Maria Teresa Leva was born in Reggio Calabria in 1987 and completed her singing studies in her home town at the Francesco Cilea Conservatory. In 2013 she won the Ottavio Ziino Singing Competition and was awarded the Jury Prize at the Città di Bologna competition. Since her 2014 highly acclaimed debut as Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, she has appeared in various roles at many opera houses, including Teatro Regio in Turin, Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, the Lombardian Theatres Circuit, Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Opéra Grand in Avignon, Teatro Liceo in Barcelona, Deutsche Oper in Berlin and Semperoper in Dresden, as well as in Tokyo and the Terme Caracalla Summer Festival in Rome. This is her first appearance with the Israel Philharmonic.