Ainhoa Garmendia, Artistic director & coach

I was born in Spain in a small town in Gipuzkoa, called Legorreta. I studied accordion, singing and piano and sang in several choirs such as the Coro Oroith or the Orfeón Donostiarra and the Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid until I decided to become a soprano soloist. My singing studies took me from San Sebastian to Madrid to the Escuela Superior de Canto, from there to the University of Performing Arts of Vienna in Austria and later to the CNIPAL, Opera Estudio de Marseille, in France. Between 2001 and 2009 I was hired as a soprano at the Leipzig Opera, where I debuted almost all the main characters of my repertoire.

In 2006, I made my debut at the Glyndebourne Festival in Così fan tutte (Despina) and at the Royal Albert Hall Proms in London. I sang again at Glyndebourne as Despina in 2007, Adina (L’Elisir d’amore) in 2009 and Norina (Don Pasquale) in 2011.

Since 2005 I have been singing in most of the European countries of which I would describe the Gran Teatro del Liceo de Barcelona (Servilia, Susanna, Musetta, Britomarte), at the Teatro Real de Madrid (Eurydice, in Orphée et Eurydice with Juan Diego Flórez, Servilia), at the Vlaamse Opera, Belgium (Susanna), Frankfurt, Germany (Susanna), Stuttgart, Germany (Servilia), Toulon, France (Susanna), Lausanne, Switzerland (Micaela), Oviedo (Zerlina and Susanna), Bilbao (Susanna), Beethoven’s Misa Solemnis, Padua, Italy, Leipzig Opera, Germany (Violetta), Paris, Massy (Violetta), Auditorio Kursaal Donostia-San Sebastian (Donna Anna, Norina, Pamina), Paris, Massy (Violetta), Auditorio Kursaal Donostia-San Sebastian (Donna Anna, Norina, Pamina, Mimí).

Outside Europe I have sung at the Opera of Colombia (Susanna) and in South Korea, Daegu (Micaela).

My discography includes Bihotzeko Amalur (Elkar), Despina in Così fan tutte (DVD Glyndebourne), Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice live from the Teatro Real, Madrid (Decca) and L’Arbore di Diana at the Gran Teatro del Liceo, Barcelona (DVD).

I sang with prestigious conductors such as Jesús López-Cobos, Maurizio Benini, Christophe Rousset, Ottavio Dantone, Ros Marbá, Julia Jones, Herbert Blomstedt, Ivan Fischer, Giuliano Carella, Frank Beerman, Fisher Fish, Pablo González, Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Víctor Pablo Pérez, Alvaro Albiach, Miquel Ortega, Antonello Allemandi, Robin Ticciati, Enrique Mazolla, Szolt Hamar, Marck Piollet, among others.

I was also awarded as “revelation voice” by the Spanish music critics at the Teatro Campoamor Awards in Oviedo (2007).

In 2014 I founded the opera company Opus Lirica, creating the project of the stable Opera Season of the city of Donostia-San Sebastián, where we have already performed 15 operas, Mozart’s Requiem performed and numerous concerts and special projects for children, young people and families, such as the project of the family performances in the Kursaal Auditorium in San Sebastián.

Maia Medrano, event manager and coach

I was born in 1983 in Corrientes, Argentina. I began my ballet education at the city official ballet school on 1990 and at age 19 I joined the “Ballet de Cámara” of the city where I worked as a soloist dancer for 10 years. Simultaneusly I directed my own ballet dance studio and produced several shows. On 2008 I have won a scholarship for ballet and musical theatre at the prestigious Julio Bocca Foundation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2014 I obtained a technical degree in classical dance in “Conservatorio Profesional Reina Sofía” (Granada, Spain) and since then, I have worked as a freelance dancer in different European countries.

I have complemented my main training as a classical dancer with studies in Anatomy and Physiology at the Medical University in Corrientes, Dance Pedagogy at the Higher Institute of Arts of Chaco, and Shows Production and Financing from specialists in the area. I have also studied acting and other dance styles such as contemporary dance, argentinean tango and argentinian folk dance with prestigious masters.

Since January 2021, together with the soprano Ainhoa Garmendia, we lead the Opera Studio Leipzig where I act as a mindset and movement coach. As a founding member of the cultural associations Bühne Nr.1 and the educational association Darstellende Künste Leipzig dedicated to the promotion of the performing arts, I perform as a cultural events manager.