Sivan Eldar
The work of composer Sivan Eldar has been described as “resolutely of our time” (Opera Forum), “striking in its singularity and finesse” (ResMusica), "with a unique sensitivity to dramaturgy" (Diapason), “exceptionally expressive” (Bachtrack), “a form of trance” (Ôlyrix), “ethereal and transcendent” (Nieuwe Noten), “a contemporary gem” (Les Inrockuptibles), “Vividly imagined” (The Boston Globe), and “luxurious and rapturous” (SF Classical Voice).
Sivan’s music has been performed at many of today’s leading festivals and halls, including the Venice Biennale, Louvre Museum, Boston Symphony Hall, Théatre du Châtelet, Pompidou Centre (Festival ManiFeste), Maison de la Radio (Festival Présences), Luxembourg Philharmonic (Rainy Days Festival), Musikverein (Wien Modern), DiMenna Center (TIME:SPANS Festival), Ultraschall Festival, November Music Festival, Baerum Kulturhus, and the opera houses of Lille, Montpellier, Nancy and Marseille among others.
As a collaborator, she works frequently with writers, directors, dancers, and visual artists, and has held residencies through the Fulbright Foundation, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, MacDowell, Camargo Foundation, Villa Albertine, Cité Internationale des Arts, Royaumont Foundation, and Snape Maltings. Her sound installations have been presented at the MahN musuem in Neuchatel, MUSEC museum in Lugano, Brooklyn Public Library, Konfrontationen and Impuls Festivals in Austria, and Catherine Clark Gallery in San Francisco.
Sivan began her musical education at the age of 5, studying classical piano and voice. At the age of 15 she joined the experimental United World College in New Mexico, where she focused on music while also becoming involved in environmental and political work. She continued her studies in Boston at the New England Conservatory (BM), where she studied music composition, piano and ethnomusicology, alongside courses in gender studies and ethics. In 2009 she moved to California to pursue her PhD in composition at UC Berkeley with Franck Bedrossian, Edmund Campion, Cindy Cox and Myra Melford, with a diploma in new media studies at the Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT) and the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM). She then moved to Paris for training at the Institut de Recherche Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) under Hèctor Parra (Cursus 2016-17). Since 2018 she has been in residence at IRCAM, working primarily with computer music designer Augustin Muller and researcher Jean-Louis Giavitto.
In addition to her work as a composer, Sivan has served on the theory faculty of the Department of Music at UC Berkeley, and on the composition faculty of the John Adams Young Composers Program (2009-16), the IlSuono Academy (2023), BE Connect Academy (2024) and Voix Nouvelles Academy at Royaumont (2024). From 2019-22, she was composer-in-residence at Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier, where she led several international workshops for composers, writers and directors, including “Paroles et musique” with director Ted Huffman. Together with her longtime collaborator writer Cordelia Lynn she composed her first opera Like flesh, which won the 2021 Fedora Opera Prize. Together with collaboraots Ganavya Doraiswamy (vocalist, librettist), Lauren Groff (co-librettist) and Peter sellars (director), she composed her second opera The Nine Jewelled Deer, which premiered at the Festival d’Aix-on-Provence in 2025. She is currently at work on her third opera for Grande Théâtre de Genève. She is a 2022-23 Rome Prize winner (French Academy in Rome - Villa Medici), a 2023 New Musical Talent Award winner (SACD), a 2024 Opera America Discovery Grant winner, and a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France (2025). Her music is published by Durand-Universal Music Classical.
This September I began a three-year visiting artist-researcher position at IRCAM with Gerard Assayag’s Musical Representations team, under the direction of Jean-Louis Giavitto. I will be working on tools related to my upcoming project with the Philharmonie de Paris, a blended intensive program linking IRCAM with Oslo, Vienna and Paris conservatories, and a new opera for Grand Théâtre de Genève. I look forward to sharing more as each takes shape.
My electroacoustic work L'eau la colonne le fer (2023), in collaboration with poet Laura Vazquez, got a facelift this summer as I remixed it for IRCAM’s Espace de Projection in high-order ambisonics. It was then performed to a wide range of audiences: at the International conference on Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality (AES AVARIG), the Traversées du Marais Festival, and the European Heritage Days. It remains available for online binaural streaming on IRCAM’s Circus app.
Antiwords, my 2013 collaboration with Spitfire company, has travelled to Berlin, Osaka, Tokyo, Washington, New York, London, Beijing… and finally made it to Avignon Festival this summer for eight shows, where it received the Prix Lueur for best direction. The press called it “a gem of dark humor” (Un Fauteuil Pour l'Orchestre), “with a sense of rhythm and image that never falters” (M La Scene) and “a powerful physical and visual score” (Sceneweb).
Juries are always a good way to discover new, exciting composers, and this Spring I had the privilege of sitting on three of them: The inaugural Prix Pichon Comtesse at the Philharmonie de Paris (Festival Explore), the Camargo Foundation’s Residency Program, and the ICMC (International Computer Music Conference) in Hamburg. Congratulations to all the winning artists!
Alongside my professorship in Oslo, I continued my international teaching and mentorship activity this Spring, as a visiting artist in the composition department at Cambridge University, and as a mentor in the Adami Jazz program. A special congratulations to composer-guitarist Paul Jarret, with whom I got to work over several months through the Adami program, for receiving this year’s scholarship!
The year opened on a strong note, with the book-CD of Like Flesh being selected as one of the top five albums of 2025 by Le Monde, and as the Critics’ Choice Award from the Académie Charles Cros. Another highlight was the revival of A Woman Spilled in Basel under the baton of Elena Schwarz with the Basel Sinfonietta.
December was busy with presentations on my musical research: a three-day residency at the New Musical Aesthetics conference at the Conservatorio Alessandro Scarlatti, alongside composer Vito Zuraj and musicologist Gianluigi Mattietti, and the three-day Improtech conference at IRCAM, where I spoke about composition and improvisation in contemporary opera with researcher Jean-Louis Giavitto and RIM Augustin Muller. You can learn more here.
A new production of Like Flesh premiered last month at Interfinity Festival. Staged by Dominique Pitoiset with original video design by Luca Scarzella, this production highlighted the scientific research that went into the writing of the libretto, created for this occasion in collaboration with biologists, botanists, environmental scientists, and urban ecologists at ETH Zurich, University of Basel, and NCCR Microbiomes. The press called it “subtle, refined, compelling… a forest brought to life!” (zbb Basel). Watch a feature on Telebasel here.
I am thrilled to announce that this Fall I joined the faculty of the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo as Professor of Music Composition, where I am mentoring students in the bachelors, masters, and PhD programs. More info about the program here.
Last month I was in Salzburg working with Peter Sellars and Cordelia Lynn. Our new opera together is now officially under way! A big thank you to Grand Théâtre de Genève for supporting us, where the opera will premiere in November 2028.
After three intense years of work, The Nine Jewelled Deer was born last month at LUMA Arles, then travelled to Théâtre du Jeu de Paume as part of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The press are calling it “Deeply affecting” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), “refined and cathartic” (Opera Wire), “mysterious and spellbinding…. Goes straight to the heart” (Le Monde), “Intense and enriching… a mastermind collaborative project” (Opera Today), “moving, immersive” (backtrack), “breathtaking” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), “Pure enchantment” (d'Lëtzebuerger Land), “A rare and powerful convergence of music, myth, and visual art” (Hube). See HERE for more reviews, videos and photos.
The book-CD of Like Flesh is out, and so are the reviews. Chosen as Album of the Week by Le Monde, Pierre Gervasoni writes: “Like Flesh is an opera of contemporary resonance without equivalent since the beginning of the 21st century”. The book (EN/FR) features newly-commissioned articles and interviews, the full libretto, and a newly mixed surround sound recording. It is available for purchase here, and on all streaming platforms. Check out this trailer and interview for more info.
Next month, The Nine Jewelled Deer will have its world premiere at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. I invite you to read some of the articles in Le Monde, The New York Times, Opéra Magazine, and Beaux Arts Magazine about the inspiration for the opera, the work-process, and more.
I’m very glad to be joining the composition roster of Karsten Witt Music Management. More info here.
I’m honored to have been awarded the 2025 insignia of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French ministry of Culture.
Streaming of the film version of Like Flesh on medici.tv, directed by David Daurier for Camera Lucida Productions. Free streaming available here until July 21, 2022. On-demand streaming for subscribers available until July 22, 2027.
Two days of lectures and masterclasses to composition students at the Kunst Universität Graz (KUG). Hosted by professor Annesley Black.
Performance of l’eau la colonne le fer, in a new high order ambisonics mix, at the 2026 European Heritage Days. The work will be performed at IRCAM’s Espace de Projection throughout the evening, alternating with a work by Sébastien Gaxie. More info here.
Performance of l’eau la colonne le fer, in a new high order ambisonics mix, at the 2026 Les Traversées du Marais Festival. The work will be performed at IRCAM’s Espace de Projection throughout the evening, alternating with a work by Sébastien Gaxie. More info here.
Performance of the physical theatre Antiwords by Spitfire Company, for which I composed the music. Tickets available here.
Performance of the physical theatre Antiwords by Spitfire Company, for which I composed the music. Tickets available here.
Performance of the physical theatre Antiwords by Spitfire Company, for which I composed the music. Tickets available here.
Performance of the physical theatre Antiwords by Spitfire Company, for which I composed the music. Tickets available here.
Performance of the physical theatre Antiwords by Spitfire Company, for which I composed the music. Tickets available here.
Performance of the physical theatre Antiwords by Spitfire Company, for which I composed the music. Tickets available here.
Performance of the physical theatre Antiwords by Spitfire Company, for which I composed the music. Tickets available here.
Performance of the physical theatre Antiwords by Spitfire Company, for which I composed the music. Tickets available here.
Sivan Eldar is published and represented by Editions Durand / Universal Music Publishing Group and Karsten Witt Music Management. For enquiries about score hire, please contact Durand. For enquiries about commissions and other professional engagements please contact Karsten Witt.
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