Lithuanian soprano Aistė Piliba graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2015 with a Master’s degree. During her studies, she took part in an Erasmus exchange program at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. Upon returning to Lithuania to complete her studies, she immediately joined the Academy’s internship program.
In 2016, Aistė received the Opera Hope of the Year award for her performances as Musetta in La bohème and Frasquita in Carmen. Two years later, she was honored with the Lithuanian Opera Award for Best Opera Soloist of the Year (2018) for her portrayals of Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Ilia in Idomeneo.
Her recent roles include Micaëla (Carmen), Mimì (La bohème), Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Ilia (Idomeneo), and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro). In 2024, she made her international opera debut as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin at the Finnish National Opera. That same year, she appeared as Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the LNOBT Open Festival in Lithuania.
Aistė has also performed in operettas, taking the roles of Valencienne (The Merry Widow) and Pepi Pleininger (Wiener Blut). She appeared in Raminta Šerkšnytė’s children’s opera The Five Wonders of Mary as Mrs. Ben, and in Rita Mačiliūnaitė’s ballet-opera Forever and a Day as the Muse. With Vilnius City Opera, she has performed Musetta and Mimì (La bohème), Nedda (Pagliacci), and Micaëla in Bizet/Adomaitis’ electronic opera Carmen.
Her talent has been recognized both in Lithuania and abroad. In 2013, while still a student, she was selected among the 19 semifinalists of the Neue Stimmen competition in Germany. She later became a finalist and won the Audience Prize at the Antonín Dvořák Singing Competition, as well as the Grand Prix at the competition-festival Le Strade d’Europa.
Beyond opera, Aistė regularly performs across Lithuania in recitals and concerts with pianists, instrumental ensembles, and leading orchestras, including the Saint Christopher Chamber Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Vilnius State Quartet, the M.K. Čiurlionis Quartet, and the Musica Humana Chamber Ensemble, performing chamber and sacred music.
In 2023, she was awarded the Golden Disc Laureate by the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union.
