Ilaria Della Bidia

Study, Passion and Love: Here are the three key words that make Ilaria Della Bidia a sincere artist, versatile, full of energy and emotion to give;
“A voice that now with grit, now with tenderness, invites the soul to dance, leaving it free.”
Tuscan, born and raised in Lucca, Ilaria Della Bidia graduated in piano at the Conservatory of Lucca “L. Boccherini” under the direction of Maria Gloria Belli and studied and perfected her vocal technique under the careful and expert guidance of Antonella De Grossi in Rome.
Among 15 years of career Ilaria has performed as guest of some of the most important stages in Italy as well as in the rest of Europe, USA, Africa and Russia, creating more than 2000 concerts and shows designed to entertain the audience and to share emotions in live concerts also through the combination of the arts, both musical and visual (dance, mime), and acting in collaboration with actors and dancers.
ANDREA BOCELLI World Tours
In 2011 Ilaria met the most beloved tenor Andrea Bocelli and since then she has been performing with him as Pop Guest Artist all over the world in Tours, Festivals and special Events. Among these there are:
Kingdom of Bahrain 2012 “Spring of Culture”; Poland 2012 Lodz Atlas Arena “Bocelli, One night in Lodz”; “Taipei Arena 2015” Taiwan; Carrara 2012 “Giorgio Panariello, Se stasera siamo qui”; per “Fiamme di solidarietà” Teatro Greco, Siracusa 2011; Starlight Festival, Marbella 2015; “Celebrity Fight Night Italia” Forte dei Marmi 2014; “Celebrity Fight Night Italia” Lajatico 2016; “Intimissimi On Ice” Verona 2016; “Music from Heaven” Dubai, 2017; “Szczecin Tall Ship” Waly Chrobrego Szcsecin 2017; “Celebrity Fight Night Italia” Cinecittà, Rome 2017; “Cap Roig Festival”, Cap Roig Spain 2018;“Celebrity Fight Night Italia” Florence, Pitti Palace 2018;”Winter at Tantora” Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia 2019;
Andrea Bocelli Passione Tour 2014/2015, Andrea Bocelli Cinema World Tour 2015/2016/2017 and Andrea Bocelli World Tour 2018/2019.
Since September Ilaria has taken part in the Celebrity Fight Night Italy, one of the nation’s elite charity events, a star-studded evening presented in honor of Muhammad Ali supporting his Parkinson Center and Andrea Bocelli Foundation for the first time in Italy thanks to Andrea Bocelli and Veronica Berti. Celebrities and professional athletes from all over the country participate in a night filled with incredible Live Auction items and live musical performances.
Ilaria is performing in duet with maestro Bocelli along with the other illustrious guests such as: Lionel Richie, John Legend, Sophia Loren, Reba McEntinre, Ronnie Dunn, Leona Lewis, Brian McKnight and many others supported by Ilaria’s live band musicians directed by and under the artistic direction of the great genius David Foster. In 2018 at Palazzo Pitti in Florence Ilaria also hosted the show.
TV & Cinema
As a guest singer, pianist performer and composer she has been attending several national Tv, Radio and Theatre Shows and she collaborated for many discography projects (Alex Barattini, 2010 – Den J Rose, 2009 – Gold ‘n Chic, Shock Mama, 2010, Duel 2008-2012), movie soundtracks, TV & radio jingles, documentaries, background and commercials.
In 2012 she records and writes together with Claudio Gregori (Greg) and Attilio Di Giovanni the song “I’ve never lived before” soundtrack of the Christmas blockbuster movie “Colpi di Fulmine” produced by De Laurentiis (FilmAuro) starred by Lillo&Greg and Christian De Sica. Other movie collaborations as singer-writer: “Un Natale Stupefacente” (2014), “Natale col Boss” (2015), Natale a Londra (2016), “Sapore di te” directed by Carlo Vanzina (2013) as an actress-performer.
In 2018 she composed and recorded together with Attilio Di Giovanni the soundtrack of the blockbuster Movie “DARC” produced and directed by Julius R. Nasso, starred Tony Schiena, Armand Assante and Kippei Shîna and distributed by Netflix worldwide platform since May 1st.
DUEL
Since 2008 Ilaria collaborates with Overlook Italia, together with Alessia Forganni, as artist and writer for the original duo-piano-vocal project “Duel” a crossover between the classical traditions and modern times, between piano virtuosity and the emotions and directness of pop music, two artists and friends playing together their own pianos with passion, irony and sensuality. Duel project performed in Johannesburg in 2010 for the Annually Bidvest Eve, in Beirut – Libano (Extravaganza Show Tour 2011) Austria and Germany (2010) and in 2012 for Raiuno Tv Show “Estate in tv” hosted by Paolo Limiti performing their own original songs and cover with the aim to join the beauty of music from the old times to the modern ones.
Theatre & Radio
In 2010 she supports Giorgio Panariello during his theatre and radio show “Ogni Maledetta domenica” (2010) live form Ambra Garbatella Theatre (Rome) and RTL Radio station.
Since 2013 she collaborates with Rai Radio Due Italia as performer and composer in the most beloved radio broadcast “Il Ruggito del Coniglio” hosted by Marco Presta and Antonello Dose. “Friday” (“Venerdì) jingle song was the most downloaded track as ringtone from Radiodue web site in 2013-2014 season.
In 2014 she realizes the single track ” Cerco Te (Seeking You)” at the PPG Studio, and in the same year she produced and recorded the sacred project “Maria … a walk of Love” soundtrack of the same recital-concert together with Vania Della Bidia and Filippo Velardi (actors).
She writes and stages together with Daniele Zappala, Giulia Scarpelli, Vania Della Bidia and Attilio Di Giovanni (music director) the show ”Il Viaggio” (“The Journey”, 2014) to which great success follows the staging in 2015 of “Sia Bene…detto” (“Be blessed”), with the same cast, a show dedicated to the life of the great Saint Benedetto from Norcia.
Since 2012 she is a sponsor of Arpa Foundation and warmly supports the ABF – Andrea Bocelli Foundation – which operates actively in the outskirts of the world, particularly in Haiti and during the last years especially supporting the earthquake areas in the middle of Italy.
Ilaria sings and have been recording in Spanish, Russian, Swahili, French, Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, Jewish as well as English and Italian as a tribute and honour to some of the countries that kindly have hosted her.
José Carreras

José Carreras occupies a privileged position in the music world. Born in Barcelona, he studied music in his hometown. In 1970 he started his professional career in the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona in Nabucco and Lucrezia Borgia. His meteoric musical career resulted in early debuts at the world’s most prestigious opera theatres and festivals, including the Theatre alla Scala of Milan ; the New York Metropolitan Opera House; San Francisco Opera; the Vienna Staatsoper; London’s Royal Opera House; the Oper of Munich; Chicago’s Lyric Opera; and the Festivals of Salzburg; Aix en Provence; Edinburgh and Verona.José Carreras has collaborated with the most renowned orchestra conductors including Herbert von Karajan (an artistic and personal relationship which lasted over twelve years and included performances in Salzburg, Berlin and Vienna), Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Chailly, Colin Davis, Giuseppe Sinopoli, James Levine, Carlo Maria Giulini, Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Metha, and with pre-eminent stage directors such as: Franco Zeffirelli, Jean Pierre Ponnelle, Giorgio Strehler, Luigi Comencini and Harold Prince.
His repertoire includes over sixty operas, of which the following stand out: Andrea Chenier, La Bohème, Tosca, Werther, Don Carlo, Carmen, La Forza del Destino, I Pagliacci, L’Elisir d’Amore and Un Ballo in Maschera. José Carreras has performed the leading role in several operatic films for Television, Cinema and Video.Together with his opera activities, he has given frequent recitals in the world’s most famous halls. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Avery Fisher Hall of New York; the Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall in London; the Salle Pleyel in Paris, at the Musikverein and Konzerthaus of Vienna, the Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall and the NHK Hall in Tokyo, the Grosses Festspielhaus of Salzburg, the Philarmonie and the Hercules Saal of Munich, the Palau de la Música of Barcelona, the Teatro Real of Madrid and the Accademia Santa Cecilia of Rome. His wide concert repertoire includes over 600 titles of the most diverse styles ranging from the baroque to contemporary music.
David Giménez

Born in Barcelona, David Giménez studied piano and composition at the Conservatori del Liceu in his hometown. Later on, he specialized in conducting at the Hochschulefür-Musik in Vienna with Karl Österreicher and at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Sir Colin Davis.Since making his debut with the Hannover NDR Orchestra in 1994, he has appeared worldwide, leading the most prominent orchestras and soloists in venues like the Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Salle Pleyel, Vienna Konzerthaus, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, and at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. During his career, David Giménez has conducted orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Philharmonia, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris and Filarmonica della Scala. He has also appeared with soloists such as Yoyo Ma and Antonio Meneses. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Bucarest Philharmonic Orchestra and Laureate Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès in Barcelona.
Opera is an important part of Maestro Giménez’s performance schedule. He has performed a wide operatic repertoire at Teatro alla Scala, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Zurich Opera, Berlin Deutsche Oper, Théâtre du Champs Elysées, Washington Opera, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Madrid’s Teatro Real and Sydney Opera House.
With an exceptional understanding of voice, David Giménez collaborates regularly with singers such as José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Kiri Te Kanawa, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu or Bryn Terfel.
Recently David Giménez has appeared, among other places, on the podiums of the Munich Symphony, Brucknerhaus Linz Symphony, Vienna Volksoper Orchestra, Czech National Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic and China National Opera House Orchestra. In his home country, Maestro Giménez conducted orchestras like Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Real Filarmonia and Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao. In the operatic field, he opened the 2014/15 season of the Barcelona Opera House (Gran Teatre del Liceu) with a series of tribute concerts to Giuseppe Verdi; then he was the musical director for the new opera El Juez, composed by Christian Kolonovits, which had its world première in Bilbao and the Erl Festival in Austria. Maestro Giménez also made his debut at the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg with this opera. He also joined José Carreras, Placido Domingo and Diana Damrau for different tours in Europe, Asia and South America. In addition, Maestro Giménez has regularly been on the jury of the Reina Sofia competition for composition in Madrid.
During the present season David Giménez will appear, among other things, on podiums with the Royal Philharmonic, Radio Symphonie Orchester Wien, Aalborg Symphony, Sofia Philharmonic, Moscow City State Symphony – Russian Philharmonic and Bucharest Philharmonic. Important highlights will also include Maestro Giménez’s debut at Theater an der Wien with El Juez and several world wide concerts for the José Carreras Farewell Tour.
Maestro David Giménez’s recordings include works for Decca, BMG Classics, Koch- Schwann, Erato and Discmedi.
Ana Ibarra
Acclaimed for her “rich and wide-ranging” sound, Grammy Award winner Ana Ibarra is renowned not only for the quality of her voice but also for her versatility and remarkable musical phrasing: qualities that have allowed her to embrace a wide repertoire.
During her career she has received numerous awards, including the Premio Opera Actual together with Plácido Domingo, and the Grammy Award for the recording of Falstaff.
Since her operatic debut Ana Ibarra has had an active international carreer. She is a regular guest at the Gran Teatro del Liceo de Barcelona an the Teatro Real de Madrid, and has also performed at the Canadian Opera Company, Mariinsky Theatre, La Monnaie in Brussels, Theatre an Der Wien, English National Opera, Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, Vlaamse Opera, Wielki Theater, ABAO in Bilbao and Opera de Oviedo, among others.
She has worked with many well-known conductors such as Sir Colin Davis,Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Jesús López Cobos, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Frizza, Kazusi Ono, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Enrique Mazzola, David Giménez, Edward Gardner, Josep Pons,Pablo González, Dima Slobodeniouk, Miguel A. Gomez Martinez, Pedro Haffter, Víctor Pablo Pérez, Bertrand de Billy, Rossen Milanov, Miquel Ortega, Enrique García Asensio, Paul Goodwin, Ros Marbá and Jeremie Rhorer among others.
Her repertoire has gradually developed and expanded during her career, and presently she concentrates on the traditional mezzosoprano roles like Carmen or Dalila (Samson et Dalila) ; the great Verdi roles such as Amneris (Aida) or Azucena (Il Trovatore), as well as 20th century repertoire such as Oedipus Rex (Stravinsky) or Bluebeard Castle (Bartok).
She combines her operatic performances with concerts and recitals. She has performed at the Tonhalle in Zurich, Konzerthaus in Viena, Barbican Center in Londres, the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Auditori de Barcelona, Four Seasons Centre en Toronto, Kursaal in San Sebastián, Palau de la Música de Barcelona, Palau de Valencia, Bucarest National Radio Hall, in a repertoire that includes Verdi Requiem, Wagner Wesendonck Lieder and Mahler Symphonies N.2 and N.3.
She has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Opus Arte, BBC, LSO. Her recordings include Falstaff with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra, Wagner’s Ring at Liceu of Barcelona with Bertrand de Billy, La Conquista di Granata with Jesus Lopez Cobos at Teatro Real, Zarzuela Gala with Carlos Alvarez. She has also recorded several CDs with Spanish Lieder and chamber music.
On stage, she has been directed by Emilio Sagi, Jorge Lavelli, Andreas Homoki, Harry Kufper o Willy Decker and she has also taken part in productions by La Fura dels Baus and Els Comediants. A lover of classical theatre and gifted with great stage presence, Ana Ibarra has always stood out for her ability to convey the emotional world of the characters she portrays and her performances are always tantalising and dramatic.
She collaborates regularly with Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, having taken part in productions such as La Bruja, Una Noche de Zarzuela, La Del Soto del Parral, Luisa Fernanda and more recently, Las Golondrinas. Spanish Music is an essential part of her musical career and she has taken part in world tours and international festivals with the Orquesta Nacional de España playing the role of Salud in Falla’s La Vida Breve and Rosario, in Goyescas, with the Orquesta del Gran Teatro del Liceu. She has also given many Spanish Song recitals all over the world.
Ana Ibarra was born in Valencia. Her interest in music started at the age of six when she studied organ and classical guitar. She then studied singing with Ana Luisa Chova at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo obtaining a distinction and the First Prize in Opera. She then continued her vocal and musical career in Vienna, Paris and New York. Many famous personalities in the opera world have been influential in the professional development of this remarkable singer, namely Dolora Zajick, Elena Obratsova, Montserrat Caballé and Jose Carreras.
Charles Castronovo
Acclaimed internationally as one of the finest lyric tenors of his generation, Charles Castronovo has sung at most of the world’s leading opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Berlin State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Castronovo will begin the 2020/21 season with two significant house debuts: at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as Faust in Mefistofele, and at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Rodolfo in La Bohème. He will also debut in the title role of Werther at the Zürich Opera House, sing Don José in Carmen in Paris and Vienna, and return to Munich as Carlo in I Masnadieri. Castronovo will close out the season with his first performances of Rodolfo in Luisa Miller at the Glyndebourne Festival.
Born in New York and raised in California, Charles Castronovo began his career as a resident at the Los Angeles Opera. He was then invited to join the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and in the autumn of 1999 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Beppe in the opening night performance of Pagliacci, opposite Placido Domingo. In the first years of his career, Castronovo built his repertoire with such debuts as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Fenton in Falstaff in Pittsburgh, where he also sang his first Faust; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Ernesto in Don Pasquale in Boston; and Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte in Portland, where he also sang his first performances of Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore. He debuted as Alfredo in La Traviata with the Minnesota Opera, as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Colorado Opera, and as Elvino in La Sonnambula and Rodolfo with the Michigan Opera Theater.
Castronovo made his European stage debut at the 2000 Savonlinna Festival in Don Giovanni. He subsequently debuted in Germany at the Berlin State Opera in the same work under Daniel Barenboim, in France at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse as Fenton, and in Great Britain at the London Proms of 2002 in Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole. In the 2003/04 season, he made his debuts at the San Francisco Opera, Paris Opera and Vienna State Opera as Tamino, and in September of 2004 he debuted at the Royal Opera House as Ferrando. This was followed by his Italian stage debut as Alfredo at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. Other significant debuts included Alfredo at the Hamburg State Opera and the Megaron in Athens, Fenton at the Theatre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels, and Ferrando at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He also made his debut at the Salzburg Festival as Belmonte in Entführung. Castronvono subsequently debuted in Chicago as Tamino, in Toronto and Barcelona as Alfredo, and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Ruggero in La Rondine. He sang his first Duca in Rigoletto in Bordeaux and then reprised the role for his debut in Helsinki. He has sung Alfredo in several revivals at Covent Garden, where he has also performed Ruggero, Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress, Tamino and Rodolfo.
Castronovo has appeared in Vienna as Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Nemorino, and Alfredo; in Munich as Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia, Admeto in Alceste, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Don Ottavio; at the Berlin State Opera as Alfredo, Nemorino, and Faust; and at the Metropolitan Opera as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, Rodolfo, Don Ottavio, and Tamino. He sang his first Hoffmann in Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Baden Baden and his first Des Grieux in Manon in Toulouse. Castronovo sang his first Damnation de Faust in concert in Nice and has also been heard in this work in Baden Baden with the Berlin Philharmonic, under Sir Simon Rattle; with the Dallas Symphony, under Jacques Lacombe; and with the Pittsburgh Symphony, under Manfred Honeck. He sang his first staged performances of Damnation at the Berlin State Opera, with Sir Simon Rattle on the podium.
In recent seasons, Charles Castronovo has begun to add lirico spinto roles to his repertoire: Jason in the rarely performed original French version of Cherubini’s Médée at the Berlin State Opera, conducted by Daniel Barenboim; Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Salzburg Festival in 2019, under Valery Gergiev; Faust in Mefistofele in Baden Baden; and the title role in Roberto Devereux in Munich. He has also participated often in performances of lesser known works: as Mylio in Lalo’s Le Roi d’Ys in Toulouse; as Vincent in Gounod’s Mireille at the Paris Opera; in Massenet’s Therese at the Festival de Montpellier, where he also sang Lalo’s La Jacquerie; and in concerts of Gounod’s Cinq Mars. Castronovo starred opposite Plácido Domingo as Mario in the world premiere of Daniel Catan’s Il Postino at the Los Angeles Opera, a role that he also performed in Paris and Santiago. He also recorded Mercadante’s Virginia for Opera Rara.
Charles Castronovo sang his first Verdi Requiem for his debut at the Semperoper Dresden with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann. He has also been heard in this work in Paris under both Myung-whun Chung and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
Upcoming highlights include the recording of his first solo opera album this summer with the Munich Radio Orchestra, singing Nemorino in l’elisir d’amor at the Chicago Lyric Opera, La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera, L’amico Fritz with the Maggio Musicale Firenze under the baton of Zuben Mehta and Pinkerton in Madama Butterly at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich.
Ekaterina Siurina
Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina enjoys an international career that takes her to many of the top opera houses in Europe and America. Ekaterina studied at the Russian Academy of Theatrical Arts, Moscow, where she made her professional debut singing opposite the world-renowned baritone Dimitri Hvorostovsky at the Novaya Opera. She became a soloist of the Municipal Moscow Theatre and was a prize winner of the Rimski-Korsakov and the Elena Obratsova competition in Russia.
Her operatic roles include
Donna Anna, Olympia, Adina and Violetta at the Wiener Staatsoper
Gilda, Susanna and Zerlina at the Metropolitan Opera
Norina in Don Pasquale at Washington National Opera
Adina at the Houston Grand Opera
Pamina, Mimi, Rigoletto and Gianni Schicchi for the Royal Opera House
L’elisir d’amore, Carmen, Violetta and Falstaff for Bayerische Staatsoper
L’elisir d’amor for Pittsburgh Opera and Opera de Nice, Glyndebourne Festival, Staatsoper Berlin and Hamburgische Staatsoper
Le nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto, Elisire, Gianni Schicchi, I Capuleti e I Montecchi and
Anne Trulove, The Rake’s Progress at the Opera de Paris
Idomeneo and Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival
Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro at Teatro alla Scala
Violetta, La traviata with the Canadian Opera Company
Leila, Les pêcheurs de perles at Opera Australia
Guilietta I Capuleti e I Montecchi at the Liceu Barcelona and the Paris Opera
Rigoletto at the Arena di Verona.
As a versatile soprano, Ekaterina is recognised on the concert platform, where she has worked with many of today’s prominent conductors including Yuri Temirkanov, Evelino Pidò, Daniel Oren, Philippe Jordan, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Richard Bonynge, Roberto Abbado, Antonio Pappano and Nathalie Stutzmann.
Recent engagements include L’elisir d’amore and Falstaff at the Bayerische Staatsoper, her debut as Donna Anna Don Giovanni at the Wiener Staatsoper, Adina L’elisir d’amore for Pittsburgh Opera and a return to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Mimi. Concert appearances included the Rossini Stabat Mater, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Mozart’s Requiem and several Gala concerts.
Highlights of the 2019/20 season included a return to the Wiener Staatsoper as Violetta La Traviata and Mimi La bohème at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Royal Opera House Covent Garden, plus Micaela Carmen at Bayerische Staatsoper, alongside other European concert engagements, including with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. She also recorded her latest solo album titled “Amour éternel” featuring French and Italian Arias.
The 2020/21 season has included many role debuts such as Antonia (Hoffmann), the title role of Iolanta and Rusalka by Dvorak. She was part of an art film project -Live from Florence- “Puccini”.
Her recording and DVD catalogue include:
Amore e Morte (Opus Arte)
The Complete Rachmaninov songs (Delphian)
Amour éternel (Delos)
Le nozze di Figaro (Paris Opera)
Idomeneo (Salzburg Festival)
Don Giovanni (Salzburg Festival)
Mozart Gala (Salzburg Festival)
L’elisir d’amor (Glyndebourne Festival)
Gianni Schicchi (Royal Opera, Covent Garden)
Celine Byrne
Celine Byrne is a lyric soprano from Kildare, Ireland. She received her Masters in Music from the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2007, where she studied with Dr. Veronica Dunne, also receiving the RIAM award for outstanding achievement. In addition she has an honours Music Degree from the Conservatory of Music and Drama, Dublin, where she was awarded the college Gold Medal for excellence. She has received coaching at the National Opera Studio of London and has studied with Christa Ludwig at the Vienna Staatsoper.
In 2007 Celine was awarded the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Maria Callas Grand Prix, Athens. Other awards include the Margaret Burke-Sheridan Gold Medal in 2009, the William Young Prize at the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, Dublin 2007 and the ‘Brabants Dagblad Press Prize’ at the IVC International Singing Competition in s’Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
Now recognised nationally and internationally as one of opera’s great stars, a performer of ‘fine lyrical quality and a touching actor’, Celine made her operatic début as Mimi, in Scottish Opera’s 2010 production of La Bohéme. By 2012 she was to be heard at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the lead role of Dvorak’s Rusalka which she took over at very short notice. Soon afterwards she was invited back to assume the role of Mimi (La Bohème) followed by Micaela in Carmen and, in the seasons that have followed, she has performed extensively throughout Europe as well as in the United States, China, Russia and Mexico in roles including Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Cio San in (Madama Butterfly) Floria Tosca in (Tosca); Die Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier), Micaela in Carmen, Marietta/Marie in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt and most recently Liu (Turandot) in Leipzig and again in Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf followed by Elizabeth in Verdi’s Don Carlo.
A frequent concert performer, Celine is very familiar to both Irish and international audiences and has also performed with world-renowned tenors José Carreras, Roberto Alagna and Joseph Calleja. Future engagements include concerts with Josè Carreras in Europe, China and Russia, having performed her 30th concert with him at The Royal Albert Hall in May last year. Celine has also performed in concert with Bryn Terfel and recently sung with him and Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sasha Goetzel. Future engagements include A Summer Gala with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in the Czech Republic under André Lenard; Richard Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder in Austria, a concert in Carnegie Hall, NY and a recording of Verdi’s Requiem with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Lenard. Next sseason Celine will sing Madama Butterfly in Stockholm, Donna Elvira with Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv directed by Kasper Holten, Tosca with Mikhailovsky Opera, St. Petersburg and Sardinia and Madama Butterfly conducted by Francesco Angelico in Kassel.
Gladys Rossi
Gladys Rossi started her vocal studies in 2002 and made her operatic debut in 2003 as Gilda in Rigoletto in Busseto with the Fondazione Arturo Toscanini.
She has sung Frasquita in Carmen at the Teatro Regio in Parma, in Savona, in Bilbao and in 2009 she sang this role under the baton of Placido Domingo in a performance staged by Franco Zeffirelli at the Arena di Verona.
She has sung Gilda in Sassuolo, Catanzaro, Larnaca, Piacenza, Bassano del Grappa, Padua, Venice and at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania as well as at the Luglio Musicale Trapanese.
She has been Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro in Tourcoing and Rennes, Musetta in La Boheme at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Konigin der Nacht in Die Zauberfloote in Bilbao, Hanna Glawari in Die Lustige Witwe in Padua, Rovigo and Bassano del Grappa, Nannetta in Falstaff, in Rome, Despina in Così Fan Tutte in Menorca, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera in Salerno, at the Arena Sferisterio of Macerata, in Parma as well as in a new production staged by Hugo De Ana in Beijing.
In 2008 she debuted as Violetta in La Traviata in Rovigo, Bassano, Padua and Vicenza. This role she performed as well in 2009 at the Arena D’Annunzio of Pescara, in 2010 at the Teatro Politeama in Palermo and at the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice under Myung-Whun Chung, in 2011 in Zurich under Carlo Rizzi and again in Venice staged by Robert Carsen.
As Violetta she also made her highly acclaimed debut in Salzburg in 2012 and in that same year she has also sung the part at the Trapani festival.
In 2014 she made her debut in contemporary opera at La Fenice Theater in Venice with Elegy for young lovers (Henze ) and in 2016 she returned with Agenzia matrimoniale (Hazon).
In 2015 she made her debut at Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in the opera El Juez where she performed alongside Mo. José Carreras.
As a concert singer she has been heard in, among others, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate at the Teatro Regio in Parma, in a concert of operatic arias at the Laeszishalle in Hamburg, in a gala concert with Katia Ricciarelli in Venice and in a concert in Brussels with the Arena di Verona Company.
She has also performed in concert with Josè Carreras in Parma, Modena, Genova, Marostica, Rome, Barcelona and Tokyo.
She performed under the batons of the following conductors: Kery Lynn Wilson, Gunther Neuhold, Pietro Rizzo, Diego Matheus, Myung-Whun Chung, Carlo Rizzi, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Asher Fisch, Lu Jia, Daniele Callegari, Jean Cristoph Spinosi, Jean Claude Malgoire, Tiziano Severini, Renato Palumbo, Piergiorgio Morandi, Alberto Veronesi, Patrick Fourniller, Placido Domingo and David Gimenez.
In the 2018 season she will sing Musetta in Naples and Marie La Fille du Regiment in Trieste.
Martina Zadro
One of the leading Croatian-Slovenian sopranos today, Martina Zadro very soon proved herself an integrated scenic personality, continuously present at the international operatic scene entrancing audiences across Europe, from Japan to South America. The winner of the 1999 “Lucia Popp” and the “Antonin Dvořák” International vocal competitions, Martina has been gaining international recognition ever since with her clear and expressive voice and her completely devoted stage presence.
Martina was the last student of the legendary soprano Anna Moffo, with whom she studied from 2004 – 2006 in New York. After graduating and mastering in singing at the Zagreb Music Academy with prof. Snježana Bujanović-Stanislav, Martina continued her studies at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Graz, further specializing with Croatian baritone Vitomir Marof and Slovak pedagogue prof. Eva Blahovà.
Establishing herself in operas by Verdi, Mozart and Puccini, her interpretation of Violetta, Mimi, Contessa, Pamina and Susanna brought her to the Narodni divadlo Prague, Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Teatro Municipal Lima, Narodni Divadlo Brno, Schlossfestspiele von Thurn und Taxis Regensburg, Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, Salzburg Landestheatre, Bunkamura Orchard Hall Tokyo… Martina’s interpretation of Janaček’s heroine Kata Kabanova at the Opera Rennes, was highly acclaimed by the French critics in 2018.
Since 2003 the principal soloist of the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet in Ljubljana, Martina Zadro has been performing numerous roles as the leading soprano and achieved great international success in the role of Armgard, of the rediscovered first Offenbach’s opera “Die Rheinnixen” in 2005. Expanding her repertoire to Verdi’s Desdemona, Martina gave a triumphant Otello with Jose Cura at Ljubljana Festival 2016. Her upcoming roles this seaison include Antonia and Donna Anna.
Her opera debut was in 1995 at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, where she has since sung many parts, highlighted by an outstanding production of opera ‘Crux dissimulata’ by contemporary Croatian composer Srećko Bradić, the part of Rose written for Martina, which earned her the Award of the 2009 Croatian Theatres best role in opera, among other important vocal recognitions she has received for her artistic achievements (The Prize Marjana Radev, The Prize Milka Trnina).
Martina’s distinguished performance with the legendary tenor Jose Carreras was part of his farewell World tour in 2016 and 2019 (Pula, Graz and Ljubljana).
At concert podium Martina performes at numerus festivals, such as The Prague Spring, Dvorak’s Praha and Al Bustan Festival, with the Czech philharmonic, the Prague philharmonic, the Zagreb philharmonic and the Slovene philharmonic.
She has collaborated with today’s remarkable conductors, such as Yves Abel, Tomaš Netopil, Serge Baudo, Milan Horvat, Pavle Dešpalj, Massimo Zanetti, Ivan Repušić, Dmitrij Kitajenko, Elio Boncompagni, Vjekoslav Šutej, Loris Voltolini, David de Villiers, Uroš Lajovic, Marko Gašperšič, Jan Chalupecký, Johannes Wildner, Gianluca Marcianò, David Gimenez and others.
In solo recitals Martina is mostly accompanied by her sister, pianist Lana Bradić.
Since 2005 Martina has also been a pedagogue, an associate professor at the Singing department of the Music Academy in Zagreb; among her diplomants are young rising stars Jelena Kordić (mezzosporano) and Marko Mimica (bass).
Katherine Jenkins

Welsh superstar mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins OBE is the world’s most prolific Classical Crossover singer, having released 10 studio albums since being signed to Universal Classics at the tender age of 23. Then a school teacher, she burst onto the music scene in 2003 when she performed at Westminster Cathedral in honour of Pope John Paul II’s Silver Jubilee, became the mascot for her much beloved Welsh Rugby Team, singing the anthem before important international matches & had her debut performance at the Sydney Opera House.Born in South Wales, Katherine learned to sing as a chorister of St. David’s Church choir, Neath. Her love of music was well nurtured in the Welsh Valleys, where she had the opportunity to join choral groups, perform with Welsh Male Voice Choirs as well as participate in Eisteddfods & other musical events. She has always accredited her down to earth nature with her Welsh roots & her amazing family who she lovingly calls ‘The Taffia’. Sadly, Katherine’s father Selwyn passed away from cancer when she was just 15 and since then his memory has been a driving force in her life V every album, every award has been dedicated to him.
Within months of graduating from the Royal Academy of music, Katherine signed the ‘biggest recording deal in UK classical music history’ and released her first album ‘Premiere’ which earned Jenkins her first of seven UK classical number 1’s as well as her first BRIT Award for best album. Sold out tours followed and performances & recordings with Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras, David Foster, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Bryn Terfyl, Rolando Villazon, Juan Diego Florez & Il Divo. She has performed all over the world and is a favourite of the Royal Family, having been invited to sing ‘God Save The Queen’ at Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee as well as at The Queens coronation Concerts at Buckingham Palace.
Not afraid of stepping outside of her comfort zone, Jenkins has appeared as a mentor in ITV’s ‘Popstar to Operastar’, played the role of Abigail in the BBC’s iconic Dr Who Christmas Special, tap danced her way through ‘Viva la Diva’ with Prima Ballerina Darcey Bussell as well as, most notably, winning 2nd place in the U.S. hit TV show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in 2012.
Also known as the ‘Forces Sweetheart’, Charity work has always played an important role for Jenkins. After singing ‘We’ll Meet Again’ with Dame Vera Lynn at the 60th Anniversary of VE Day, she became a trustee of the British Forces Foundation (2005), travelling to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Cyprus & Northern Ireland to entertain the troops. She is also an ambassador for cancer charity Macmillan V raising over £30,000 by running the London marathon for them in 2013.
Katherine & her husband, Artist & Film maker Andrew Levitas, announced they were expecting their first child in 2015. After taking some time off with her family, 2016 sees Jenkins performing her dream role of Carmen at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod as well as performing, by request, at Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday at Windsor Castle.
Photo Credit @venni
Roberto Prosseda

Roberto Prosseda was born in Latina, Italy, in 1975.
His Decca albums dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn, including the Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly, have won much acclaim in the press, including the CHOC from Le Monde de la Musique Classique, the Diapason d’Or and Chamber Music CD of the Month in the UK’s Classic FM magazine.
In 2010, Deutsche Grammophon selected twelve recordings by Prosseda to add to the box set, “Classic Gold”.
In 2014 Prosseda completed his 10-years project of recording all Mendelssohn’s piano works for Decca in 9 CDs.
Roberto Prosseda has performed regularly with some of the world’s most important orchestras, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Moscow State Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala, Bruxelles Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, Netherlands Symphony, Berliner Symphoniker, Staatskapelle Weimar, Calgary Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus. He performed under the baton of David Afkham, Marc Albrecht, Christian Arming, Harry Bickett, Riccardo Chailly, Pietari Inkinen, Yannik Nezeit-Seguin, George Pehlivanian, Dennis Russel-Davies, Tugan Sokhiev, Jan Willem de Vriend, Jurai Valcuha.
Other than Mendelssohn, whose piano music he is considered to be a leading interpreter of today, Prosseda’s interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Chopin have been particularly praised, and these composers have in fact featured in Prosseda’s recent Decca recordings. In 2015, Prosseda started the complete recording of Mozart’ Piano Sonatas with a modern piano tuned with unequal temperament.
An active proponent of Italian music, Prosseda also recorded the complete piano works of Petrassi and Dallapiccola.
In September 2011 Prosseda gave his debut on the pedal piano, performing the Concerto for Pedal Piano by Gounod in the world premiere version for modern instrument. Concerts are planned in the next seasons on this instrument, rediscovering the original compositions by Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt and Charles Valentin Alkan. Several composers, including Ennio Morricone, have already written new pieces for pedal piano for Roberto Prosseda, and a recording of the four Gounod’s pieces for pedal piano and orchestra with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by Howard Shelley, released on the Hyperion label in fall 2013.
Roberto Prosseda is also very active in musical divulgation. He wrote the book “Il Pianoforte” for Curci Editori (2013) and realized three documentaries dedicated to Mendelssohn, Chopin and Liszt (Euroarts). He is currently artistic advisor at Cremona Musica International Exhibitions and president of Associazione Mendelssohn.
Vanessa Perez
As The Washington Post lauded, Venezuelan-American pianist Vanessa Perez “is not to be taken lightly.” Praised for her bold, passionate performing style allied with musicianship of keen sensitivity, Perez has been championed by iconic keyboard performers, from the great Claudio Arrau to Lazar Berman and Tamàs Vàsàry.
She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2004, but her first performance in New York wasn’t in an uptown classical concert hall – it was at the downtown jazz shrine of the Blue Note, where Latin jazz star Arturo Sandoval invited her to perform his “Sureña,” a piece laced with Venezuelan folk melodies.
In recent years, Perez’s performance highlights have ranged from concerts with the Orquesta de la Juventud Simón Bolívar under Gustavo Dudamel in Caracas and with the Orquesta under Diego Matheuz in Puerto Rico’s Casals Festival, to Chopin Festival of Majorca, Spain, and toured Central America with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas under Carlos Miguel Prieto and Jean Philippe Tremblay. She has played with symphony orchestras in the U.S. from Miami to Minnesota to Vermont and in solo recitals from Manhattan to Miami to San Diego. In Europe, as soloist, Perez has performed at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Montpellier Festival in France, Konzerthaus in Berlin, and the Wigmore Hall in London, among others.
Actively involved in performing contemporary music, Perez has collaborated not only with Suzanne Farrin but also with such composers as Paul Moravec, Lowell Liebermann and Paul Desenne.
One of Perez’s latest projects, “New Worlds,” finds the pianist performing with the American actor Bill Murray (Groundhog Day), cellist Jan Vogler, and violinist Mira Wang. Led by the iconic American comedian and cellist Vogler, this group presents a program exploring core American values in literature and music (as represented by the likes of Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein), as well as inspirations in bridging the New World and Europe. The project had its premiere in June 2017 at the Dresden Music Festival, and its US premiere in Napa, California on July 20th, 2017. Recent tours in 2017-2018 with “ New Worlds” included performances at Washington’s Kennedy Center, a sold out Carnegie Hall in New York, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, as well as performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Boston. 2018 brought a tour of Europe and Australia, including London’s Royal Festival Hall, Berlin’s Philharmonie, Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, Reykjavik Arts Festival, Athen’s Odeon Herodes, and Sydney’s Opera House.
As a soloist, Perez’s most recent recording titled Spain was released by the Steinway & Sons label in 2016. On this atmospheric album, the pianist performs music by Manuel de Falla, a Spanish composer with an attraction to French culture, and by Falla’s friend and mentor Claude Debussy, a Frenchman with an affinity for Spain. Perez plays evocative piano suites taken from three stage works by Falla: “La Vida Breve,” “El Sombrero de Tres Picos,” and “El Amor Brujo,” the latter of which includes the famous “Ritual Fire Dance.” Also by Falla are “Homenaje,” an homage to Debussy, and “Fantasía Bética,” commissioned by Arthur Rubinstein. The album’s Debussy works include “La soirée de Grenade” (the second movement of Estampes), “La Puerto del Vino” (from the second book of his Préludes) and “Lindaraja” (his first piece in a Spanish style).
Critics were suitably beguiled by Spain, with the review in International Piano declaring: “The Venezuelan pianist Vanessa Perez could hardly have given us a more vivacious view of Spain: castanets click, guitars strum and bodies whirl in the true spirit of Andalusian flamenco.” All Music Guide seconded that view, hailing the album as “strong…exciting.”
Perez’s previous recording, released in 2012 by Telarc, was Chopin: The Complete Preludes – an acclaimed milestone in her discography. The Washington Post reviewed the album, marveling over her way with the 24 Preludes, Op. 28: “Perez dove into the Preludes as if discovering them for the first time, flinging them out into the hall with a kind of wild intensity that was often breathtaking, as if she were forcing these delicate hothouse flowers into the fresh air for the first time.”
Perez’s debut solo album, released by VAI in 2005, featured the pianist in Chopin’s four dramatic Ballades, pieces from Isaac Albéniz’s landmark Iberia, and a work by contemporary composer Suzanne Farrin. Reviewing her VAI release, International Piano said: “Perez can hold her head up high in the most distinguished company in Chopin’s Ballades. If anything, her Albéniz is even more impressive – impassioned, rich-toned and seductively coquettish where appropriate.” In addition to her solo albums, Perez has been a featured guest on hit recordings by other high-profile artists. Superstar violinist Joshua Bell invited the pianist to record Astor Piazzolla’s “Oblivion” with him for his At Home with Friends album, released by Sony Classical in 2009. She also teamed with Jan Vogler to duet on Piazzolla’s “Le Grand Tango” and more for his 2008 Sony album, “Tango” and her latest collaboration with actor Bill Murray, cellist Jan Vogler, violinist Mira Wang titled “ New Worlds” was released in 2017 on Decca Gold.
With her recordings and many concerts, Perez has developed a significant international profile, playing some of the most prestigious venues across the U.S., Latin America and Europe. The pianist has performed with conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Gustav Meier, James Judd, Ligia Amadio, David Gimenez Carreras, Carlos Izcaray, Diego Matheuz, John Axelrod, and Carlos Miguel Prieto. Also has collaborated with pianist Gabriela Montero, violinist Daniel Hope, singers Isabel Rey and Heather Buck, pianist Ingrid Fliter and Dali String quartet. Reviewing a Perez performance of Mozart’s D Minor Concerto in Germany with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Dortmunder Zeitung called her “a virtuosa wild at heart and with a gentle touch,” combining “spontaneous freshness and poetic expression.”
An eclectic performer, Vanessa Perez can be seen in an episode of Amazon’s hit TV series Mozart in the Jungle. She was filmed at the piano performing a concert of Messiaen’s “Turangalîla Symphony” for inmates at New York’s Rikers Island prison, alongside actor Gael García Bernal, and composer Suzanne Farrin. She was also seen in front of broad audiences playing Chopin’s mazurkas with the Limon Dance Company for their performances in Manhattan’s Bryant Park and the Joyce Theatre. Perez has been featured performing on such popular radio stations as WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago, Sirius XM, and WGBH Boston, as well as on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” American Public Media’s “Performance Today,” Minnesota Public Radio, and Texas Public Radio. Together with the “New Worlds Project” she was interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning by Janey Pauley, and performed for the Stephen Colbert show in New York in 2017.
Perez was raised to her pre-teen years in Venezuela, where she began her studies with Luminita Duca. At age 11, she was invited to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, to make her concert debut performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Orquesta Sinfonica Municipal for a sold-out 2,500-seat auditorium. In the U.S., she studied with noted Claudio Arrau pupils Ena Bronstein and Rosalina Sackstein; at 17, she won a full scholarship for London’s Royal Academy of Music to study with Christopher Elton. She continued her studies with pianists Lazar Berman and Franco Scala in Italy at the renowned Accademia Pianistica Incontri Col Maestro in Imola; she then completed post-graduate studies with Peter Frankl at Yale University and pianist Daniel Epstein in New York City.
A dual citizen of the U.S. and Venezuela, Perez currently resides in Manhattan, with her husband, pianist-arranger Stephen Buck with whom she also gives duo concerts, and their children. Their duo performances of Debussy and Falla pieces are also featured on her “Spain” recording.
Vanessa Perez is a Steinway Artist.
Philippe Quint

One of the most versatile and imaginative artists on the concert stage today, multiple Grammy Award-nominated American violinist Philippe Quint is internationally recognized for his unique approach to classical core repertoire, championing new music, rediscovering neglected works and creating a new format of docu-concert experience; multimedia journeys about lives of Astor Piazzolla and Charlie Chaplin.“Truly phenomenal” is how BBC Music Magazine recently described him, also adding that “Quint’s tonal opulence, generously inflected with subtle portamentos, sounds like a throwback to the glory days of Fritz Kreisler.”
With an award winning discography of 17 commercial releases that can be found on Warner Classics, Naxos and Avanti Classics, Philippe Quint regularly appears with major orchestras and conductors worldwide at venues ranging from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig to Carnegie Hall in New York, while making frequent guest appearances at the most prestigious festivals including Verbier, Aspen, Colmar, Hollywood Bowl and Dresden Festspiele.
Quint’s appearances in recent seasons have taken him to the London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Houston Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Weimar Staatskapelle, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, China National Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Berlin Komische Oper Orchestra, Leipzig’s MDR performing under the batons of such renowned conductors such as the late Kurt Masur, Edo De Waart, Andrew Litton, Tugan Sokhiev, Ludovic Morlot, James Gaffigan, Carl St. Clair, Michael Stern, Vladimir Spivakov, Cristian Macelaru, Kristian Jarvi, Krzysztof Urbanski, Jorge Mester, Jahja Ling, Krzysztof Urbanski, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Tugan Sokhiev, Tito Munoz, Steven Sloane and Bramwell Tovey.
Philippe Quint plays the magnificent 1708 “Ruby” Antonio Stradivari violin on loan to him through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society®.
Andrea Griminelli

Andrea Griminelli’s sensitive interpretations and astonishing technique have earned accolades and awards from every corner of the musical world –including the Grammy, the Prix de Paris and an Italian Knighthood.Legendary flutist Sir James Galway described him as “the greatest flute player who has come to the forefront of the musical scene for many years”.
Over a 34-year career as a soloist, Griminelli has performed at La Scala, Carnegie Hall and Suntory Hall among many others in Europe, Asia and the Americas. His performances with leading conductors have included Georges Pretre, Carl-Maria Giulini, Zubin Mehta, Sir Roger Norrington, Emmanuel Krivine, Yuri Bashmet, Sir Richard Bonynge, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, James Levine, and Jerzy Semkov among others.
He has worked with the Royal Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, Munchner Rundfunkorchester, London Philharmonic, l’Orchestre de Paris, New York Philharmonic, Orchestra Nazionale della RAI, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to name a few.
In 1984, at 25, he was invited by Luciano Pavarotti to perform in the now famous concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. This marked the start of a collaboration between the two artists that spanned 200 concerts including performances at London’s Hyde Park, New York’s Central Park, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Red Square, Moscow.
In 1991 Griminelli received a knighthood from the President of the Italian Republic and in 2003 he was made Officer of Merit of the Italian Republic.
A champion of new work, he has given the world premieres of compositions for flute and orchestra by many composers including Carlo Boccadoro, Fabrizio Festa, Ennio Morricone and Shigeaki Saegusa.
Griminelli began playing the flute at the age of eleven. During his studies with Jean- Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatory, he won music competitions in Stresa and Alessandria, Italy. He was twice awarded the prestigious Prix de Paris.
A prolific recording artist, he has been featured as soloist on more than 30 discs including recordings with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jean-Pierre Rampal and Camerata Academica Salzburg led by Sir Roger Norrington.
His work on behalf of charitable causes has led to frequent collaborations with artists from popular culture including Sir Elton John, James Taylor, Sting, Branford Marsalis and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.
For more details on Andrea Griminelli please visit www.andreagriminelli.com.
Gilles Apap
©® Photo HTh ©®
Described by Yehudi Menuhin as ’’A true violinist of the 21st century’’, Gilles is known for his virtuosity, unique approach to music and the skill to bring joy to every concert hall. He delivers distinctive performances of the standard classical repertoire combined with genres such as jazz and folk from around the world and the result is unique programming merging the borderlines between musical styles.
Born in Algeria to a French family, Gilles started playing music at an early age and began his studies in France. Later, he moved to America and continued his studies at the Curtis Institute, choosing to settle in California. Very early in his career he decided to move away from the constraints of the international music industry, looking for his own way beyond the conventions and expectations related to a commercial career.
As a soloist Gilles has performed with orchestras such as Leipzig Gewandhaus, San Francisco and Vancouver Symphony, Hamburg Philharmonic, Boston Philharmonic, Berliner Symphoniker, Russian National Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, often play directing as well as performing an extensive list of violin concertos.
With his quartet ‘The Colors of Invention’ (violin, accordion, double bass and cimbalom), Gilles presents chamber music with fusion of classical pieces from Vivaldi, Ravel and Bartok with traditional folk tunes. The Ethno Jazz band ‘Meduoteran’ (violin, accordion and saz) is one of the most recent projects in which Gilles is involved, performing in various Jazz and folk festivals around Europe. ‘The Transylvanian Mountain Boys’ is another highly successful crossover band formed by Gilles, together they perform across the globe and have released 3 CDs for Sony Classical. Gilles was taking the artistic leadership position at the Nordic Chamber Orchestra until the 2017/2018 season.
Gilles has also collaborated with the Celtic fiddler Kevin Burke, Indian violinist Dr. L. Subramanian, gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos, jazz violinist Didier Lockwood and contemporary flamenco dancer Belen Maya, amongst others.
Alongside performance, Gilles is very involved in education with his teaching philosophy connecting strongly with cultural diversity and the freedom of interpretation through improvisation which in August Ariana Todes, former editor of The Strad, reflected in an interview highlighting these eclectic aspects of his career.
After participating in the International Menuhin Competition in 1985, Gilles established a lifelong relationship with Yehudi Menuhin. Together they worked on Gilles’ legendary cadenza of Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto, which was filmed and directed by Bruno Monsaingeon. Known for his documentaries about Gould, Richter and Oistrakh, Monsaingeon directed two further films about Gilles Apap and his approach to music, and declared that the violinist’s “art represents music in its greatest possible purity.”
Teotronico

TeoTronico (2012) is a pianist-robot, designed and built by Matteo Suzzi (Teotronica srl). TeoTronico plays the piano with considerable dynamic control and articulation, moving its 53 fingers with great accuracy and speed. He made his debut with the orchestra on August 26, 2012 with the Berlin Symphoniker at the Philharmonie in Berlin, performing Chopin’s Grande Polonaise Brillante op. 22. In November 4, 2012 TeoTronico played Mozart’s Piano Concerto K 488 with Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana. In May 26, 2013 the Brazilian National Television Globo TV broadcast a reportage about TeoTronico and Roberto Prosseda in the prime time show “Fantastico”: http://globotv.globo.com/rede-globo/fantastico/t/edicoes/v/robo-pianista-encara-desafio-contra-maestro-italiano/2597122/
WHAT DOES TEOTRONICO DO?
TeoTronico is a mechanical MIDI player. It may reproduce a piano score literally, playing it from a midi file: it is therefore an ideal interpreter of repertoire for player-piano by Stravinsky, Hindemith, Nancarrow, Ligeti. TeoTronico can also take the “appearance” of a real pianist piano, playing MIDI files derived from piano rolls recorded by great pianists of the past, such as Busoni, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Hoffman. It can also play some “mirror-pianist” if connected to a digital piano played by a person (Roberto Prosseda, acting as “ghost-pianist”). In the “mirror-pianist” mode, TeoTronico can also play as a solo pianist with orchestra, in chamber ensembles and accompanist with singers, even remotely, miles away.
AND BESIDES PLAYING?
Teo can talk, sing and make funny facial expressions. It can reproduce written texts, grant or be dubbed in real time: in both modes, its lips movements are synchronized to the speech, in any language. Thus TeoTronico can interact with its interlocutors, even moving his head, mouth, eyes, eyelids and eyebrows. Equipped with proximity sensors, it can turn to the people who are approach it. When dubbed in real time, TeoTronico can answer questions from the audience. It can also perform with other musicians with an impressive versatility, if in “mirror-pianist” mode, with the assistance of a professional pianist.
WHAT IS IT FOR?
TeoTronico is an innovative and effective instrument of musical education and appreciation. It attracts young audience with its funny appearance and can introduce the founding elements of musical language to school students of any grade, in an immediate, engaging, entertaining way.
Alessandro Carbonare

Alessandro Carbonare, born in Desenzano del Garda (Italy), is principal clarinet of the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia in Rome since 2003.Prior to this, for 15 years he lived in Paris where he served as principal clarinet of the Orchestre National de France.
Carbonare has been awared in many international music competitions around the world, among others, Geneva in 1990, Prague in 1991, Toulon in 1991, ARD Munich in 1991 and in 1992, and Paris in 1992.
He has appeared in concert with among others Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the National Orchestra of Spain, the Oslo Philarmonic Orchestra, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester, the Bayerischer Rundfunk Munich, the Wien the Sinfonietta, the Orchestre National de France, the Berlin Radio Orchestra and all the major Italian orchestras.
As principal clarinet, Carbonare has also performed with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Personally invited by Claudio Abbado, he played with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and under him the Mozart clarinet concerto K622 for Deutsche Grammophon, which won the 49th Record Academy Awards 2013, was recorded live. Many other recordings are available, such as “Alessandro Carbonare, the Art of Clarinet” for Decca.
Alessandro Carbonare plays not only classical music but also Jazz and Klezmer in collaboration with many high calibre musicians.
He is an active member of FESNOJIV in Venezuela, teaching music for free to hundreds of poor young people in Caracas.
He often works together with his famous musician friends, such as Leonidas Kavakos, Pinkas Zuckerman, Alexandre Lonquich, Lang Lang, Martha Argherich, Paquito D’Riveira, Luis Sclavis, Enrico Pieranunzi and Stefano Bollani.
Carbonare is also a professor at Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and during the summer he teacher courses at Accademia Chigiana di Siena.
CARisMA

At its most simple, CARisMA is the union between extraordinary classical guitarists Magdalena Kaltcheva and Carlo Corrieri.
But since they first collaborated in 2011, they have become much more than just a classical guitar duo. Inspired by Debussy, Einaudi and Hans Zimmer as much as electronic masters like Daft Punk, the duo have revolutionised the way classical guitar is played.
By bringing together the old and the new and integrating elements from the contemporary and classical worlds, they have created an innovative sound all of their own.
From the outset, these two prodigiously talented guitarists wanted to create something altogether different from the concertos they had studied. Their journey led to a radical and acclaimed arrangement of David Guetta’s “Titanium”.
The success of “Titanium” sparked their imagination, leading to their new composition and single DoNAtion created with New Zealand electronic composer and producer Nigel Stanford. It is a track rich in melody, driven by Stanford’s ambient beats, creating a new genre that defies classification – but may explain the sound of a duo raised on classical, obsessed with Daft Punk and fascinated by science and nature.
The ‘DNA’ of DoNAtion refers to frequency of human DNA replication which is set at 8 Hz. CARisMA play their music at 432Hz, 8Hz below the international standard of 440Hz. 8Hz is also the frequency that activates both hemispheres of our brain.
DoNAtion is a watershed for Carlo and Magdalena and marks the most radical departure from their straight classical roots and a continued journey into uncharted waters.
“We think differently from most classical musicians,” says Carlo, “We enjoy all music and we’re young, so of course we listen to pop and electronica, they’re as much a soundtrack to our everyday lives as our classical background. And some of the most exciting composers today work in electronic music. It never made sense to us to ignore the modern world and restrict ourselves to classical compositions.”
“At the same time,” adds Magdalena, “We are inspired by so much more – everything from science to surrealism, Nikola Tesla’s experiments on free energy to Salvador Dali. Our base has always been in classical music, but there are many more colours that we can add to the mix.”
By working closely with Nigel Stanford, they have refined their sound and become pioneers in the classical and electronic music worlds – with audiences worldwide left in awe of their synth-driven experimentation.
Along the way, CARisMA’s radical new style has garnered much attention, leading to a performance in front of the world famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli who was astonished by their arrangement and performance of the Overture from ‘The Barber of Seville’ by Rossini and invited the Duo to open his concerts on his tours around the world. The collaboration with Andrea Bocelli led CARisMA to perform at some of the world’s most famous venues such as the Madison Square Garden in New York, the O2 Arena in London, the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai, the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, the Telenor Arena in Oslo among many others.
Both Magdalena and Carlo had early introductions to music. Originally born in Sofia in Bulgaria, Magdalena Kaltcheva began her classical studies in Germany and was taught by the country’s most influential classical guitarists Jürgen Rost and Hubert Käppel. Carlo Corrieri, who grew up in Pisa, began his musical endeavours aged only seven years old and studied in Italy under the great concert guitarists Flavio Cucchi and Matteo Mela, before travelling to California to complete his studies with Christoper Parkening.
“Carlo and I met during many guitar festivals and competitions around the world before becoming a couple in 2010,” says Magdalena. “A year later we created CARisMA after making 5 arrangements of Rachel Portman’s soundtrack to the movie called ‘Chocolat’ together with italian composer Giorgio Mirto. We loved the combination of the two guitars, and our different techniques fitted so well together that we decided to go deeper into that direction. It was very exciting to experiment with different styles of music, not just classical.
“We are composing every day, exploring the electronic sound more and more. No classical guitarist has done this so far and we cannot wait to see where it takes us next.”
In April 2017 CARisMA will release a new EP Album featuring exclusive own compositions.
Giulia Mazzoni

GIULIA MAZZONI was born in Prato, on 15 March 1989. Her first contact with the piano was in elementary school, during recreation, when she heard a wonderful sound from a nearby classroom for the first time. That classroom soon became her secret nook, where she spent every second, minute and hour she had, confiding in and playing what was to become her best friend: the piano.
Giulia began her initial studies in music at Prato’s municipal “G. Verdi” school (under the wings of Susanna Sgrilli and Roberto Manuzzi), continuing at the Conservatorio “G. Verdi” in Milan (under Alessandro Marangoni and Mario Garuti).
Her first stage experience was at age 16, at Prato’s Teatro Metastasio, where she arranged and performed pieces for the Premio Fairplay award show.
Meanwhile, Giulia began a busy concert schedule of solo performances in numerous theatres and venues. She was also involved in a large number of film projects, working with guitarist/composer, Marcello Becattini (known for his soundtracks for Francesco Nuti), and cellist Marco Decimo.
In 2011, Giulia Mazzoni wrote her show Il Viaggio: Dialogo tra Musica, Pittura e Parola, which she performed at the Teatro Metastasio (Prato) and at the Teatro Buratto del Pime (Milan), to enthusiastic reviews.
On 18 June 2013, she released her debut solo piano album, Giocando con i Bottoni (Bollettino/Artist First). The 14 compositions, whose underpinning is simplicity, show the modern influence of pop, rock and light music, but also the taste of tradition with impressionist as well as minimalist inspiration. The album was presented live on 16 October at the Blue Note, in Milan, and on 2 December in Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica.
The first single from Giocando con i Bottoni was Piccola Luce, a composition that expresses in music the concept of hope and the courage to start over after dark times. The video, directed by Federico Monti and produced by Quelquechose (a creative factory coordinated by director Marco Pozzi), used the innovative cinemagraph technique to narrate the story of a young prostitute. The video can be seen at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd8JkZKZVeE.
In October 2013 Giulia Mazzoni won the Premio Ciampi in the category for the best Piero Ciampi cover, with her arrangement of the Livorno singer-songwriter-poet’s song Quando il Giorno Tornerà.
In December 2013, the young pianist was one of the performers invited to the prestigious Christmas Concert, broadcast on Christmas Eve by RAI 2 and RTL 102.5, where she performed The Christmas Song with Calabrian singer Ylenia Lucisano.
On 31 January 2014, the new single from the album Where and When? – a composition dedicated to Maestro Michael Nyman – was released. The video, produced by Alessia Moccia and Andrea Angioli’s Primopiano Tv, was directed by Fabrizio Cestari, the multiple-award-winning director of videos like Cesare Cremonini’s La Nuova Stella di Broadway. The Where and When? video was filmed in Sora municipal council’s (province of Frosinone) Sala Polifunzionale “De Sica”, and also featured sculptures by Franco Losvizzero, who works with various expressive media to create reassuring figures able to awaken childhood memories. The video can be seen at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMnFHybFO9s.
On 4 February 2013, Giulia Mazzoni was a leading figure in the event hosted by Milan’s Multicenter Mondadori, meeting with the public to play several tracks from her debut album, and describe the story and meaning behind them.
On 21 March, Giulia Mazzoni performed with other selected artists at the inauguration of Milan’s prestigious Eataly Smeraldo.
The young pianist’s appointments in 2014 included her participation in a prestigious cultural event in the heart of the Amalfi Coast, the Ravello Festival, on 11 July, as well as at the MEI (meeting of independent labels), on 28 September.
On 3 October 2014 she released the third single from her Giocando con i Bottoni album, accompanied by the online animated video (directed by Hermes Mangialardo), which can be seen at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8joU4qxyxI.
In 2015, Giulia was the only female performer chosen for the Eataly Live Project compilation (Sony Music), with her piece Where and When?, and she performed as resident pianist for AUDI in Milan. For the first time, she also performed her compositions on the organ, for actor Marco Baliani, in Bologna.
On 4 July 2015, at Asti’s Teatro Alfieri, she accompanied actress Chiara Buratti on the piano for her show L’Ultimo Giorno di Sole (directed by Fausto Brizzi), with lyrics and music by Giorgio Faletti.
On 23 July, Giulia Mazzoni went to China to present her album Giocando con i Bottoni, released and distributed by China Records Shanghai Co (licensed by Bollettino Edizioni Musicali), garnering instant sales success. On the same date, the pianist started a tour in China’s biggest cities with sell-out dates for all venues (Shanghai, Tianjin, Xi’an, Chongqing, Wuhan).
In March 2016, the pianist signed a record deal for two albums with Sony Music Italia, of which the first was Room 2401.
On 22 May the Tuscan artist was one of the stars of Piano City Milan and on 22 July she performed in Pratovecchio Stia for the Naturalmente Pianoforte festival.
Ilaria Della Bidia

Study, Passion and Love: Here are the three key words that make Ilaria Della Bidia a sincere artist, versatile, full of energy and emotion to give;
“A voice that now with grit, now with tenderness, invites the soul to dance, leaving it free.”
Tuscan, born and raised in Lucca, Ilaria Della Bidia graduated in piano at the Conservatory of Lucca “L. Boccherini” under the direction of Maria Gloria Belli and studied and perfected her vocal technique under the careful and expert guidance of Antonella De Grossi in Rome.
Among 15 years of career Ilaria has performed as guest of some of the most important stages in Italy as well as in the rest of Europe, USA, Africa and Russia, creating more than 2000 concerts and shows designed to entertain the audience and to share emotions in live concerts also through the combination of the arts, both musical and visual (dance, mime), and acting in collaboration with actors and dancers.
ANDREA BOCELLI World Tours
In 2011 Ilaria met the most beloved tenor Andrea Bocelli and since then she has been performing with him as Pop Guest Artist all over the world in Tours, Festivals and special Events. Among these there are:
Kingdom of Bahrain 2012 “Spring of Culture”; Poland 2012 Lodz Atlas Arena “Bocelli, One night in Lodz”; “Taipei Arena 2015” Taiwan; Carrara 2012 “Giorgio Panariello, Se stasera siamo qui”; per “Fiamme di solidarietà” Teatro Greco, Siracusa 2011; Starlight Festival, Marbella 2015; “Celebrity Fight Night Italia” Forte dei Marmi 2014; “Celebrity Fight Night Italia” Lajatico 2016; “Intimissimi On Ice” Verona 2016; “Music from Heaven” Dubai, 2017; “Szczecin Tall Ship” Waly Chrobrego Szcsecin 2017; “Celebrity Fight Night Italia” Cinecittà, Rome 2017; “Cap Roig Festival”, Cap Roig Spain 2018;“Celebrity Fight Night Italia” Florence, Pitti Palace 2018;”Winter at Tantora” Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia 2019;
Andrea Bocelli Passione Tour 2014/2015, Andrea Bocelli Cinema World Tour 2015/2016/2017 and Andrea Bocelli World Tour 2018/2019.
Since September Ilaria has taken part in the Celebrity Fight Night Italy, one of the nation’s elite charity events, a star-studded evening presented in honor of Muhammad Ali supporting his Parkinson Center and Andrea Bocelli Foundation for the first time in Italy thanks to Andrea Bocelli and Veronica Berti. Celebrities and professional athletes from all over the country participate in a night filled with incredible Live Auction items and live musical performances.
Ilaria is performing in duet with maestro Bocelli along with the other illustrious guests such as: Lionel Richie, John Legend, Sophia Loren, Reba McEntinre, Ronnie Dunn, Leona Lewis, Brian McKnight and many others supported by Ilaria’s live band musicians directed by and under the artistic direction of the great genius David Foster. In 2018 at Palazzo Pitti in Florence Ilaria also hosted the show.
TV & Cinema
As a guest singer, pianist performer and composer she has been attending several national Tv, Radio and Theatre Shows and she collaborated for many discography projects (Alex Barattini, 2010 – Den J Rose, 2009 – Gold ‘n Chic, Shock Mama, 2010, Duel 2008-2012), movie soundtracks, TV & radio jingles, documentaries, background and commercials.
In 2012 she records and writes together with Claudio Gregori (Greg) and Attilio Di Giovanni the song “I’ve never lived before” soundtrack of the Christmas blockbuster movie “Colpi di Fulmine” produced by De Laurentiis (FilmAuro) starred by Lillo&Greg and Christian De Sica. Other movie collaborations as singer-writer: “Un Natale Stupefacente” (2014), “Natale col Boss” (2015), Natale a Londra (2016), “Sapore di te” directed by Carlo Vanzina (2013) as an actress-performer.
In 2018 she composed and recorded together with Attilio Di Giovanni the soundtrack of the blockbuster Movie “DARC” produced and directed by Julius R. Nasso, starred Tony Schiena, Armand Assante and Kippei Shîna and distributed by Netflix worldwide platform since May 1st.
DUEL
Since 2008 Ilaria collaborates with Overlook Italia, together with Alessia Forganni, as artist and writer for the original duo-piano-vocal project “Duel” a crossover between the classical traditions and modern times, between piano virtuosity and the emotions and directness of pop music, two artists and friends playing together their own pianos with passion, irony and sensuality. Duel project performed in Johannesburg in 2010 for the Annually Bidvest Eve, in Beirut – Libano (Extravaganza Show Tour 2011) Austria and Germany (2010) and in 2012 for Raiuno Tv Show “Estate in tv” hosted by Paolo Limiti performing their own original songs and cover with the aim to join the beauty of music from the old times to the modern ones.
Theatre & Radio
In 2010 she supports Giorgio Panariello during his theatre and radio show “Ogni Maledetta domenica” (2010) live form Ambra Garbatella Theatre (Rome) and RTL Radio station.
Since 2013 she collaborates with Rai Radio Due Italia as performer and composer in the most beloved radio broadcast “Il Ruggito del Coniglio” hosted by Marco Presta and Antonello Dose. “Friday” (“Venerdì) jingle song was the most downloaded track as ringtone from Radiodue web site in 2013-2014 season.
In 2014 she realizes the single track ” Cerco Te (Seeking You)” at the PPG Studio, and in the same year she produced and recorded the sacred project “Maria … a walk of Love” soundtrack of the same recital-concert together with Vania Della Bidia and Filippo Velardi (actors).
She writes and stages together with Daniele Zappala, Giulia Scarpelli, Vania Della Bidia and Attilio Di Giovanni (music director) the show ”Il Viaggio” (“The Journey”, 2014) to which great success follows the staging in 2015 of “Sia Bene…detto” (“Be blessed”), with the same cast, a show dedicated to the life of the great Saint Benedetto from Norcia.
Since 2012 she is a sponsor of Arpa Foundation and warmly supports the ABF – Andrea Bocelli Foundation – which operates actively in the outskirts of the world, particularly in Haiti and during the last years especially supporting the earthquake areas in the middle of Italy.
Ilaria sings and have been recording in Spanish, Russian, Swahili, French, Armenian, Portuguese, Arabic, Jewish as well as English and Italian as a tribute and honour to some of the countries that kindly have hosted her.
José Carreras

José Carreras occupies a privileged position in the music world. Born in Barcelona, he studied music in his hometown. In 1970 he started his professional career in the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona in Nabucco and Lucrezia Borgia. His meteoric musical career resulted in early debuts at the world’s most prestigious opera theatres and festivals, including the Theatre alla Scala of Milan ; the New York Metropolitan Opera House; San Francisco Opera; the Vienna Staatsoper; London’s Royal Opera House; the Oper of Munich; Chicago’s Lyric Opera; and the Festivals of Salzburg; Aix en Provence; Edinburgh and Verona.José Carreras has collaborated with the most renowned orchestra conductors including Herbert von Karajan (an artistic and personal relationship which lasted over twelve years and included performances in Salzburg, Berlin and Vienna), Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Chailly, Colin Davis, Giuseppe Sinopoli, James Levine, Carlo Maria Giulini, Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Metha, and with pre-eminent stage directors such as: Franco Zeffirelli, Jean Pierre Ponnelle, Giorgio Strehler, Luigi Comencini and Harold Prince.
His repertoire includes over sixty operas, of which the following stand out: Andrea Chenier, La Bohème, Tosca, Werther, Don Carlo, Carmen, La Forza del Destino, I Pagliacci, L’Elisir d’Amore and Un Ballo in Maschera. José Carreras has performed the leading role in several operatic films for Television, Cinema and Video.Together with his opera activities, he has given frequent recitals in the world’s most famous halls. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Avery Fisher Hall of New York; the Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall in London; the Salle Pleyel in Paris, at the Musikverein and Konzerthaus of Vienna, the Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall and the NHK Hall in Tokyo, the Grosses Festspielhaus of Salzburg, the Philarmonie and the Hercules Saal of Munich, the Palau de la Música of Barcelona, the Teatro Real of Madrid and the Accademia Santa Cecilia of Rome. His wide concert repertoire includes over 600 titles of the most diverse styles ranging from the baroque to contemporary music.
David Giménez

Born in Barcelona, David Giménez studied piano and composition at the Conservatori del Liceu in his hometown. Later on, he specialized in conducting at the Hochschulefür-Musik in Vienna with Karl Österreicher and at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Sir Colin Davis.Since making his debut with the Hannover NDR Orchestra in 1994, he has appeared worldwide, leading the most prominent orchestras and soloists in venues like the Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Salle Pleyel, Vienna Konzerthaus, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, and at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. During his career, David Giménez has conducted orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Philharmonia, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris and Filarmonica della Scala. He has also appeared with soloists such as Yoyo Ma and Antonio Meneses. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Bucarest Philharmonic Orchestra and Laureate Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès in Barcelona.
Opera is an important part of Maestro Giménez’s performance schedule. He has performed a wide operatic repertoire at Teatro alla Scala, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Zurich Opera, Berlin Deutsche Oper, Théâtre du Champs Elysées, Washington Opera, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Madrid’s Teatro Real and Sydney Opera House.
With an exceptional understanding of voice, David Giménez collaborates regularly with singers such as José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Kiri Te Kanawa, Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu or Bryn Terfel.
Recently David Giménez has appeared, among other places, on the podiums of the Munich Symphony, Brucknerhaus Linz Symphony, Vienna Volksoper Orchestra, Czech National Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic and China National Opera House Orchestra. In his home country, Maestro Giménez conducted orchestras like Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Real Filarmonia and Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao. In the operatic field, he opened the 2014/15 season of the Barcelona Opera House (Gran Teatre del Liceu) with a series of tribute concerts to Giuseppe Verdi; then he was the musical director for the new opera El Juez, composed by Christian Kolonovits, which had its world première in Bilbao and the Erl Festival in Austria. Maestro Giménez also made his debut at the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg with this opera. He also joined José Carreras, Placido Domingo and Diana Damrau for different tours in Europe, Asia and South America. In addition, Maestro Giménez has regularly been on the jury of the Reina Sofia competition for composition in Madrid.
During the present season David Giménez will appear, among other things, on podiums with the Royal Philharmonic, Radio Symphonie Orchester Wien, Aalborg Symphony, Sofia Philharmonic, Moscow City State Symphony – Russian Philharmonic and Bucharest Philharmonic. Important highlights will also include Maestro Giménez’s debut at Theater an der Wien with El Juez and several world wide concerts for the José Carreras Farewell Tour.
Maestro David Giménez’s recordings include works for Decca, BMG Classics, Koch- Schwann, Erato and Discmedi.
Ana Ibarra

Acclaimed for her “rich and wide-ranging” sound, Grammy Award winner Ana Ibarra is renowned not only for the quality of her voice but also for her versatility and remarkable musical phrasing: qualities that have allowed her to embrace a wide repertoire.
During her career she has received numerous awards, including the Premio Opera Actual together with Plácido Domingo, and the Grammy Award for the recording of Falstaff.
Since her operatic debut Ana Ibarra has had an active international carreer. She is a regular guest at the Gran Teatro del Liceo de Barcelona an the Teatro Real de Madrid, and has also performed at the Canadian Opera Company, Mariinsky Theatre, La Monnaie in Brussels, Theatre an Der Wien, English National Opera, Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, Vlaamse Opera, Wielki Theater, ABAO in Bilbao and Opera de Oviedo, among others.
She has worked with many well-known conductors such as Sir Colin Davis,Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Jesús López Cobos, Marc Minkowski, Riccardo Frizza, Kazusi Ono, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Enrique Mazzola, David Giménez, Edward Gardner, Josep Pons,Pablo González, Dima Slobodeniouk, Miguel A. Gomez Martinez, Pedro Haffter, Víctor Pablo Pérez, Bertrand de Billy, Rossen Milanov, Miquel Ortega, Enrique García Asensio, Paul Goodwin, Ros Marbá and Jeremie Rhorer among others.
Her repertoire has gradually developed and expanded during her career, and presently she concentrates on the traditional mezzosoprano roles like Carmen or Dalila (Samson et Dalila) ; the great Verdi roles such as Amneris (Aida) or Azucena (Il Trovatore), as well as 20th century repertoire such as Oedipus Rex (Stravinsky) or Bluebeard Castle (Bartok).
She combines her operatic performances with concerts and recitals. She has performed at the Tonhalle in Zurich, Konzerthaus in Viena, Barbican Center in Londres, the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Auditori de Barcelona, Four Seasons Centre en Toronto, Kursaal in San Sebastián, Palau de la Música de Barcelona, Palau de Valencia, Bucarest National Radio Hall, in a repertoire that includes Verdi Requiem, Wagner Wesendonck Lieder and Mahler Symphonies N.2 and N.3.
She has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, Opus Arte, BBC, LSO. Her recordings include Falstaff with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra, Wagner’s Ring at Liceu of Barcelona with Bertrand de Billy, La Conquista di Granata with Jesus Lopez Cobos at Teatro Real, Zarzuela Gala with Carlos Alvarez. She has also recorded several CDs with Spanish Lieder and chamber music.
On stage, she has been directed by Emilio Sagi, Jorge Lavelli, Andreas Homoki, Harry Kufper o Willy Decker and she has also taken part in productions by La Fura dels Baus and Els Comediants. A lover of classical theatre and gifted with great stage presence, Ana Ibarra has always stood out for her ability to convey the emotional world of the characters she portrays and her performances are always tantalising and dramatic.
She collaborates regularly with Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, having taken part in productions such as La Bruja, Una Noche de Zarzuela, La Del Soto del Parral, Luisa Fernanda and more recently, Las Golondrinas. Spanish Music is an essential part of her musical career and she has taken part in world tours and international festivals with the Orquesta Nacional de España playing the role of Salud in Falla’s La Vida Breve and Rosario, in Goyescas, with the Orquesta del Gran Teatro del Liceu. She has also given many Spanish Song recitals all over the world.
Ana Ibarra was born in Valencia. Her interest in music started at the age of six when she studied organ and classical guitar. She then studied singing with Ana Luisa Chova at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo obtaining a distinction and the First Prize in Opera. She then continued her vocal and musical career in Vienna, Paris and New York. Many famous personalities in the opera world have been influential in the professional development of this remarkable singer, namely Dolora Zajick, Elena Obratsova, Montserrat Caballé and Jose Carreras.
Charles Castronovo
Acclaimed internationally as one of the finest lyric tenors of his generation, Charles Castronovo has sung at most of the world’s leading opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Berlin State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Castronovo will begin the 2020/21 season with two significant house debuts: at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as Faust in Mefistofele, and at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan as Rodolfo in La Bohème. He will also debut in the title role of Werther at the Zürich Opera House, sing Don José in Carmen in Paris and Vienna, and return to Munich as Carlo in I Masnadieri. Castronovo will close out the season with his first performances of Rodolfo in Luisa Miller at the Glyndebourne Festival.
Born in New York and raised in California, Charles Castronovo began his career as a resident at the Los Angeles Opera. He was then invited to join the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and in the autumn of 1999 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Beppe in the opening night performance of Pagliacci, opposite Placido Domingo. In the first years of his career, Castronovo built his repertoire with such debuts as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Fenton in Falstaff in Pittsburgh, where he also sang his first Faust; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Ernesto in Don Pasquale in Boston; and Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte in Portland, where he also sang his first performances of Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore. He debuted as Alfredo in La Traviata with the Minnesota Opera, as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Colorado Opera, and as Elvino in La Sonnambula and Rodolfo with the Michigan Opera Theater.
Castronovo made his European stage debut at the 2000 Savonlinna Festival in Don Giovanni. He subsequently debuted in Germany at the Berlin State Opera in the same work under Daniel Barenboim, in France at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse as Fenton, and in Great Britain at the London Proms of 2002 in Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole. In the 2003/04 season, he made his debuts at the San Francisco Opera, Paris Opera and Vienna State Opera as Tamino, and in September of 2004 he debuted at the Royal Opera House as Ferrando. This was followed by his Italian stage debut as Alfredo at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. Other significant debuts included Alfredo at the Hamburg State Opera and the Megaron in Athens, Fenton at the Theatre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels, and Ferrando at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He also made his debut at the Salzburg Festival as Belmonte in Entführung. Castronvono subsequently debuted in Chicago as Tamino, in Toronto and Barcelona as Alfredo, and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Ruggero in La Rondine. He sang his first Duca in Rigoletto in Bordeaux and then reprised the role for his debut in Helsinki. He has sung Alfredo in several revivals at Covent Garden, where he has also performed Ruggero, Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress, Tamino and Rodolfo.
Castronovo has appeared in Vienna as Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Nemorino, and Alfredo; in Munich as Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia, Admeto in Alceste, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Don Ottavio; at the Berlin State Opera as Alfredo, Nemorino, and Faust; and at the Metropolitan Opera as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, Rodolfo, Don Ottavio, and Tamino. He sang his first Hoffmann in Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Baden Baden and his first Des Grieux in Manon in Toulouse. Castronovo sang his first Damnation de Faust in concert in Nice and has also been heard in this work in Baden Baden with the Berlin Philharmonic, under Sir Simon Rattle; with the Dallas Symphony, under Jacques Lacombe; and with the Pittsburgh Symphony, under Manfred Honeck. He sang his first staged performances of Damnation at the Berlin State Opera, with Sir Simon Rattle on the podium.
In recent seasons, Charles Castronovo has begun to add lirico spinto roles to his repertoire: Jason in the rarely performed original French version of Cherubini’s Médée at the Berlin State Opera, conducted by Daniel Barenboim; Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Salzburg Festival in 2019, under Valery Gergiev; Faust in Mefistofele in Baden Baden; and the title role in Roberto Devereux in Munich. He has also participated often in performances of lesser known works: as Mylio in Lalo’s Le Roi d’Ys in Toulouse; as Vincent in Gounod’s Mireille at the Paris Opera; in Massenet’s Therese at the Festival de Montpellier, where he also sang Lalo’s La Jacquerie; and in concerts of Gounod’s Cinq Mars. Castronovo starred opposite Plácido Domingo as Mario in the world premiere of Daniel Catan’s Il Postino at the Los Angeles Opera, a role that he also performed in Paris and Santiago. He also recorded Mercadante’s Virginia for Opera Rara.
Charles Castronovo sang his first Verdi Requiem for his debut at the Semperoper Dresden with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann. He has also been heard in this work in Paris under both Myung-whun Chung and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
Upcoming highlights include the recording of his first solo opera album this summer with the Munich Radio Orchestra, singing Nemorino in l’elisir d’amor at the Chicago Lyric Opera, La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera, L’amico Fritz with the Maggio Musicale Firenze under the baton of Zuben Mehta and Pinkerton in Madama Butterly at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich.
Ekaterina Siurina
Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina enjoys an international career that takes her to many of the top opera houses in Europe and America. Ekaterina studied at the Russian Academy of Theatrical Arts, Moscow, where she made her professional debut singing opposite the world-renowned baritone Dimitri Hvorostovsky at the Novaya Opera. She became a soloist of the Municipal Moscow Theatre and was a prize winner of the Rimski-Korsakov and the Elena Obratsova competition in Russia.
Her operatic roles include
Donna Anna, Olympia, Adina and Violetta at the Wiener Staatsoper
Gilda, Susanna and Zerlina at the Metropolitan Opera
Norina in Don Pasquale at Washington National Opera
Adina at the Houston Grand Opera
Pamina, Mimi, Rigoletto and Gianni Schicchi for the Royal Opera House
L’elisir d’amore, Carmen, Violetta and Falstaff for Bayerische Staatsoper
L’elisir d’amor for Pittsburgh Opera and Opera de Nice, Glyndebourne Festival, Staatsoper Berlin and Hamburgische Staatsoper
Le nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto, Elisire, Gianni Schicchi, I Capuleti e I Montecchi and
Anne Trulove, The Rake’s Progress at the Opera de Paris
Idomeneo and Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival
Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro at Teatro alla Scala
Violetta, La traviata with the Canadian Opera Company
Leila, Les pêcheurs de perles at Opera Australia
Guilietta I Capuleti e I Montecchi at the Liceu Barcelona and the Paris Opera
Rigoletto at the Arena di Verona.
As a versatile soprano, Ekaterina is recognised on the concert platform, where she has worked with many of today’s prominent conductors including Yuri Temirkanov, Evelino Pidò, Daniel Oren, Philippe Jordan, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Richard Bonynge, Roberto Abbado, Antonio Pappano and Nathalie Stutzmann.
Recent engagements include L’elisir d’amore and Falstaff at the Bayerische Staatsoper, her debut as Donna Anna Don Giovanni at the Wiener Staatsoper, Adina L’elisir d’amore for Pittsburgh Opera and a return to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Mimi. Concert appearances included the Rossini Stabat Mater, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Mozart’s Requiem and several Gala concerts.
Highlights of the 2019/20 season included a return to the Wiener Staatsoper as Violetta La Traviata and Mimi La bohème at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Royal Opera House Covent Garden, plus Micaela Carmen at Bayerische Staatsoper, alongside other European concert engagements, including with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. She also recorded her latest solo album titled “Amour éternel” featuring French and Italian Arias.
The 2020/21 season has included many role debuts such as Antonia (Hoffmann), the title role of Iolanta and Rusalka by Dvorak. She was part of an art film project -Live from Florence- “Puccini”.
Her recording and DVD catalogue include:
Amore e Morte (Opus Arte)
The Complete Rachmaninov songs (Delphian)
Amour éternel (Delos)
Le nozze di Figaro (Paris Opera)
Idomeneo (Salzburg Festival)
Don Giovanni (Salzburg Festival)
Mozart Gala (Salzburg Festival)
L’elisir d’amor (Glyndebourne Festival)
Gianni Schicchi (Royal Opera, Covent Garden)
Celine Byrne

Celine Byrne is a lyric soprano from Kildare, Ireland. She received her Masters in Music from the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2007, where she studied with Dr. Veronica Dunne, also receiving the RIAM award for outstanding achievement. In addition she has an honours Music Degree from the Conservatory of Music and Drama, Dublin, where she was awarded the college Gold Medal for excellence. She has received coaching at the National Opera Studio of London and has studied with Christa Ludwig at the Vienna Staatsoper.
In 2007 Celine was awarded the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Maria Callas Grand Prix, Athens. Other awards include the Margaret Burke-Sheridan Gold Medal in 2009, the William Young Prize at the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, Dublin 2007 and the ‘Brabants Dagblad Press Prize’ at the IVC International Singing Competition in s’Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
Now recognised nationally and internationally as one of opera’s great stars, a performer of ‘fine lyrical quality and a touching actor’, Celine made her operatic début as Mimi, in Scottish Opera’s 2010 production of La Bohéme. By 2012 she was to be heard at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the lead role of Dvorak’s Rusalka which she took over at very short notice. Soon afterwards she was invited back to assume the role of Mimi (La Bohème) followed by Micaela in Carmen and, in the seasons that have followed, she has performed extensively throughout Europe as well as in the United States, China, Russia and Mexico in roles including Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Cio San in (Madama Butterfly) Floria Tosca in (Tosca); Die Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier), Micaela in Carmen, Marietta/Marie in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt and most recently Liu (Turandot) in Leipzig and again in Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf followed by Elizabeth in Verdi’s Don Carlo.
A frequent concert performer, Celine is very familiar to both Irish and international audiences and has also performed with world-renowned tenors José Carreras, Roberto Alagna and Joseph Calleja. Future engagements include concerts with Josè Carreras in Europe, China and Russia, having performed her 30th concert with him at The Royal Albert Hall in May last year. Celine has also performed in concert with Bryn Terfel and recently sung with him and Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sasha Goetzel. Future engagements include A Summer Gala with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in the Czech Republic under André Lenard; Richard Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder in Austria, a concert in Carnegie Hall, NY and a recording of Verdi’s Requiem with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Lenard. Next sseason Celine will sing Madama Butterfly in Stockholm, Donna Elvira with Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv directed by Kasper Holten, Tosca with Mikhailovsky Opera, St. Petersburg and Sardinia and Madama Butterfly conducted by Francesco Angelico in Kassel.
Gladys Rossi

Gladys Rossi started her vocal studies in 2002 and made her operatic debut in 2003 as Gilda in Rigoletto in Busseto with the Fondazione Arturo Toscanini.
She has sung Frasquita in Carmen at the Teatro Regio in Parma, in Savona, in Bilbao and in 2009 she sang this role under the baton of Placido Domingo in a performance staged by Franco Zeffirelli at the Arena di Verona.
She has sung Gilda in Sassuolo, Catanzaro, Larnaca, Piacenza, Bassano del Grappa, Padua, Venice and at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania as well as at the Luglio Musicale Trapanese.
She has been Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro in Tourcoing and Rennes, Musetta in La Boheme at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Konigin der Nacht in Die Zauberfloote in Bilbao, Hanna Glawari in Die Lustige Witwe in Padua, Rovigo and Bassano del Grappa, Nannetta in Falstaff, in Rome, Despina in Così Fan Tutte in Menorca, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera in Salerno, at the Arena Sferisterio of Macerata, in Parma as well as in a new production staged by Hugo De Ana in Beijing.
In 2008 she debuted as Violetta in La Traviata in Rovigo, Bassano, Padua and Vicenza. This role she performed as well in 2009 at the Arena D’Annunzio of Pescara, in 2010 at the Teatro Politeama in Palermo and at the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice under Myung-Whun Chung, in 2011 in Zurich under Carlo Rizzi and again in Venice staged by Robert Carsen.
As Violetta she also made her highly acclaimed debut in Salzburg in 2012 and in that same year she has also sung the part at the Trapani festival.
In 2014 she made her debut in contemporary opera at La Fenice Theater in Venice with Elegy for young lovers (Henze ) and in 2016 she returned with Agenzia matrimoniale (Hazon).
In 2015 she made her debut at Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in the opera El Juez where she performed alongside Mo. José Carreras.
As a concert singer she has been heard in, among others, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate at the Teatro Regio in Parma, in a concert of operatic arias at the Laeszishalle in Hamburg, in a gala concert with Katia Ricciarelli in Venice and in a concert in Brussels with the Arena di Verona Company.
She has also performed in concert with Josè Carreras in Parma, Modena, Genova, Marostica, Rome, Barcelona and Tokyo.
She performed under the batons of the following conductors: Kery Lynn Wilson, Gunther Neuhold, Pietro Rizzo, Diego Matheus, Myung-Whun Chung, Carlo Rizzi, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Asher Fisch, Lu Jia, Daniele Callegari, Jean Cristoph Spinosi, Jean Claude Malgoire, Tiziano Severini, Renato Palumbo, Piergiorgio Morandi, Alberto Veronesi, Patrick Fourniller, Placido Domingo and David Gimenez.
In the 2018 season she will sing Musetta in Naples and Marie La Fille du Regiment in Trieste.
Martina Zadro
One of the leading Croatian-Slovenian sopranos today, Martina Zadro very soon proved herself an integrated scenic personality, continuously present at the international operatic scene entrancing audiences across Europe, from Japan to South America. The winner of the 1999 “Lucia Popp” and the “Antonin Dvořák” International vocal competitions, Martina has been gaining international recognition ever since with her clear and expressive voice and her completely devoted stage presence.
Martina was the last student of the legendary soprano Anna Moffo, with whom she studied from 2004 – 2006 in New York. After graduating and mastering in singing at the Zagreb Music Academy with prof. Snježana Bujanović-Stanislav, Martina continued her studies at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Graz, further specializing with Croatian baritone Vitomir Marof and Slovak pedagogue prof. Eva Blahovà.
Establishing herself in operas by Verdi, Mozart and Puccini, her interpretation of Violetta, Mimi, Contessa, Pamina and Susanna brought her to the Narodni divadlo Prague, Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Teatro Municipal Lima, Narodni Divadlo Brno, Schlossfestspiele von Thurn und Taxis Regensburg, Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, Salzburg Landestheatre, Bunkamura Orchard Hall Tokyo… Martina’s interpretation of Janaček’s heroine Kata Kabanova at the Opera Rennes, was highly acclaimed by the French critics in 2018.
Since 2003 the principal soloist of the Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet in Ljubljana, Martina Zadro has been performing numerous roles as the leading soprano and achieved great international success in the role of Armgard, of the rediscovered first Offenbach’s opera “Die Rheinnixen” in 2005. Expanding her repertoire to Verdi’s Desdemona, Martina gave a triumphant Otello with Jose Cura at Ljubljana Festival 2016. Her upcoming roles this seaison include Antonia and Donna Anna.
Her opera debut was in 1995 at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, where she has since sung many parts, highlighted by an outstanding production of opera ‘Crux dissimulata’ by contemporary Croatian composer Srećko Bradić, the part of Rose written for Martina, which earned her the Award of the 2009 Croatian Theatres best role in opera, among other important vocal recognitions she has received for her artistic achievements (The Prize Marjana Radev, The Prize Milka Trnina).
Martina’s distinguished performance with the legendary tenor Jose Carreras was part of his farewell World tour in 2016 and 2019 (Pula, Graz and Ljubljana).
At concert podium Martina performes at numerus festivals, such as The Prague Spring, Dvorak’s Praha and Al Bustan Festival, with the Czech philharmonic, the Prague philharmonic, the Zagreb philharmonic and the Slovene philharmonic.
She has collaborated with today’s remarkable conductors, such as Yves Abel, Tomaš Netopil, Serge Baudo, Milan Horvat, Pavle Dešpalj, Massimo Zanetti, Ivan Repušić, Dmitrij Kitajenko, Elio Boncompagni, Vjekoslav Šutej, Loris Voltolini, David de Villiers, Uroš Lajovic, Marko Gašperšič, Jan Chalupecký, Johannes Wildner, Gianluca Marcianò, David Gimenez and others.
In solo recitals Martina is mostly accompanied by her sister, pianist Lana Bradić.
Since 2005 Martina has also been a pedagogue, an associate professor at the Singing department of the Music Academy in Zagreb; among her diplomants are young rising stars Jelena Kordić (mezzosporano) and Marko Mimica (bass).
Katherine Jenkins

Welsh superstar mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins OBE is the world’s most prolific Classical Crossover singer, having released 10 studio albums since being signed to Universal Classics at the tender age of 23. Then a school teacher, she burst onto the music scene in 2003 when she performed at Westminster Cathedral in honour of Pope John Paul II’s Silver Jubilee, became the mascot for her much beloved Welsh Rugby Team, singing the anthem before important international matches & had her debut performance at the Sydney Opera House.Born in South Wales, Katherine learned to sing as a chorister of St. David’s Church choir, Neath. Her love of music was well nurtured in the Welsh Valleys, where she had the opportunity to join choral groups, perform with Welsh Male Voice Choirs as well as participate in Eisteddfods & other musical events. She has always accredited her down to earth nature with her Welsh roots & her amazing family who she lovingly calls ‘The Taffia’. Sadly, Katherine’s father Selwyn passed away from cancer when she was just 15 and since then his memory has been a driving force in her life V every album, every award has been dedicated to him.
Within months of graduating from the Royal Academy of music, Katherine signed the ‘biggest recording deal in UK classical music history’ and released her first album ‘Premiere’ which earned Jenkins her first of seven UK classical number 1’s as well as her first BRIT Award for best album. Sold out tours followed and performances & recordings with Placido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Jose Carreras, David Foster, Dame Kiri te Kanawa, Bryn Terfyl, Rolando Villazon, Juan Diego Florez & Il Divo. She has performed all over the world and is a favourite of the Royal Family, having been invited to sing ‘God Save The Queen’ at Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee as well as at The Queens coronation Concerts at Buckingham Palace.
Not afraid of stepping outside of her comfort zone, Jenkins has appeared as a mentor in ITV’s ‘Popstar to Operastar’, played the role of Abigail in the BBC’s iconic Dr Who Christmas Special, tap danced her way through ‘Viva la Diva’ with Prima Ballerina Darcey Bussell as well as, most notably, winning 2nd place in the U.S. hit TV show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in 2012.
Also known as the ‘Forces Sweetheart’, Charity work has always played an important role for Jenkins. After singing ‘We’ll Meet Again’ with Dame Vera Lynn at the 60th Anniversary of VE Day, she became a trustee of the British Forces Foundation (2005), travelling to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Cyprus & Northern Ireland to entertain the troops. She is also an ambassador for cancer charity Macmillan V raising over £30,000 by running the London marathon for them in 2013.
Katherine & her husband, Artist & Film maker Andrew Levitas, announced they were expecting their first child in 2015. After taking some time off with her family, 2016 sees Jenkins performing her dream role of Carmen at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod as well as performing, by request, at Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday at Windsor Castle.
Photo Credit @venni
Roberto Prosseda

Roberto Prosseda was born in Latina, Italy, in 1975.
His Decca albums dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn, including the Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly, have won much acclaim in the press, including the CHOC from Le Monde de la Musique Classique, the Diapason d’Or and Chamber Music CD of the Month in the UK’s Classic FM magazine.
In 2010, Deutsche Grammophon selected twelve recordings by Prosseda to add to the box set, “Classic Gold”.
In 2014 Prosseda completed his 10-years project of recording all Mendelssohn’s piano works for Decca in 9 CDs.
Roberto Prosseda has performed regularly with some of the world’s most important orchestras, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic, Moscow State Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala, Bruxelles Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, Netherlands Symphony, Berliner Symphoniker, Staatskapelle Weimar, Calgary Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus. He performed under the baton of David Afkham, Marc Albrecht, Christian Arming, Harry Bickett, Riccardo Chailly, Pietari Inkinen, Yannik Nezeit-Seguin, George Pehlivanian, Dennis Russel-Davies, Tugan Sokhiev, Jan Willem de Vriend, Jurai Valcuha.
Other than Mendelssohn, whose piano music he is considered to be a leading interpreter of today, Prosseda’s interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Chopin have been particularly praised, and these composers have in fact featured in Prosseda’s recent Decca recordings. In 2015, Prosseda started the complete recording of Mozart’ Piano Sonatas with a modern piano tuned with unequal temperament.
An active proponent of Italian music, Prosseda also recorded the complete piano works of Petrassi and Dallapiccola.
In September 2011 Prosseda gave his debut on the pedal piano, performing the Concerto for Pedal Piano by Gounod in the world premiere version for modern instrument. Concerts are planned in the next seasons on this instrument, rediscovering the original compositions by Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt and Charles Valentin Alkan. Several composers, including Ennio Morricone, have already written new pieces for pedal piano for Roberto Prosseda, and a recording of the four Gounod’s pieces for pedal piano and orchestra with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by Howard Shelley, released on the Hyperion label in fall 2013.
Roberto Prosseda is also very active in musical divulgation. He wrote the book “Il Pianoforte” for Curci Editori (2013) and realized three documentaries dedicated to Mendelssohn, Chopin and Liszt (Euroarts). He is currently artistic advisor at Cremona Musica International Exhibitions and president of Associazione Mendelssohn.
Vanessa Perez
As The Washington Post lauded, Venezuelan-American pianist Vanessa Perez “is not to be taken lightly.” Praised for her bold, passionate performing style allied with musicianship of keen sensitivity, Perez has been championed by iconic keyboard performers, from the great Claudio Arrau to Lazar Berman and Tamàs Vàsàry.
She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2004, but her first performance in New York wasn’t in an uptown classical concert hall – it was at the downtown jazz shrine of the Blue Note, where Latin jazz star Arturo Sandoval invited her to perform his “Sureña,” a piece laced with Venezuelan folk melodies.
In recent years, Perez’s performance highlights have ranged from concerts with the Orquesta de la Juventud Simón Bolívar under Gustavo Dudamel in Caracas and with the Orquesta under Diego Matheuz in Puerto Rico’s Casals Festival, to Chopin Festival of Majorca, Spain, and toured Central America with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas under Carlos Miguel Prieto and Jean Philippe Tremblay. She has played with symphony orchestras in the U.S. from Miami to Minnesota to Vermont and in solo recitals from Manhattan to Miami to San Diego. In Europe, as soloist, Perez has performed at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Montpellier Festival in France, Konzerthaus in Berlin, and the Wigmore Hall in London, among others.
Actively involved in performing contemporary music, Perez has collaborated not only with Suzanne Farrin but also with such composers as Paul Moravec, Lowell Liebermann and Paul Desenne.
One of Perez’s latest projects, “New Worlds,” finds the pianist performing with the American actor Bill Murray (Groundhog Day), cellist Jan Vogler, and violinist Mira Wang. Led by the iconic American comedian and cellist Vogler, this group presents a program exploring core American values in literature and music (as represented by the likes of Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein), as well as inspirations in bridging the New World and Europe. The project had its premiere in June 2017 at the Dresden Music Festival, and its US premiere in Napa, California on July 20th, 2017. Recent tours in 2017-2018 with “ New Worlds” included performances at Washington’s Kennedy Center, a sold out Carnegie Hall in New York, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, as well as performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Boston. 2018 brought a tour of Europe and Australia, including London’s Royal Festival Hall, Berlin’s Philharmonie, Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, Reykjavik Arts Festival, Athen’s Odeon Herodes, and Sydney’s Opera House.
As a soloist, Perez’s most recent recording titled Spain was released by the Steinway & Sons label in 2016. On this atmospheric album, the pianist performs music by Manuel de Falla, a Spanish composer with an attraction to French culture, and by Falla’s friend and mentor Claude Debussy, a Frenchman with an affinity for Spain. Perez plays evocative piano suites taken from three stage works by Falla: “La Vida Breve,” “El Sombrero de Tres Picos,” and “El Amor Brujo,” the latter of which includes the famous “Ritual Fire Dance.” Also by Falla are “Homenaje,” an homage to Debussy, and “Fantasía Bética,” commissioned by Arthur Rubinstein. The album’s Debussy works include “La soirée de Grenade” (the second movement of Estampes), “La Puerto del Vino” (from the second book of his Préludes) and “Lindaraja” (his first piece in a Spanish style).
Critics were suitably beguiled by Spain, with the review in International Piano declaring: “The Venezuelan pianist Vanessa Perez could hardly have given us a more vivacious view of Spain: castanets click, guitars strum and bodies whirl in the true spirit of Andalusian flamenco.” All Music Guide seconded that view, hailing the album as “strong…exciting.”
Perez’s previous recording, released in 2012 by Telarc, was Chopin: The Complete Preludes – an acclaimed milestone in her discography. The Washington Post reviewed the album, marveling over her way with the 24 Preludes, Op. 28: “Perez dove into the Preludes as if discovering them for the first time, flinging them out into the hall with a kind of wild intensity that was often breathtaking, as if she were forcing these delicate hothouse flowers into the fresh air for the first time.”
Perez’s debut solo album, released by VAI in 2005, featured the pianist in Chopin’s four dramatic Ballades, pieces from Isaac Albéniz’s landmark Iberia, and a work by contemporary composer Suzanne Farrin. Reviewing her VAI release, International Piano said: “Perez can hold her head up high in the most distinguished company in Chopin’s Ballades. If anything, her Albéniz is even more impressive – impassioned, rich-toned and seductively coquettish where appropriate.” In addition to her solo albums, Perez has been a featured guest on hit recordings by other high-profile artists. Superstar violinist Joshua Bell invited the pianist to record Astor Piazzolla’s “Oblivion” with him for his At Home with Friends album, released by Sony Classical in 2009. She also teamed with Jan Vogler to duet on Piazzolla’s “Le Grand Tango” and more for his 2008 Sony album, “Tango” and her latest collaboration with actor Bill Murray, cellist Jan Vogler, violinist Mira Wang titled “ New Worlds” was released in 2017 on Decca Gold.
With her recordings and many concerts, Perez has developed a significant international profile, playing some of the most prestigious venues across the U.S., Latin America and Europe. The pianist has performed with conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Gustav Meier, James Judd, Ligia Amadio, David Gimenez Carreras, Carlos Izcaray, Diego Matheuz, John Axelrod, and Carlos Miguel Prieto. Also has collaborated with pianist Gabriela Montero, violinist Daniel Hope, singers Isabel Rey and Heather Buck, pianist Ingrid Fliter and Dali String quartet. Reviewing a Perez performance of Mozart’s D Minor Concerto in Germany with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Dortmunder Zeitung called her “a virtuosa wild at heart and with a gentle touch,” combining “spontaneous freshness and poetic expression.”
An eclectic performer, Vanessa Perez can be seen in an episode of Amazon’s hit TV series Mozart in the Jungle. She was filmed at the piano performing a concert of Messiaen’s “Turangalîla Symphony” for inmates at New York’s Rikers Island prison, alongside actor Gael García Bernal, and composer Suzanne Farrin. She was also seen in front of broad audiences playing Chopin’s mazurkas with the Limon Dance Company for their performances in Manhattan’s Bryant Park and the Joyce Theatre. Perez has been featured performing on such popular radio stations as WQXR New York, WFMT Chicago, Sirius XM, and WGBH Boston, as well as on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” American Public Media’s “Performance Today,” Minnesota Public Radio, and Texas Public Radio. Together with the “New Worlds Project” she was interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning by Janey Pauley, and performed for the Stephen Colbert show in New York in 2017.
Perez was raised to her pre-teen years in Venezuela, where she began her studies with Luminita Duca. At age 11, she was invited to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, to make her concert debut performing Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Orquesta Sinfonica Municipal for a sold-out 2,500-seat auditorium. In the U.S., she studied with noted Claudio Arrau pupils Ena Bronstein and Rosalina Sackstein; at 17, she won a full scholarship for London’s Royal Academy of Music to study with Christopher Elton. She continued her studies with pianists Lazar Berman and Franco Scala in Italy at the renowned Accademia Pianistica Incontri Col Maestro in Imola; she then completed post-graduate studies with Peter Frankl at Yale University and pianist Daniel Epstein in New York City.
A dual citizen of the U.S. and Venezuela, Perez currently resides in Manhattan, with her husband, pianist-arranger Stephen Buck with whom she also gives duo concerts, and their children. Their duo performances of Debussy and Falla pieces are also featured on her “Spain” recording.
Vanessa Perez is a Steinway Artist.
Philippe Quint

One of the most versatile and imaginative artists on the concert stage today, multiple Grammy Award-nominated American violinist Philippe Quint is internationally recognized for his unique approach to classical core repertoire, championing new music, rediscovering neglected works and creating a new format of docu-concert experience; multimedia journeys about lives of Astor Piazzolla and Charlie Chaplin.“Truly phenomenal” is how BBC Music Magazine recently described him, also adding that “Quint’s tonal opulence, generously inflected with subtle portamentos, sounds like a throwback to the glory days of Fritz Kreisler.”
With an award winning discography of 17 commercial releases that can be found on Warner Classics, Naxos and Avanti Classics, Philippe Quint regularly appears with major orchestras and conductors worldwide at venues ranging from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig to Carnegie Hall in New York, while making frequent guest appearances at the most prestigious festivals including Verbier, Aspen, Colmar, Hollywood Bowl and Dresden Festspiele.
Quint’s appearances in recent seasons have taken him to the London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Houston Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Weimar Staatskapelle, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, China National Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Berlin Komische Oper Orchestra, Leipzig’s MDR performing under the batons of such renowned conductors such as the late Kurt Masur, Edo De Waart, Andrew Litton, Tugan Sokhiev, Ludovic Morlot, James Gaffigan, Carl St. Clair, Michael Stern, Vladimir Spivakov, Cristian Macelaru, Kristian Jarvi, Krzysztof Urbanski, Jorge Mester, Jahja Ling, Krzysztof Urbanski, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Tugan Sokhiev, Tito Munoz, Steven Sloane and Bramwell Tovey.
Philippe Quint plays the magnificent 1708 “Ruby” Antonio Stradivari violin on loan to him through the generous efforts of The Stradivari Society®.
Andrea Griminelli

Andrea Griminelli’s sensitive interpretations and astonishing technique have earned accolades and awards from every corner of the musical world –including the Grammy, the Prix de Paris and an Italian Knighthood.Legendary flutist Sir James Galway described him as “the greatest flute player who has come to the forefront of the musical scene for many years”.
Over a 34-year career as a soloist, Griminelli has performed at La Scala, Carnegie Hall and Suntory Hall among many others in Europe, Asia and the Americas. His performances with leading conductors have included Georges Pretre, Carl-Maria Giulini, Zubin Mehta, Sir Roger Norrington, Emmanuel Krivine, Yuri Bashmet, Sir Richard Bonynge, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, James Levine, and Jerzy Semkov among others.
He has worked with the Royal Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, Munchner Rundfunkorchester, London Philharmonic, l’Orchestre de Paris, New York Philharmonic, Orchestra Nazionale della RAI, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to name a few.
In 1984, at 25, he was invited by Luciano Pavarotti to perform in the now famous concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. This marked the start of a collaboration between the two artists that spanned 200 concerts including performances at London’s Hyde Park, New York’s Central Park, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Red Square, Moscow.
In 1991 Griminelli received a knighthood from the President of the Italian Republic and in 2003 he was made Officer of Merit of the Italian Republic.
A champion of new work, he has given the world premieres of compositions for flute and orchestra by many composers including Carlo Boccadoro, Fabrizio Festa, Ennio Morricone and Shigeaki Saegusa.
Griminelli began playing the flute at the age of eleven. During his studies with Jean- Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatory, he won music competitions in Stresa and Alessandria, Italy. He was twice awarded the prestigious Prix de Paris.
A prolific recording artist, he has been featured as soloist on more than 30 discs including recordings with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jean-Pierre Rampal and Camerata Academica Salzburg led by Sir Roger Norrington.
His work on behalf of charitable causes has led to frequent collaborations with artists from popular culture including Sir Elton John, James Taylor, Sting, Branford Marsalis and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.
For more details on Andrea Griminelli please visit www.andreagriminelli.com.
Gilles Apap
©® Photo HTh ©®
Described by Yehudi Menuhin as ’’A true violinist of the 21st century’’, Gilles is known for his virtuosity, unique approach to music and the skill to bring joy to every concert hall. He delivers distinctive performances of the standard classical repertoire combined with genres such as jazz and folk from around the world and the result is unique programming merging the borderlines between musical styles.
Born in Algeria to a French family, Gilles started playing music at an early age and began his studies in France. Later, he moved to America and continued his studies at the Curtis Institute, choosing to settle in California. Very early in his career he decided to move away from the constraints of the international music industry, looking for his own way beyond the conventions and expectations related to a commercial career.
As a soloist Gilles has performed with orchestras such as Leipzig Gewandhaus, San Francisco and Vancouver Symphony, Hamburg Philharmonic, Boston Philharmonic, Berliner Symphoniker, Russian National Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, often play directing as well as performing an extensive list of violin concertos.
With his quartet ‘The Colors of Invention’ (violin, accordion, double bass and cimbalom), Gilles presents chamber music with fusion of classical pieces from Vivaldi, Ravel and Bartok with traditional folk tunes. The Ethno Jazz band ‘Meduoteran’ (violin, accordion and saz) is one of the most recent projects in which Gilles is involved, performing in various Jazz and folk festivals around Europe. ‘The Transylvanian Mountain Boys’ is another highly successful crossover band formed by Gilles, together they perform across the globe and have released 3 CDs for Sony Classical. Gilles was taking the artistic leadership position at the Nordic Chamber Orchestra until the 2017/2018 season.
Gilles has also collaborated with the Celtic fiddler Kevin Burke, Indian violinist Dr. L. Subramanian, gypsy violinist Roby Lakatos, jazz violinist Didier Lockwood and contemporary flamenco dancer Belen Maya, amongst others.
Alongside performance, Gilles is very involved in education with his teaching philosophy connecting strongly with cultural diversity and the freedom of interpretation through improvisation which in August Ariana Todes, former editor of The Strad, reflected in an interview highlighting these eclectic aspects of his career.
After participating in the International Menuhin Competition in 1985, Gilles established a lifelong relationship with Yehudi Menuhin. Together they worked on Gilles’ legendary cadenza of Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto, which was filmed and directed by Bruno Monsaingeon. Known for his documentaries about Gould, Richter and Oistrakh, Monsaingeon directed two further films about Gilles Apap and his approach to music, and declared that the violinist’s “art represents music in its greatest possible purity.”
Teotronico

TeoTronico (2012) is a pianist-robot, designed and built by Matteo Suzzi (Teotronica srl). TeoTronico plays the piano with considerable dynamic control and articulation, moving its 53 fingers with great accuracy and speed. He made his debut with the orchestra on August 26, 2012 with the Berlin Symphoniker at the Philharmonie in Berlin, performing Chopin’s Grande Polonaise Brillante op. 22. In November 4, 2012 TeoTronico played Mozart’s Piano Concerto K 488 with Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana. In May 26, 2013 the Brazilian National Television Globo TV broadcast a reportage about TeoTronico and Roberto Prosseda in the prime time show “Fantastico”: http://globotv.globo.com/rede-globo/fantastico/t/edicoes/v/robo-pianista-encara-desafio-contra-maestro-italiano/2597122/
WHAT DOES TEOTRONICO DO?
TeoTronico is a mechanical MIDI player. It may reproduce a piano score literally, playing it from a midi file: it is therefore an ideal interpreter of repertoire for player-piano by Stravinsky, Hindemith, Nancarrow, Ligeti. TeoTronico can also take the “appearance” of a real pianist piano, playing MIDI files derived from piano rolls recorded by great pianists of the past, such as Busoni, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Hoffman. It can also play some “mirror-pianist” if connected to a digital piano played by a person (Roberto Prosseda, acting as “ghost-pianist”). In the “mirror-pianist” mode, TeoTronico can also play as a solo pianist with orchestra, in chamber ensembles and accompanist with singers, even remotely, miles away.
AND BESIDES PLAYING?
Teo can talk, sing and make funny facial expressions. It can reproduce written texts, grant or be dubbed in real time: in both modes, its lips movements are synchronized to the speech, in any language. Thus TeoTronico can interact with its interlocutors, even moving his head, mouth, eyes, eyelids and eyebrows. Equipped with proximity sensors, it can turn to the people who are approach it. When dubbed in real time, TeoTronico can answer questions from the audience. It can also perform with other musicians with an impressive versatility, if in “mirror-pianist” mode, with the assistance of a professional pianist.
WHAT IS IT FOR?
TeoTronico is an innovative and effective instrument of musical education and appreciation. It attracts young audience with its funny appearance and can introduce the founding elements of musical language to school students of any grade, in an immediate, engaging, entertaining way.
CARisMA
At its most simple, CARisMA is the union between extraordinary classical guitarists Magdalena Kaltcheva and Carlo Corrieri.
But since they first collaborated in 2011, they have become much more than just a classical guitar duo. Inspired by Debussy, Einaudi and Hans Zimmer as much as electronic masters like Daft Punk, the duo have revolutionised the way classical guitar is played.
By bringing together the old and the new and integrating elements from the contemporary and classical worlds, they have created an innovative sound all of their own.
From the outset, these two prodigiously talented guitarists wanted to create something altogether different from the concertos they had studied. Their journey led to a radical and acclaimed arrangement of David Guetta’s “Titanium”.
The success of “Titanium” sparked their imagination, leading to their new composition and single DoNAtion created with New Zealand electronic composer and producer Nigel Stanford. It is a track rich in melody, driven by Stanford’s ambient beats, creating a new genre that defies classification – but may explain the sound of a duo raised on classical, obsessed with Daft Punk and fascinated by science and nature.
The ‘DNA’ of DoNAtion refers to frequency of human DNA replication which is set at 8 Hz. CARisMA play their music at 432Hz, 8Hz below the international standard of 440Hz. 8Hz is also the frequency that activates both hemispheres of our brain.
DoNAtion is a watershed for Carlo and Magdalena and marks the most radical departure from their straight classical roots and a continued journey into uncharted waters.
“We think differently from most classical musicians,” says Carlo, “We enjoy all music and we’re young, so of course we listen to pop and electronica, they’re as much a soundtrack to our everyday lives as our classical background. And some of the most exciting composers today work in electronic music. It never made sense to us to ignore the modern world and restrict ourselves to classical compositions.”
“At the same time,” adds Magdalena, “We are inspired by so much more – everything from science to surrealism, Nikola Tesla’s experiments on free energy to Salvador Dali. Our base has always been in classical music, but there are many more colours that we can add to the mix.”
By working closely with Nigel Stanford, they have refined their sound and become pioneers in the classical and electronic music worlds – with audiences worldwide left in awe of their synth-driven experimentation.
Along the way, CARisMA’s radical new style has garnered much attention, leading to a performance in front of the world famous Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli who was astonished by their arrangement and performance of the Overture from ‘The Barber of Seville’ by Rossini and invited the Duo to open his concerts on his tours around the world. The collaboration with Andrea Bocelli led CARisMA to perform at some of the world’s most famous venues such as the Madison Square Garden in New York, the O2 Arena in London, the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai, the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, the Telenor Arena in Oslo among many others.
Both Magdalena and Carlo had early introductions to music. Originally born in Sofia in Bulgaria, Magdalena Kaltcheva began her classical studies in Germany and was taught by the country’s most influential classical guitarists Jürgen Rost and Hubert Käppel. Carlo Corrieri, who grew up in Pisa, began his musical endeavours aged only seven years old and studied in Italy under the great concert guitarists Flavio Cucchi and Matteo Mela, before travelling to California to complete his studies with Christoper Parkening.
“Carlo and I met during many guitar festivals and competitions around the world before becoming a couple in 2010,” says Magdalena. “A year later we created CARisMA after making 5 arrangements of Rachel Portman’s soundtrack to the movie called ‘Chocolat’ together with italian composer Giorgio Mirto. We loved the combination of the two guitars, and our different techniques fitted so well together that we decided to go deeper into that direction. It was very exciting to experiment with different styles of music, not just classical.
“We are composing every day, exploring the electronic sound more and more. No classical guitarist has done this so far and we cannot wait to see where it takes us next.”
In April 2017 CARisMA will release a new EP Album featuring exclusive own compositions.
Giulia Mazzoni

GIULIA MAZZONI was born in Prato, on 15 March 1989. Her first contact with the piano was in elementary school, during recreation, when she heard a wonderful sound from a nearby classroom for the first time. That classroom soon became her secret nook, where she spent every second, minute and hour she had, confiding in and playing what was to become her best friend: the piano.
Giulia began her initial studies in music at Prato’s municipal “G. Verdi” school (under the wings of Susanna Sgrilli and Roberto Manuzzi), continuing at the Conservatorio “G. Verdi” in Milan (under Alessandro Marangoni and Mario Garuti).
Her first stage experience was at age 16, at Prato’s Teatro Metastasio, where she arranged and performed pieces for the Premio Fairplay award show.
Meanwhile, Giulia began a busy concert schedule of solo performances in numerous theatres and venues. She was also involved in a large number of film projects, working with guitarist/composer, Marcello Becattini (known for his soundtracks for Francesco Nuti), and cellist Marco Decimo.
In 2011, Giulia Mazzoni wrote her show Il Viaggio: Dialogo tra Musica, Pittura e Parola, which she performed at the Teatro Metastasio (Prato) and at the Teatro Buratto del Pime (Milan), to enthusiastic reviews.
On 18 June 2013, she released her debut solo piano album, Giocando con i Bottoni (Bollettino/Artist First). The 14 compositions, whose underpinning is simplicity, show the modern influence of pop, rock and light music, but also the taste of tradition with impressionist as well as minimalist inspiration. The album was presented live on 16 October at the Blue Note, in Milan, and on 2 December in Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica.
The first single from Giocando con i Bottoni was Piccola Luce, a composition that expresses in music the concept of hope and the courage to start over after dark times. The video, directed by Federico Monti and produced by Quelquechose (a creative factory coordinated by director Marco Pozzi), used the innovative cinemagraph technique to narrate the story of a young prostitute. The video can be seen at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd8JkZKZVeE.
In October 2013 Giulia Mazzoni won the Premio Ciampi in the category for the best Piero Ciampi cover, with her arrangement of the Livorno singer-songwriter-poet’s song Quando il Giorno Tornerà.
In December 2013, the young pianist was one of the performers invited to the prestigious Christmas Concert, broadcast on Christmas Eve by RAI 2 and RTL 102.5, where she performed The Christmas Song with Calabrian singer Ylenia Lucisano.
On 31 January 2014, the new single from the album Where and When? – a composition dedicated to Maestro Michael Nyman – was released. The video, produced by Alessia Moccia and Andrea Angioli’s Primopiano Tv, was directed by Fabrizio Cestari, the multiple-award-winning director of videos like Cesare Cremonini’s La Nuova Stella di Broadway. The Where and When? video was filmed in Sora municipal council’s (province of Frosinone) Sala Polifunzionale “De Sica”, and also featured sculptures by Franco Losvizzero, who works with various expressive media to create reassuring figures able to awaken childhood memories. The video can be seen at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMnFHybFO9s.
On 4 February 2013, Giulia Mazzoni was a leading figure in the event hosted by Milan’s Multicenter Mondadori, meeting with the public to play several tracks from her debut album, and describe the story and meaning behind them.
On 21 March, Giulia Mazzoni performed with other selected artists at the inauguration of Milan’s prestigious Eataly Smeraldo.
The young pianist’s appointments in 2014 included her participation in a prestigious cultural event in the heart of the Amalfi Coast, the Ravello Festival, on 11 July, as well as at the MEI (meeting of independent labels), on 28 September.
On 3 October 2014 she released the third single from her Giocando con i Bottoni album, accompanied by the online animated video (directed by Hermes Mangialardo), which can be seen at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8joU4qxyxI.
In 2015, Giulia was the only female performer chosen for the Eataly Live Project compilation (Sony Music), with her piece Where and When?, and she performed as resident pianist for AUDI in Milan. For the first time, she also performed her compositions on the organ, for actor Marco Baliani, in Bologna.
On 4 July 2015, at Asti’s Teatro Alfieri, she accompanied actress Chiara Buratti on the piano for her show L’Ultimo Giorno di Sole (directed by Fausto Brizzi), with lyrics and music by Giorgio Faletti.
On 23 July, Giulia Mazzoni went to China to present her album Giocando con i Bottoni, released and distributed by China Records Shanghai Co (licensed by Bollettino Edizioni Musicali), garnering instant sales success. On the same date, the pianist started a tour in China’s biggest cities with sell-out dates for all venues (Shanghai, Tianjin, Xi’an, Chongqing, Wuhan).
In March 2016, the pianist signed a record deal for two albums with Sony Music Italia, of which the first was Room 2401.
On 22 May the Tuscan artist was one of the stars of Piano City Milan and on 22 July she performed in Pratovecchio Stia for the Naturalmente Pianoforte festival.
About
Miura Management is a global artist management and booking agency. We aim to provide a full range of personalised services to each of our artists.
The success of Miura Management is thanks to our team of dedicated professionals. Through our strong connections with opera houses and concert halls, promoters and record labels worldwide, we manage the careers and touring activities of some of the finest artists in the world of music.
About
Miura Management is a global artist management and booking agency. We aim to provide a full range of personalised services to each of our artists.
Founded in 2015, the success of Miura Management is thanks to our team of dedicated professionals. Through our strong connections with opera houses and concert halls, promoters and record labels worldwide, we manage the careers and touring activities of some of the finest artists in the world of music.