Elīna Garanča

“Only a handful [of singers] possess vocal beauty, technical mastery, and comprehensive musicality alongside that indefinable magic called charisma or star quality – but among this crème de la crème… Elīna Garanča undoubtedly holds a special place.” The Daily Telegraph Elīna Garanča, born into a musical family in the Latvian capital Riga, began her studies at the Latvian Academy of Music at the age of 20 and was soon on her way to becoming one of the world's most significant mezzo-sopranos. The very beginning of her career set decisive precedents: While still a student in 1998, she sang the role of Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti's “Anna Bolena” after only ten days of preparation, discovering a deep affinity for the bel canto repertoire, with which she has since shone in countless performances. After graduating, she was engaged at the Staatstheater Meiningen in Germany, was part of the ensemble of the Frankfurt Opera, sang at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, was a finalist in BBC’s Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, and won the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition in Finland. She solidified her early career with appearances at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Rossini Festival of the Helsinki Opera, in Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Lucerne, and Graz, and in 2003 she made a guest appearance with Deutsche Grammophon, when she was heard with Anna Netrebko in a scene and cavatina from “Lucia di Lammermoor” on Netrebko's debut album Opera Arias. Her extraordinary talent led to an exclusive contract with the yellow label in 2005. Her first solo recording, “Aria Cantilena,” was released in 2007 to great acclaim and earned Garanča an Echo Award for “Singer of the Year.” This was followed in 2009 by the album “Bel Canto,” which also received an Echo Award and a BBC Music Magazine Award. “Habanera” was released in 2010, “Romantique” in 2012, and “Meditation” in 2014, with the latter two albums again receiving an Echo Award. In 2016, she released “Revive,” a very personal selection of pieces (including works by Verdi, Massenet, Cilea, Saint-Saëns, and Berlioz). The album coincided with the development of her voice, which allowed her to conquer new, challenging repertoire. Garanča also participated in many opera recordings, including Carmen, Anna Bolena, La Cenerentola, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and most recently La Favorite, which was recorded live at the Bavarian State Opera. In May 2019, she released “Sol y vida,” her first album whose pieces are not part of the classical core repertoire. Accompanied by the Orquesta Filarmónica Gran Canaria and Karel Mark Chichon, she sings popular songs from Italy, Spain, and Latin America, including those more commonly associated with tenors, such as “Core ‘ngrato” and “Turna a Surriento,” as well as two brilliant numbers from the Latin American repertoire, where guitarist José María Gallardo del Rey accompanies her: “Gracias a la vida” and Piazzolla’s “Yo soy María.” For the album, Garanča received the Opus Klassik 2020 in the “Singer of the Year” category. In November 2020, her first solo recital album was released, featuring Schumann's song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben and a selection of Brahms songs. Garanča is accompanied by pianist Malcolm Martineau, with whom she has given recitals all over the world. Her early stage successes include Annio and Sesto in “La clemenza di Tito,” Charlotte in “Werther,” Dorabella in “Così fan tutte,” and Rosina in “Il barbiere di Siviglia.” In 2007, she first appeared at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the following year she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2009, she returned to the Royal Opera House in the title role of Bizet's “Carmen” and then starred in a new production of the work at the Metropolitan Opera, which was broadcast worldwide in over 1000 cinemas. As “Singer of the Year” 2010, she was honored at the MIDEM Classical Award and by Musical America. In 2013, she received the title of “Kammersängerin” of the Vienna State Opera as one of the youngest artists ever – in recognition of the 140 performances in 18 roles she had sung since her house debut in 2003. In March 2016, she made her successful role debut as Sara, Duchess of Nottingham, in the Met's first production of Donizetti's “Roberto Devereux,” and in October of that year, she made her highly anticipated first appearance as Léonor de Guzman in the Bavarian State Opera's first production of Donizetti's “La Favorite” (she had previously sung the role in concert at the Salzburg Festival in 2014). In the 2016/17 season, she also sang her first dramatic verismo role – Santuzza in “Cavalleria rusticana” at the Paris Opéra – and her final performances as Octavian in “Der Rosenkavalier” at the Metropolitan Opera. In the following season, she made two more highly acclaimed role debuts: Princess Eboli in the new production of “Don Carlos” at the Paris Opéra and Dalila in Saint-Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila” at the Vienna State Opera. Highlights of her work on the opera stage and in the concert hall in the 2019/20 season included concerts in Vienna, Hamburg, and Graz with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and Karel Mark Chichon; concert performances of “La Damnation de Faust” at the Metropolitan Opera (“Her mezzo-soprano, which penetrates the auditorium like a laser with a pearly, silvery sound, is still one of the coolest and most glorious voices in the opera world.” – The New York Times) and Mahler's Third Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic and Lorenzo Viotti at the Berlin Philharmonie. After two performances of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder with the Vienna Philharmonic and Christian Thielemann at the Salzburg Festival 2020, Elīna Garanča began the current season in Italy, where she performed in Verdi's Requiem with the Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala Milan under the direction of Riccardo Chailly in Milan, Bergamo, and Brescia. Her upcoming engagements include recitals in Austria and Germany, where she will be accompanied by Malcolm Martineau, singing works by Rachmaninoff and Richard Strauss, as well as songs from Spain (November 2020); her role debut as Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal at the Vienna State Opera (April 2021); and another recital with Martineau at Carnegie Hall in New York as part of the “Great Singers” series (May 2021). 05/2021