'Stranger than Angels', which was featured in the 2024 NZ Film festival as well as in several European film festivals.

A sought after voice teacher throughout New Zealand, Anna has held teaching fellowships at both the Universities of Otago and Waikato, the latter being where she currently supervises doctoral students majoring in classical voice.