BIOGRAPHY
Spanish Soprano Júlia Arquillo has been lauded by the press for her “enchanting timbre and fluid coloratura”. She completed her Masters in Opera and an International Lied Program at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Finland). Arquillo's studies and career have been generously supported by Selim Eskelin (2021-2024) and Oopperan Kummit (2023-24). She was also chosen as one of the merit recipients of the Martin Wegelius Foundation (2024). Prior to SibA, the soprano graduated from Stockholm University College of Opera (Sweden) where she studied under Robert Hyman for her Maister in Opera Vocal Performance. She graduated with the highest honours from Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona (Spain), for her Bachelor of Vocal Music under the tutelage of Dolors Aldea.
Arquillo recently won second prize (ex-aequo) at the "Germans Pla - Ciutat de Balaguer" International Singing Competition, as well as the special award of performing a role for the "Fundació Òpera de Catalunya". She was also a finalist at the 16th Brescia International Competition (Italy). She has participated in competitions such as the Sibelius Lied Competition, the Helsinki Lied Competition, the Josep Palet - Martorell Competition, and the Compostela Lírica Singing Competition.
She will soon premiere, alongside saxophonist D. Campinho Fernandes, Y. Obata's "Shades of Night," a work they jointly commissioned from the Madetoja Foundation. Recently, soprano and baritone V. Vallinoja, together with the baroque group Oblica Ensemble, performed several shows of "By the Mercy of Gods," a semi-staged project featuring four cantatas by L.N. Clérambault, at HEMF (Helsinki Early Music Festival), Forum Box, and Joensuu. The singer has made her solo debut at the Vantaa Baroque Festival, in collaboration with the Oblica Ensemble at "The Night of the Arts", as well as at the Pellinge Musikdagar Chamber Music Festival.
Among her concerts, highlights include the oratorio Carmina Burana (C. Orff) and A Child of Our Time (M. Tippet) at the Helsinki Music Centre 's Big Hall, as soprano soloist under the baton of Riku Laurikka and Nils Schweckendiek , respectively. Also noteworthy is her debut in the oratorio Stabat Mater (GB Pergolesi) at the German Church in Helsinki under the baton of Mateusz Gwizdałła .
Her operatic roles include: Drusilla in L'incoronazione di Poppea (C. Monteverdi), Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (W. A. Mozart), Lucy in The Telephone (G.C. Menotti), Pamina in The The Magic Flute (W.A. Mozart), Gilda in Rigoletto (G. Verdi), Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica (G. Puccini), Lisetta in La Gazzetta (G. Rossini), 1st Fairy in A Midsummer’s Night Dream (F. Mendelssohn) and Despina in Cosí fan tutte (W. A. Mozart).
Arquillo has participated in master classes with distinguished artists including Karen Cargill, Ralf Gothoni, Graham Johnson, Topi Lehtipuu, Martin Katz, Peter Berne, Andreas Schmidt, Lisette Oropesa, Soile Isokoski, Fiorenza Cedolins, Maria Bayo, Celso Albelo and Dolora Zajik.
The soprano will be a member of the professional choir at the Antwerp Opera House during the 2025-26 season in Belgium, participating in the productions of SANCTA (P. Hindemith) and Nabucco (G. Verdi)). She was previously part of the professional choir at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland in 2024 and 2025, where she performed in productions of Macbeth (G. Verdi), Turandot (G. Puccini), Viimeiset Kiusaukset (L. Kokkonen) and Borís Godunóv (M. Mussorgsky); Don Giovanni (W. A. Mozart), Nabucco (G. Verdi) and Lohengrin (R. Wagner).
