Lieder Alive! presents
Olivier Zerouali, baritone
Ji Youn Lee, piano
A program of Schubert, Strauss, and Fauré
Olivier Zerouali, a current Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera, where he was featured soloist on their recent chamber music recital. He will also make his debut with LIEDER ALIVE! Zerouali completed his undergraduate studies at SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Music, is currently completing his master’s degree at Yale University, and has received training with the Merola Opera Program, Glimmerglass Festival, Young Artists Vocal Academy of Houston Grand Opera, Highlands Opera Studio, and Berlin Opera Academy.
First-year Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera, Ji Youn Lee, also making her debut with LIEDER ALIVE!, is an accomplished pianist who recently completed her Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano at The Juilliard School. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the New England Conservatory (NEC), graduating with honors in 2020. While at NEC, she was awarded first place in the Concerto Competition and performed with the New England Conservatory Symphony at Jordan Hall.
Praised by Bachtrack for his “warm, rounded baritone voice” and by San Francisco Classical Voice for his “scene-stealing charisma,” Olivier Zerouali is emerging as a compelling performer, earning recognition for his artistry across both traditional and contemporary repertoire. In the 2026–27 season, Zerouali will continue as a member of the Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera. During the season, he will perform the roles of Morton in Mary, Queen of Scots and Innkeeper in Manon, while also covering the role of Pietro in Simon Boccanegra.
During the 2025–26 season, his first as an Adler Fellow, Zerouali made both his house and role debut as the 2nd Trojan Man in Idomeneo. He also covered the role of Schaunard in La bohème and performed Marullo in Rigoletto, the Motorcycle Cop in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, and Schaunard in San Francisco Opera’s touring production of Bohème Out of the Box. Additionally, he appeared as Fiorello and covered the title role of Figaro in The Barber of Seville.
In 2024, Zerouali joined the renowned Merola Opera Program, where he appeared as a featured soloist in the recital The Song as Drama, sang Silvio in the passionate love duet from Pagliacci, covered Masetto in Don Giovanni, and performed as Malatesta in a scene from Don Pasquale in the Merola Grand Finale. The previous summer, he made his Glimmerglass Festival debut as the spirited Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, earning recognition for his vibrant artistry.
On the operatic stage, Zerouali has performed a diverse repertoire of roles, including Slook in Rossini’s Il cambiale di matrimonio and Robert in Iolanta with Yale Opera Theatre, as well as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Pandolfe in Cendrillon, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, and Zaretsky/Captain in Eugene Onegin. A passionate advocate for new music, he has also collaborated with Highlands Opera Studio on world-premiere workshops of Olivia Shortt’s The Museum of the Lost and Found and Ashley Au’s Inertia.
An accomplished recital artist, Zerouali has appeared in a wide range of recital and chamber music performances. His credits include Rising Stars of Opera, a recital featuring celebrated operatic arias with full orchestral accompaniment by the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra; Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch, a collection of 46 German songs set to texts adapted from the poetry of Paul Heyse; Still Life, After Life chamber music performances with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra; Mercury Soul at the Asian Art Museum; and the Schwabacher Debut Recital. He will also perform in the Autumn Opening Concert of the Fifteenth Annual Liederabend Series during the 2026–27 season.
Gaining recognition from prominent organizations, Zerouali was named the San Francisco District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2026. In 2025, he won the Schwabacher Recital Competition through the Merola Opera Program. Zerouali earned a Bachelor of Music from Purchase College and a Master of Music from Yale University. His training includes participation in Merola Opera Program, Glimmerglass Festival, Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists Vocal Academy, Highlands Opera Studio, and Berlin Opera Academy.
Adler Fellow Ji Youn Lee is an accomplished pianist who recently completed her Master’s of Music in Collaborative Piano at The Juilliard School. She earned a Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance from the New England Conservatory (NEC), graduating with honors in 2020. While at NEC, she was awarded first place in the Concerto Competition and performed with the New England Conservatory Symphony at Jordan Hall. She was on the San Francisco Opera music staff for Simon Boccanegra, Elektra, La bohème, Dead Man Walking and Bohème Out of the Box. Lee has previously collaborated with the Brockton Symphony, the Broad Street Orchestra and the Hawaii Symphony. Other notable achievements include prizes from the Duo Competition at the Music Academy of the West,the Ke’alohi International Piano Competition and the Jacob Flier International Piano Competition.
