Maria José Siri Was Born in Uruguay and Began Playing the Piano at 5 Years Old, Encouraged

MARIA JOSÉ SIRI

Soprano

Maria José Siri was born in Uruguay and began playing the piano at 5 years old, encouraged by a passion for the music of her father, who taught her to play and sing the Tango.

In 2003 she began to perform in her country and begins to be recognized as a young talent in international competitions such as Juventudes Musicales and Ars Lyrica of Montevideo which gives her first Award. In 2003 she was elected as Newcomer of the Year by the Association of Argentine Music Critics.She arrived for the first time in Italy in 2004 and won first Prize at the International Competition of Accademia Musicale Umbra and of Mattia Battistini di Rieti, before getting the same first Prize at the Nuevas Voces Award at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and the International Competition of Bilbao in Spain. In 2006 she also won the Music Prize of the Spanish Competition Manuel Ausensi in Barcelona and ​​the first prize of the Opera Competition and the Best Singer Award, awarded by the public at the Semperoper in Germany.She began her international career in the most important Opera theaters in the world: in 2008 she sang Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, she made her debut as Mimi in La Bohème at the Semper Oper in Dresden, Verdi's Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic in Berlin and La Traviata at the Festival of Sant Margarethen in Austria.But her most important debut was at the Staatsoper Stuttgart with Aida, which became her favorite character. In December of the same year she was in fact chosen for the part of the Ethiopian slave in the production of the great Franco Zeffirelli at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.In 2009 she debuted with great success at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in the title role ofAida, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and conducted by M° Daniel Barenboim, then went on tour with La Scala in Tel Aviv and Tokyo. In the same year she also sang Sifare in Mitridate re di Ponto for the Mozart Festival in La Coruña with director Graham Vick, Aida at the Soyrèes Lirique Festival in Sanxay and Stuttgart, where she also performed in Il Trovatore and as Nedda in Pagliacci at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence directed by M° Zeffirelli.Her recent engagements include Rachel in The Juive in St. Petersburg, Verdi's Requiem at the Mozart Festival in La Coruña under the direction of Victor Pablo Perez, Tosca at the Carlo Felice Genoa, Savonlinna, Turin, Palermo and Vienna, Lucrezia in I Due Foscari in Trieste, Nedda in Pagliacci in Montevideo, Leonora in Il Trovatore in Palermo, Bologna and Venice, Aida in Stuttgart, at the Bregenz Festival directed by Graham Vick, Hamburg and Florence at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino directed by Ferzan Ozpetek and conducted by M° Zubin Mehta.

And also Tatyana in Eugene Onegin at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, Mimì in La Bohème for the Liceu in Barcelona and the San Carlo in Naples, Maddalena in Andrea Chénier at the Bregenz Festival, at Kungliga Operan Stockholm and the Teatro Regio in Turin, Leonora in La Forza del destino at Cologne, Suor Angelica in Il Trittico at the Royal Opera Copenhagen, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra and Desdemona in Otello in Turin, Tosca at the Staatsoper in Berlin and Stuttgart, Manon Lescaut in Valencia, Pagliacci in Montecarlo, Un Ballo in maschera in Bruxelles.

Among her future engagements areManon Lescaut in Sao Paulo, Aida in Valencia, Andrea Chènier in Berlin and Las Palmas, il Trittico in Rome, Don Carlos in Bilbao, Tosca in Berlin and Tokyo.

With the Fondazione Arena di Verona, in 2013 she took part in the show Verdi, nostro Shakespeare - Viaggio in musica e parole staged at the Teatro Romano in Verona and debuted at the Arena di Verona singing the title role in Aida. In 2014 she returned in the Arena for Aida by La Fura dels Baus.

In 2015 she takes part in the event The Show is about to beginwith Paolo Bonolis broadcast on Italian TV channel Canale 5; then, for the 2015 Opera Festival she sings the title role in Aida and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

SUSANNA BRANCHINI

Soprano

Susanna Branchini, born in Rome to an Italian father and aCaribbean mother, she graduates with honors at the F. Morlacchi Music Conservatory in Perugia, and successfully participates in many international competitions: she’s a finalist in both Toulouse and As.Li.Co. and wins the Mattia Battistini contest. In 2002 she debuts at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome as Micaela in Carmen, soon followed by Liù in Turandot and Mimì in La Bohème.

Her svelt vocal evolution allows her to approach a more incisive repertoire very quickly, as Verdi’s heroines, going from Aida, Trovatore and Don Carlo to the soprano drammatico d’agilità roles such as Odabella in Attila and Lady in Macbeth (in which she just opened the Season 2012/13 at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona), characters that show her artistic temperament and her acting skills.

Susanna Branchini feels comfortable both in the psychological depth of Puccini’s lyricism inTosca, Madama Butterfly, Tabarro and Suor Angelica as well as the “verismo” repertoire where she can range from Pagliacci to Cavalleria Rusticana.

Ms. Branchini performs on numerous prestigious stages, including Teatro dell'Opera in Rome; Arena di Verona; Teatro Regio in Parma; Teatro San Carlo in Naples; Teatro Massimo in Palermo; Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari; Opera de Nice; Vlaamse Oper in Antwerpen; Oper Leipzig; Savonlinna Festival; Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv; Hong Kong Opera and Bunkamura Teatre in Tokyo. She collaborates with such conductors as Maurizio Arena, Maurizio Barbacini, Niksa Baresza, Andrea Battistoni, Maurizio Benini, Giampaolo Bisanti, Massimo De Bernardt, Gabriele Gelmetti, Marco Guidarini, Julian Kovatchev, Vladimir Jurowski, Günther Neuhold, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Oren, Stefano Ranzani, Donato Renzetti, Omer Wellber and directors as Giancarlo Del Monaco, Renzo Giacchieri, Peter Konwitschny, Pierfrancesco Maestrini, Lorenzo Mariani, Francesco Micheli, Franco Ripa di Meana, Ivan Stefanutti and Franco Zeffirelli.

Among her recent and future engagements: Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Arena Sferisterio in Macerata, Tosca in Antwerpen, Leonora in Il Trovatore in the season opening production at Teatro Municipal de Sao Paulo, Tosca at La Fenice in Venice and at Arena Sferisterio in Macerata, Aida at Arena di Verona, Lady Macbeth at Theatre de Champs-Elysees under the baton of Daniele Gatti, Aida and the debut as Abigaille in Nabucco at the Arena di Verona.

She debuts at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona in the role of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, the inaugural opera of the Opera Season 2012-2013.

She debuts at the Arena di Verona in 2008 in Carmen; in 2013she takes part in theGala Domingo-Harding; in 2014 she sings in Aida.

She returns for the 2015 Festival as Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco and in the title role for Aida.

MONICA ZANETTIN

Soprano

Born in Treviso, Monica Zanettin took her voice degree at the “B. Marcello” Conservatory in Venice. Furthermore she attended masterclasses with Mirella Freni, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Richard Barker, Alida Ferrarini, Alain Garichot and Alfonso Antoniozzi. At the moment she is studying with Cristina Orsolato.

Prize winner of important international voice competitions such as “Martinelli Pertile”, “Ottavio Ziino”, “Capri Opera Competition”, “Iris Adami Corradetti”, “Toti dal Monte”, “Armel Opera Competition”, “Concorso Internazionale dell’Opera e della Poesia” Verona.

She has recently made her role debut as Aida in Aida at the Arena di Verona.

She has also performed as Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Teatro Del Monaco in Treviso, in Grosseto and Massa Marittima; Violetta in La Traviata in Venice, Salsomaggiore, Carpi and Fidenza; Nedda in Pagliacci in Fidenza, Carpi and Piacenza; Mimì in La Bohème and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte in Venice and the second Maid in Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.

Her extensive concert repertoire includes Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony performed at the Thèatre Massenet in Saint Etienne.

Her future engagements include the debut as Amelia in Un Ballo in maschera at La Monnaie Bruxelles, title role in Aida at the Daegu Opera House, Mimì in La Bohème at the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp.

She debuted at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona in 2012 singing Aida, after winning the IX International Singing Competition organized by the International Institute for Opera and Poetry in Verona.

At the Arena di Verona she debuted in 2013 taking part in the televised event The Show is about to begin presented by Antonella Clerici, she then debuted in the 2014 Opera Festival singing the title role in Aida.

She returns for the 2015 Opera Festival singing the title role in Aida.

SAE-KYUNGRIM

Soprano

Sae-KyungRim graduatedinsinging atthe"Giuseppe Verdi" ConservatoryinMilanandinthecourseforoperasingerSoloistsof the Accademiadel Teatro allaScalawithLeyla Gencer.She haswonseveralinternational competitions insinging,includingthe"GiambattistaViotti"inVercelli.

RecentlysheperformedMaddalena/AndreaChénierat the National Theater Seoul inMarch2015.

At the TeatroallaScalainMilanshehasperformedinproductions suchas:DialoguesdesCarmelitesbyPoulenc,RinaldobyHandel,ElektrabyRichardStrauss,LaBohèmebyPuccini,Fiordiligi/Cosìfan tutteand othersunderthedirection ofRiccardoMuti,OttavioDantone, Semyon Bychkov,RafaelFrühbeckdeBurgos,NiksaBareza,JeffreyTate,Riccardo Chailly,Lothar Koenigs andDanielBarenboim.

In2013sheperformedthe titleroleinAidaatSejongTheater Seoul,andVerdi’sRequiem intheOperaHouseofSeoul. InSeoulshehasperformedmanyleadingrolesinthe past5years suchasMadame Lidoine/LesDialogues desCarmelitesbyPoulenc,Amelia/Unballo in maschera,Leonora/ForzadelDestino,Marguerite/Mefistofeleby Boito,Tosca.

Hertheatrical debut was performingParisinabyDonizettiattheTeatroDonizettiinBergamo.

ShemadeherdebutattheTeatro CocciaofNovaraperforming thetitleroleinMadamaButterflybyPuccini.

InFebruary2009shetookpart intheproductionofMadamaButterflybyPucciniattheTeatroValli inReggio Emilia, inthe roleof Cio-Cio-San.Thatseasonshealso performedLeonorainLaForzadelDestino byVerdiattheTeatro SejongSeoulandalsoAidabyVerdi,inthetitlerole, attheStadttheatherofKlagenfurt.

Future engagementsincludeAida/AidaatSejongTheaterSeoul,inMunich,Cio-Cio-San/Madama ButterflyinLasPalmas andBergenandLeonora/La ForzadelDestinoatthe TeatroFilarmonicodi Verona.

She debuts at the Arena di Verona for the 2015 Opera Festival, singing the title role in Aida.

AMARILLI NIZZA

Soprano

Very young, Amarilli Nizza won the“Mattia Battistini” competition and debuted at the Teatro Flavio Vespasiano in Rieti which starred in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. In 2001, after a series of experiences, she began her career on the international scene. Her authoritative and flexible vocalism, supported by a solid and refined singing technique, nuanced phrasing and remarkable acting abilities, enable her to encompass a wide operatic repertoire. Her vocal gifts and dazzling appearance have made Amarilli Nizza one of the most acclaimed sopranos of her generation in the most prestigious theatres and international opera festivals such as the following: Covent Garden London, Staatsoper Vienna, Fondazione Arena di Verona, Deutsche Oper Berlin,Teatro del Liceu Barcellona, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Hamburg Staatsoper, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, Leipzig Opernhaus, Dresden Semperoper, Teatro La Fenice Venice, Teatro Regio Torino, Teatro Opera Roma ,Teatro Lirico Cagliari, Teatro Carlo Felice Genova, Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Teatro di San Carlo Napoli, Teatro alle Terme di Caracalla, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Teatro Verdi Trieste, Teatro Regio Parma, Macerata Opera Festival, Kremlin Palace Moscow, the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Nice Opera, Cesis Latvian Festival, Opera Palma De Mallorca, Avenches Opera Festival, Megaron Athens Mussikis, New National Theatre Tokyo, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Opera Royal Wallonie Liege, Teatro Campoamor Oviedo, Busseto Verdi Festival, Teatro Comunale Modena, Teatro Ponchielli Cremona, Piacenza Teatro Municipale, Teatro Comunale Ferrara, Brescia Teatro Grande, Teatro Argentina Rome, Tokyo Bunkamura, Teatro Goldoni,Livorno, Teatro Del Giglio In Lucca, Operaireland, Teatro Cilea Reggio Calabria, Salerno Teatro Verdi, Opera of Monte Carlo and Osaka Festival Hall.

HER REPERTOIRE

1. GIUSEPPE VERDI: Aida, Macbeth, Nabucco, Attila, La Traviata, Il Trovatore,Un Ballo in Maschera, Ernani, La Forza del Destino, Luisa Miller, I Masnadieri, Otello, Simon Boccanegra,I Vespri Siciliani, Messa da Requiem
2. GIACOMO PUCCINI:Tosca , Madama Butterfly , Manon Lescaut, Il Tabarro ,Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, La Bohème , Edgar , Turandot.
3. FRANCESCO CILEA: Adriana Lecouvreur
4. RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO: Pagliacci
5. GEORGES BIZET: Carmen(Micaëla)
6. ARRIGO BOITO: Mephistopheles
7. WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro
8. JULES MASSENET: Thaïs
9. PIETRO MASCAGNI: Friend
10. RICCARDO ZANDONAI: Francesca da Rimini, I Cavalieri di Ekebù
11. FRANZ LEHAR: Die Lustige Witwe

AWARDS AND PRIZES

1. Orazio Tosi Award for Tosca – Regio of Parma (2002)
2. Juliet Prize for Aida – Arena di Verona (2006)
3. Gianni Poggi International Prize for Il Trittico – Piacenza (2007)
4. Special Prize city of Anguillara (2007)
5. Premio Internazionale Tiberini D ’ Gold 2008 (San Lorenzo in Campo)
6. Hank d ’ Gold Award 2009 (Carpi)
7. Premio Zenatello 2009 (Verona)
8. Owl d ’ Gold Award 2010 career (Vizzini)
9. Marcella Pobbe Award 2010 (Vicenza)
10. Premio Cilea 2011 (Reggio Calabria)
11. Myrta Gabardi Award 2011 (Milan)
12. Premio Giuseppe Verdi – Giovanni Zenatello 2013 (Verona)

Amarilli Nizza has worked with outstanding conductors such as: Maurizio Rinaldi, Myung-Whun Chung, Zubin Metha, Daniel Oren, Eve Queler, Bruno Bartoletti, Alain Lombard, Philippe Auguin, Markus Letonja, Patrick Fourniller, Ulf Schirmer, Renato Palumbo, Maurizio Arena, Maurizio Benini, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Alain Daniel, Donato Renzetti, Giuliano Carella, Gianluca Martinenghi, Riccardo Frizza, Gunter Nehueld, Piegiorgio Morandi, Massimo De Bernardt, Stefano Ranzani, Kery-Linn Wilson, Steven Mercurio, Niksa Bareza, Ralph Weikart, Yoram David, Massimiliano Stefanelli, Sutey Viekoslav, Romano Gandolfi, George Pehlivanian, Paolo Carignani, Julian Kovachev, Carlo Palleschi, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, Paolo Arrivabeni, Fabrizio Maria Carminati, Antonino Fogliani, Pedro Halffter, Andrea Battistoni, Marco Armiliato, Lu Jia, Mathias Foremny, Antony Bramall, Omer Meier Wellber and Giacomo Sagripanti.

She ha salso worked with stage directors such as:Franco Zeffirelli, Peter Konvitchny, Grahm Vick, Paul Curran, PierLuigi Pizzi, Saverio Marconi, Vivien Hewitt, Stefano Vizioli, Stephen Lawless, Jean-Louis Grinda, Gianfranco de Bosio, Sorelle, Hugo De Ana, Gilbert Delfo, Alberto Fassini, Roberto De Simone, Massimo Ranieri, Federico Tiezzi, Nicolas Joel, Gino Landi, Cristina Pezzoli, Isabelle Wagner, Giorgio Gallione, Ivan Stefanutti, Dieter Kaegi, Leo de Bernardinis, Beppe De Tomasi, Pierfrancesco Maestrini, Renata Scotto, Antonello Madau Diaz, David Mcclaren, Friedrich Goetzhe, Pier’ Alli, Lorenzo Mariani, Renzo Giacchieri, Franca Valeri, John Scandella, Giulio Ciabatti, Francesco Micheli, Mario Gas, Dietrich Hilsdorf and Alex Rigola.

She debuted at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona in 2004 singing Tosca, then in 2005 she sings La Vedova allegra. In 2010 she took part in a Concert, then she interprets Manon Lescaut in 2011, Pagliacci in 2012 and Attila in 2013.

With the Fondazione Arena di Verona she was the protagonist in Tosca for the production staged in Cipro in 2003.

At the Arena di Verona she debuted in 2005 as Aida, a role she interpreted up to the 2014 Festival.

In 2006 she sang Pagliacci. In 2010 she took part in the event The Show is about to begin live on Italian TV channel Rai Uno.

In 2012 she sang in Carmen and Turandot, in 2013 in Nabucco and in 2014 she interpreted the title role in Madama Butterfly.

She returns for the 2015 Festival singing the title role in Aida.

HUI HE

Soprano

Chinese soprano Hui He has performed in all the great theatres of the world including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Teatro Liceo in Barcelona, the Deutsch Oper in Berlin, the Arena di Verona and theChicago Lyric Opera among others.

She burst onto the international scene in 2003 in the title role of Madama Butterfly at the Opera de Bordeaux.

Engagements for the current 2014-2015 have included Tosca in Chicago, Seville and Palermo, Aida in Beijing and at the Rome Opera, Madama Butterfly in Vienna, Oslo and at the Deutsch Oper in Berlin and Il Trovatore at the Orange. She also appeared in Oman on tour with the Deutsch Oper in the title role of Manon Lescaut.

For the 2013-2014 season, Hui He appeared in Aida at La Scala, in the title role of La Gioconda in Berlin, as Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera, inUn ballo in maschera at the Arena di Verona and in Il Trovatore in Sao Paulo.

Engagements for the 2015/2016 season include Il Trovatore at the Paris Opera, Madama Butterfly in Munich, Tosca in Dresden and her first performances of La Forza del destino in Wiesbaden.

Born in China's old imperial capital, Xi'an,she completed her musical studies and won the second prize in the "Operalia" competition in 2000. In 2001 she won first prize in the "Voci Verdiane" Competition in Busseto and made her Italian stage debut in 2002 as Tosca at the Teatro Regio in Parma.

Other significant engagements have included Tosca in concert with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic, Stiffelio at the Vienna State Opera, Tosca at La Scala and Aida at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and with the Chicago Lyric Opera.

She is a favorite artist at the Arena di Verona where she appears every season.

With the Fondazione Arena, she debuted at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona in 2002, singing the role of Amelia in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera.

She then debuted atthe Arena di Verona in 2005as Liù in Puccini’s Turandot, revived in 2009; in 2006 and 2008she took part in Puccini’s Tosca and in 2010 she was Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. In 2007 and from 2009 to 2014 she sangthe title role in Aida. In 2013 she took part in Verdi’s works Il Trovatore andMessa da Requiem and in a Gala Verdi, in 2014 she returns as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera.

She returns for the 2015 Opera Festival in the title role for Aida and Tosca.