Recital Elīna Garanča

Elīna Garanča was born in Riga and studied at the Latvian Academy of Music. She won the Mirjam Helin Singing Competition in 1999 and was a finalist in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2001. After engagements in Meiningen and Frankfurt, she quickly established herself with appearances at renowned opera and concert houses as one of the leading mezzo-sopranos internationally. She has appeared, among others, at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Bavarian State Opera and the Berlin State Opera, as well as at the Opéra national de Paris. In 2003 she became an ensemble member of the Vienna State Opera, where she was awarded the title of Austrian Kammersängerin in 2013. Her numerous awards include, among others, several Echo prizes and multiple honors as Singer of the Year. A highlight of her career was her debut at the Royal Opera House in London in 2009 as Carmen and performances in the same role in a new production at the Metropolitan Opera, which was broadcast worldwide in over 1000 cinemas. As Carmen she has also appeared at La Scala in Milan, at the Vienna State Opera and at the Zurich Opera House. Recently she sang the Principessa di Bouillon in "Adriana Lecouvreur" at the Teatro Real, Santuzza ("Cavalleria rusticana") and Eboli ("Don Carlo") at the Vienna State Opera, Amneris ("Aida") at the New York Met and the Bavarian State Opera, Kundry ("Parsifal") at the Bayreuth Festival, as well as gala concerts and recitals (among others at the Zurich Opera House). Highlights of the 2025/26 season include, among others, a tour under Daniele Gatti and the Staatskapelle Dresden with the "Verdi Requiem", "Adriana Lecouvreur" in Naples, as well as at the Zurich Opera House the title role in "Carmen" and Marguerite in "La Damnation de Faust".

Matthias Schulz, born in 1977 in Bavaria, studied piano at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and economics at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. He has a long-standing relationship with the Salzburg Festival, where he was appointed project manager, concert and media officer, and in 2009 head of concert planning. In this position, he was responsible for co-designing the programs as well as coordinating and interlinking all festival productions. A particular focus was on contemporary music theater. In 2012, Matthias Schulz became Artistic Director and Commercial Managing Director of the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg. In addition to programming the festival and concert series, his responsibilities as CFO and HR director included fundraising, marketing, press relations, and media productions. From 2017 to 2024, he was Artistic Director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. Alongside expanding the core repertoire, including numerous world premieres, Matthias Schulz established successful formats for early music and experimental music theater. He placed strong emphasis on fostering young talent and increased the accessibility of the house through innovative opera formats and by attracting new audiences. He oversaw the transition from Daniel Barenboim to the appointment of Christian Thielemann as General Music Director. Since August 2025, Matthias Schulz has been Artistic Director of the Zurich Opera House. As a pianist, chamber musician, and accompanist, he has collaborated closely with artists such as Elīna Garanča and Michael Volle. He is a board member of various festivals, a jury member of international competitions, and a member of the boards of trustees of the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Liz Mohn Foundation.