Elīna Garanča

Elīna Garanča comes from a Latvian family of musicians—her father is a choir conductor and her mother a singer. She developed an interest in music at an early age, but only decided to pursue a career in opera after finishing school. She studied singing at the Latvian Academy of Music, in the US, Amsterdam, and Vienna. She had her first engagements in Bucharest and Athens at the age of 21. After stints at the opera houses in Meiningen and Frankfurt am Main, she joined the Vienna State Opera, where she made her debut as Lola in Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. Winning the International Mirjam Helin Singing Competition in Finland in 1999 helped the Latvian singer gain greater recognition in the opera world. Her international breakthrough came with the otherwise little-noticed role of Annio in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's La clemenza di Tito at the 2003 Salzburg Festival. Today, the mezzo-soprano, who speaks excellent German, is one of the biggest stars on the opera scene.