Elina Garanca and Malcolm Martineau

ELĪNA GARANČA

Mezzo-soprano

Elīna Garančawa was born into a musical family in Riga, Latvia. She began her professional career as a resident artist at the Südthüringisches Staatstheater in Meiningen, followed by numerous leading roles at the Frankfurt Opera and the Vienna State Opera.

Since then, Elīna has established herself as one of the biggest stars in the music world through her performances with leading opera houses and symphony orchestras around the world. Her beautiful voice, intelligent musicality, and captivating stage performances have captivated critics and audiences alike.

Among other roles, she is best known for her portrayal of Bizet's Carmen, which she has sung with great acclaim at most leading theaters, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Bavarian State Opera, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía Valencia, and the Metropolitan Opera. The NY Times named her "the best Carmen in 25 years." The Met's Carmen production has been broadcast in more than 1,000 theaters worldwide and is one of the Metropolitan Opera's most-watched and successful "Live in HD" performances.

Recent highlights include her debut at the Bayreuth Festival in the role of Kundry, becoming the first Latvian singer to perform on this prestigious stage; her long-awaited dream-role debut as Amneris in Verdi's Aida at the Vienna State Opera; and the Vienna Philharmonic's Summer Night Concert with Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, which was livestreamed in over 30 countries and broadcast in more than 80 countries. In the 2023/2024 season, Elīna will perform at various festivals and galas throughout Europe and North and South America.

In September 2005, Elina became an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon (DG) recording artist. Her first solo recording, "Aria Cantilena," was released in March 2007 and was well received by audiences and critics alike. Two of her previous albums ("Romantique" and "Meditation") each won an ECHO Klassik award. Her album "Sol y Vida" was released in May 2019 and received unanimous critical acclaim: "Garanča's selection of extravagant Mediterranean and Latin American songs, as expected, complements her mature and captivating timbre" (Gramophon). In November 2020, she released her first solo recital album, followed by the album "Live from Salzburg," released in December 2021.

Elīna has received numerous national and international awards and is particularly pleased with the title of "Kammersängerin," awarded to her by the Vienna State Opera for her dedication to the opera. Since her debut at the opera in 2003, she has sung over 160 performances in eighteen roles.

Elīna regularly performs at the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the ROH Covent Garden, the Salzburg Festival, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Carnegie Hall New York and the Wigmore Hall London, and at various concerts, festivals and recitals worldwide.

Program and cast