Elina Garanca & Malcolm Martineau

Elīna Garanča 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 the Oper Frankfurt am Main and the Vienna State Opera, where she performed in numerous leading roles. Since then, Elīna has established herself as one of the greatest stars in the music world through her performances at leading opera houses and symphony orchestras around the globe. With her beautiful voice, intelligent musicality, and captivating stage presence, she delights both critics and audiences.

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

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

In September 2005, Elīna became an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon (DG). Her first solo recording, "Aria Cantilena," was released in March 2007 and received great acclaim from both audiences and critics. Two of her previous albums ("Romantique" and "Meditation") were each awarded an ECHO Klassik. Her album "Sol y Vida" was released in May 2019 and was unanimously praised by critics: "Garanča's selection of extravagant Mediterranean and Latin American songs fits her mature and enchanting timbre as expected" (Grammophon). In November 2020, she released her first solo recital album, followed by the album "Live from Salzburg," which was released in December 2021.

Elīna has received numerous national and international awards and is particularly proud of the title "Kammersängerin," which was bestowed upon her by the Vienna State Opera for her dedication to the house. Since her debut at the venue in 2003, she has sung over one hundred sixty 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 in Munich, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Carnegie Hall in New York, and Wigmore Hall in London, as well as at various concerts, festivals, and song recitals worldwide.