Ilona Domnich is a London-based bel canto and lyric-dramatic soprano, recognised for her vocal warmth, musical intelligence, dramatic truth and agility. Born in St Petersburg, raised in Israel and based in London since 2000, she brings a commanding artistic depth to Donizetti, Verdi, and Puccini. She has also had great success in French, Russian and Slavic repertoire, Mozart and Richard Strauss.
Her singing combines full lyric-dramatic colour with bel canto flexibility and an instinctive sense of theatre. Opera Now described her voice as “silken beauty with a luminous edge to the tone”, and praised her as “a sensitive musician and an actress of magnetic presence”.
Ilona first came to wider attention in the UK in English Touring Opera’s The Tales of Hoffmann, singing all four heroines. She has since appeared with English National Opera, Grange Park Opera, Buxton Opera Festival and ETO, with roles and repertoire across Offenbach, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky and Poulenc.
Her recent Tosca drew strong praise from Classic Toulouse, which described her as “a real revelation”, with “admirably mastered musicality” and “incredible power against Scarpia”. Of her interpretation of Poulenc’s Elle, Michael White wrote in Opera Now: “I’ve seen a lot of La Voix Humaines but this was the first to leave me on the edge of tears. It was superb.”
In concert, Ilona has appeared regularly at all the major London venues and internationally in Paris, Rome, St Petersburg, Jerusalem, Dubai, Menton, Trasimeno, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Beirut. She has worked with orchestras including the Philharmonia, RPO, Hallé, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Orchestra of St John’s. Chamber collaborators include Angela Hewitt, Alexander Melnikov, Maxim Vengerov and the Gould Piano Trio.
With conductor Martin Yates, Ilona has performed and recorded for Dutton Vocalion with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and RSNO, including works by Vaughan Williams, Bliss and Holst. Her discography also includes her opera recital disc Surrender with baritone Leo Nucci for Signum Classics, songs by Michael Csanyi-Wills for Toccata Classics and Deux-Elles, Fauré for OSJ Alive, Shostakovich chamber works for FHR, “Le Secret: Love Songs and Arias” for Quartz, and Timothy Hamilton’s Requiem for Naxos.
Ilona studied at the Royal College of Music as a Wingate Scholar after being invited by Vera Rózsa to study there with her. She worked extensively with Montserrat Caballé in Barcelona and is currently working with Tony Manoli in New York.
Alongside her performing career, Ilona is the founder of Music by Jack’s Lake, a North London festival now in its sixth year, bringing classical music to diverse audiences in an intimate outdoor setting.
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