Julia Daramy-Williams

Born of African and Asian descent, British soprano Julia Daramy-Williams is a graduate of the Alexander Gibson Opera School of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), under the guidance of Stephen Robertson, Elizabeth McCormack and Kathleen McKellar Ferguson.

Following the completion of her Conservatoire training, Julia joined the Ensemble of Porgy and Bess formed by English National Opera (ENO) and in collaboration with Dutch National Opera. The critically acclaimed performances of Gershwin’s Opera won the Ensemble the South Bank Sky Arts Opera Award and an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera. Julia subsequently returned to ENO for the 2019/20 season as one of four inaugural BAME Chorus Fellows, performing not only in the operatic programme at the London Coliseum, but also at the BBC Proms with the choral forces of ENO and BBC Singers combined.

In recent operatic engagements, Julia gave her house debut as Strawberry Woman (Porgy and Bess) at Grange Park Opera. Previously, she has performed the roles of Young Woman (The Day After), Second Young Nun (The Fiery Angel) Fourth Maid (Elektra), Miss Austin (The Elephant Angel), Iseut (Le vin herbé) and Giunone (Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria).

As a keen interpreter of modern works, Julia notably created the role of Flopsy in Andrew Gant’s opera for children ” Tod! “, and gave the world première of The Flannan Isle , a work for soprano, brass ensemble and organ by celebrated trumpet player John Wallace. Most recently, Julia has collaborated with composer Shirley Thompson, performing songs from Women of the Windrush . Other notable concert engagements include Strauss’ Four Last Songs with Stirling Orchestra and Ravel’s Shéhérazade under the baton of Rory Macdonald with RCS Symphony Orchestra.

Julia is passionate about aligning herself with individuals and organisations that strive to give a platform to artists and narratives more reflective of our current society and in doing so, broadening the landscape of Opera. To this end, she is very grateful to be part of the team brought together by ENO, performing in one of a series of videos created by black artists in support of the BLM movement.