Elīna Garanča was born into a musical family in Riga, Latvia. She began her professional career as a resident artist with the Südthüringischer Staatstheater in Meiningen, followed by the Opera in Frankfurt am Main and Wiener Staatsoper, in each theatre appearing in numerous leading roles. Since then, Elīna has established herself as one of the music world’s major stars through her performances with leading opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world. She has captured critical and popular acclaim for her beautiful voice, intelligent musicianship, and compelling stage portrayals. Among other roles, she is particularly famed for her portrayal as Bizet’s Carmen which she has sung in the majority of leading theatres, like Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía Valencia, or Metropolitan Opera to critical acclaim; the NY Times named her “the finest Carmen in 25 years…”. The Met Carmen production was broadcasted in more than 1,000 movie theatres worldwide and is one of the most viewed and successful “Live in HD” performances of the Metropolitan Opera. Recent highlights include a new production of Samson et Dalila at Staatsoper Berlin with Daniel Barenboim portraying the role of Dalila, her return to the Metropolitan Opera as Marguerite in La damnation de Faust, as well as her long-awaited debut as Kundry in the new production of Wagner’s Parsifal, premiering at the Wiener Staatsoper with Philippe Jordan in April 2021. During the 2021/22 season Elīna made her role debut as La Principessa di Bouillon in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur at the Wiener Staatsoper. In 2022 will Elīna star at various festivals and galas throughout Europe, America and East Asia. In September 2005 Elina became an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon (DG). Her first solo recording ‘Aria Cantilena’ was released in March 2007 to great popular and critical acclaim. Two of her previous albums (‘Romantique’ and ‘Meditation’) both won an ECHO Klassik award. Her album ‘Sol y Vida’ was released in May 2019 and has been unanimously praised by the critics: “Garanča’s selection of flamboyant Mediterranean and Latin American songs is a predictably good fit for her ripe and beguiling timbre.” (Gramophone). In November 2020, she released her first solo recital album, featuring Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben and a selection of Brahms songs followed by ‘Live from Salzburg’ album released in December 2021 documenting two remarkable events at the Salzburg Festival in the summers of 2020 and 2021 with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Christian Thielemann. Elīna has been the recipient of numerous national and international awards, greatly cherishing the title of ‘Kammersängerin’ honoured by the Wiener Staatsoper for her devotion to the House, singing over one hundred and sixty performances of eighteen roles since her debut in the House in 2003. Elīna appears regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, ROH Covent Garden, Salzburg Festival, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Bayerisches Staatsoper Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Carnegie Hall New York and Wigmore Hall London and continues to perform in various concerts, festivals and recitals all over the world. For more than ten years, Elīna Garanča and Karel Mark Chichon have been sharing the stage with young, aspiring talents from the opera world as part of their Open-Air concerts in Göttweig and Kitzbühel, Austria. These appearances often started a successful international career of the young protégés. Following this collaboration, the idea of young talent initiative “ZukunftsStimmen” with the support of Raiffeisen Bank was born. It is particularly important to Elīna Garanča that “ZukunftsStimmen” is not just a classical singing competition. Rather, it is about discovering, accompanying, helping at the beginning of a career – and of course about the opportunity to be on stage with Kammersängerin Elīna Garanča and Maestro Karel Mark Chichon during the classical Open-Air concerts in Göttweig Abbey and Kitzbühel. “Working with young artists is a real heartfelt wish for Karel and me. We have already invited many young musical guests to our concerts, who consequently started a world career. Finding these young talents, but also accompanying them through tough classical music business and offering them a helping hand for the next step in their careers, that is a great dream for both of us. A dream coming true.” Says Elīna Garanča about the project. Read more about “ZukunftsStimmen” initiative here

British conductor Karel Mark Chichon continues to thrill international audiences with his temperament, passion and musicianship. In recognition to his services to music, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England made Chichon an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in June 2012. In 2016 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of his achievements within the profession.

Born in London in 1971, Chichon hails from Gibraltar. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music (London) and was assistant conductor to Giuseppe Sinopoli and Valery Gergiev.

From 2011 to 2017 he was Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, enjoying critically acclaimed seasons and receiving praise for his profound interpretation of a wide repertoire and transformative music-making with the DRP. A further testament to his outstanding partnership with the DRP has been the unanimous critical success of the first album release of the complete orchestral works of Dvorák – a cycle which he will record over the next 4 years for the label Hänssler Classic. Critics said “Karel Mark Chichon scores significantly over several esteemed rivals” and praised this first release as “the finest version available”.

In May 2017 he was appointed Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria.

His previous positions include Chief Conductor & Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (2009-2012) and Chief Conductor of the Graz Symphony Orchestra (2006-2009).

Chichon conducts at the Metropolitan Opera New York, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerisches Staatsoper Munich, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona and with orchestras such as the  Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Filharmonisch Orkest,  Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin,  Wiener Symphoniker, Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Belgique, Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and Russian National Orchestra.

He performs at venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Musikverein Vienna, Konzerthaus Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall London, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris, Munich Philharmonie, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Alter Oper Frankfurt, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Auditorio Nacional de Musica Madrid and Seoul Arts Center South Korea.

In early 2016 he made a highly acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York with Madama Butterfly, which included one broadcast live on HD in 2,000 cinemas in 66 countries throughout the world. He returns to the Metropolitan Opera in 2019.

From 2006 to 2010 he was Music Director of the “Christmas in Vienna” concerts held yearly at the Konzerthaus in Vienna and broadcast on Television to millions of viewers all over the world.

He is also a regular Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, having recently recorded two CD’s for the renowned record label.

The highly anticipated Celebrity Opera Recital Series makes its return to BroadStage for the 2023/24 season, showcasing three of the most coveted performers in opera: soprano Lise Davidsen, tenor Joseph Calleja, and mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča. 

With a voice that transcends boundaries and knows no limits, opera powerhouse Lise Davidsen takes the stage in September for her highly-anticipated West Coast debut. A force of nature who has quickly risen to superstardom, Davidsen captivates audiences with her charisma and her “one-in-a-million voice” (Antonio Pappano).

In November, the highly sought-after and renowned tenor Joseph Calleja exemplifies the epitome of excellence in opera. Calleja enthralls audiences with his captivating voice and dynamic stage presence, both of which traverse the realms of emotion, passion, and sheer artistic brilliance. 

Internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča closes out the series in May, and will leave audiences spellbound with her unparalleled talent. Garanča’s special performance will be an operatic experience like no other, and will include a full orchestra conducted by the highly esteemed Karel Mark Chichon. 

Celebrity Opera Recitals at BroadStage are generously supported by the Lloyd E. Rigler — Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation.