Elīna Garanča was born into a musical family in Riga, Latvia. She studied at the Latvian Academy of Music with her mother. She won the Mirjam Helin Singing Competition in 1999 and was a finalist in the 2001 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.
She began her professional career as a resident artist with the Südthüringischer Staatstheater in Meiningen where she appeared in a number of leading roles and she appeared as a resident artist with the Frankfurt Opera.
In September 2005 Elina became an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon. Her first solo recording ‘Aria Cantilena’ was released in March 2007 to great popular and critical acclaim and she was awarded the prestigious Echo Klassik award for ‘Singer of the Year 2007’. Her last two albums have also both won an Echo Klassik award, in 2012 (‘Romantique’) and most recently in 2015 (‘Meditation’).
Elina has since, quickly established herself as one of the music world’s major stars through her performances with leading opera theaters and symphony orchestras around the world. She has captured critical and popular acclaim for her beautiful voice, intelligent musicianship, and compelling stage portrayals.
Ms Garanča was also named as Musical America’s ‘Vocalist of the Year’ 2010; she won the MIDEM Classical Award as ‘Singer of the Year’ and won the Echo Klassik ‘Female Singer of the Year’ award (her second Echo Klassik award) the same year. She has also given numerous gala concerts and recitals in Europe and the USA, including the Verdi Requiem from La Scala with Daniel Barenboim, Anja Harteros, Jonas Kaufmann and René Pape (also released as CD/DVD/Blu-ray) and her recital debut at Carnegie Hall in New York.
In May 2013, Ms Garanča was honoured by the Wiener Staatsoper with the title of 'Kammersängerin'. One of the youngest recipients of the Award, Ms Garanca was honoured for her devotion to the House, singing over one hundred and forty performances of eighteen roles since her debut in the House in 2003, beginning with the small role of Lola, and now the House's reigning Carmen, Sesto, Giovanna Seymour, Charlotte and Oktavian.
Her landmark 2015/16 season saw her make appearances at the ECHO Klassik Awards, on the Moscow and St. Petersburg stages with Hvorostovsky and Friends, opera productions in Vienna Staatsoper, Paris Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and a role debut in a new production of ‘Roberto Devereux’ at The Metropolitan Opera.
Garanča's performance as Sara in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux in 2016 was a great success at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In the same year role debuts as Léonor in a new production of La Favorite at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Opéra Nationale de Paris followed. The role as Octavian in Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera New York follows shortly thereafter. In February 2018 Elīna Garanča was heard as Carmen in Munich and on May 12th there was a world premiere at the Vienna State Opera with Samson et Dalila.
With the critically acclaimed album 'Sol y Vida', released in 2019, and the album with Robert Schumann's song cycle "Frauenliebe und -leben" and a selection of Brahms songs, released in 2020, as well as the CD "Live from Salzburg - Mahler: Rückert-Lieder & Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder", you can bring Elīna Garanča's voice into your home.
In 2021, Elīna Garančas was celebrated as Kundry in "Parsifal" at the Vienna State Opera. In 2022, she then took on the role of Dalila in "Samson and Dalila" at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden under the musical direction of Antonio Pappano and Richard Jones. In the same year, she appeared as "Carmen" at the Vienna State Opera, which has also become one of her signature roles and has also sung at the Royal Opera Covent Garden in London, the Metropolitan Opera New York and the Arena Verona, among others. In January 2023, Elīna Garančas made her eagerly awaited debut as Amneris in Aida. A role that she also sang at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden - and which can be described as a milestone in her career.
In 2023, the mezzo-soprano also appeared as Kundry in Wagner's "Parsifal" at the Bayreuth Festival under the musical direction of Pablo Heras-Casado. In Graz, she sang "Carmen" on the Kasematten stage. In autumn 2023, she then slipped back into the role of Amneris in "Aida" - this time at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin.
Elīna Garanča regularly sings at the world's greatest opera houses and festivals: the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, at the Salzburg Festival and in Aix en Provence. Her greatest stage successes include Annio and Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, Charlotte in Werther, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, the title role in Carmen and Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and, of course, Kundry in Parsifal and Amneris in Aida.
Elīna Garanča is married to the British conductor Karel Mark Chichon, the artistic director of "Klassik unter Sternen" in Göttweig and "Klassik in den Alpen" in Kitzbühel. They have two daughters.
