Mini-Bio
Léontine Maridat-Zimmerlin is a 26-year-old French mezzo-soprano, already noted for the momentum of her career and the distinctive personality of her voice. Winner of the 2025 Nadia and Lili Boulanger International Voice-Piano Competition with pianist Ayano Kamei, she stands out for her keen sense of text and vocal colors, which shine as much in recital as on the opera stage.
Trained first at the Conservatoire National de Lyon (Bachelor's degree) and then at the Conservatoire National de Paris (Master's degree), she has already portrayed striking roles such as Diane (Iphigénie en Tauride), Oreste (La Belle Hélène) and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro).
Passionate about art song and chamber music, Léontine has received several competition awards (Gordes, Georges Enesco, Raymond Duffaut, Duo Prize in Clermont-Ferrand) and performs regularly in recital in France and internationally. In 2026, she will notably sing Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Mercédès (Carmen) at the Capitole de Toulouse. A member of the Académie Favart of the Opéra-Comique and the Académie Jaroussky, she is part of Génération Opéra 2025–2026 and an ADAMI Artist 2025.
Full Biography
2025 laureate of the International Nadia and Lili Boulanger Song-Piano Competition with the pianist Ayano Kamei, Léontine Maridat-Zimmerlin is a 26-year-old French mezzo-soprano; she is represented by the Do Opéra agency. After eleven years with the Maîtrise de Paris, she obtained in 2021 a bachelor’s degree in musicology from the Sorbonne. The same year, she joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon to study with Sophie Marin-Degor, Hélène Lucas and Nobuyoshi Shima. In 2023 she earned a DNSPM with highest honours and continued her training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris.
Passionate about art song, she stood out in 2022 at the
International Art Song Competition of
Gordes, where she won three prizes. In 2023 she was honoured at the
Georges Enesco Competition in
Paris, receiving the Génération Opéra Prize, the Grand Prize for Contemporary Music, and an invitation to the Young Lyric Ambassadors Gala in Montreal. She also received the French Repertoire Prize at the
Jeunes Espoirs Opéra Raymond Duffaut Competition.
During her studies, Léontine had the opportunity to perform several roles in
conservatory productions: notably Oreste in La Belle Hélène and the Second Lady in The Magic Flute, at the CNSMDL, both staged by
Bernard Rozet.
In 2025 she sang Cherubino in a CNSMDP production directed by
Mariame Clément,
co-produced with the Philharmonie de Paris. That same year she also appeared in three roles: La Candeur, Hippocratine and La Notaire in L’Île de Merlin ou Le monde renversé by Christoph Willibald Gluck, staged by
Myriam Marzouki at the Opéra-Comique. Her dedication to opera is strengthened by the mentorship of Clémentine Margaine, through the Fonds Tutti programme, and by numerous masterclasses, notably with
Karine Deshayes
at Boissettes-en-Scène.
Deeply committed to the chamber music repertoire, she performs in 2025 at the Amphitheatre of the
Seville Opera
in a recital of English art songs alongside Carmen Martinez-Pierret (piano) and
Israel Fausto-Martinez (cello).
Over the summer, together with pianist Louis Dechambre,
she wins the Duo Prize at the Clermont-Ferrand International Competition.
For the 2024–2025 season, Léontine joined the Académie Favart of the Opéra-Comique
under the artistic direction of
Louis Langrée and
Mathieu Pordoy. She completed
her Master 2 with unanimous highest honours at the
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris with
Frédéric Gindraux.
The coming season marks several important debuts: she will portray Diane in Iphigénie en Tauride at the
Opéra-Comique, Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette at the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Mercedes in Carmen at the
Capitole de Toulouse.
She has also been selected
for the new 2025–2026 cohort of Génération Opéra, has been announced an
Adami Artist 2025, and will join the
Académie Jaroussky in September 2025.
Léontine is supported by the SIAA Foundation.
