The Spanish soprano Ainhoa Arteta came to international attention when she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Operalia – Plácido Domingo International Competition resulting in engagements with some of the world’s most important theaters. Of her debut of Mimi in La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Times wrote, “Ainhoa Arteta made a promising debut in La Boheme. She took over the role of Mimi with smooth legato and distinctive mix of buoyant lightness and rich, dark timbre…pianissimos registered ravishingly. Ms Arteta also projected an apt vocal and physical vulnerability”.
Ainhoa Arteta Spanish soprano
Notable performances
Notable performances include Mimi and Musetta in “La Boheme”, Violeta in “La Traviata”, Micaela in Carmen and Olga in Fedora (telecast on PBS’ Live from the Met series) at the Metropolitan Opera, Magda in “La Rondine” (telecast on PBS’ Great Performances) at The Washington Opera, Leila in “Les Pecheurs de Perles” in Bordeaux, Bilbao and Seattle, Violetta in Barcelona, San Sebastián, Sevilla (La Maestranza), Micaela at the Scottish Opera, Gilda in “Rigoletto” at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, Violeta in ”La Traviata” and Marguerite in “Faust” in Cincinnati, Violetta at the Netherlands Opera, as well as Gilda at the Michigan Opera Theater, Mimi and Marguerite at the Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Carolina in Il Matrimonio Segreto at the Perelada Festival and Countess Almaviva in “Le Nozze di Figaro” with Opera Pacific.
Later on Ainhoa Arteta returned to the Metropolitan for Musetta and as Therese in the long awaited revival of “Les Mamelles des Tiresias”; to the Washigton Opera for Fiordiligi in “Cosi fan tutte”, performed her Musetta at the Opera Bastille in Paris, Juliette in Gounod’s opera in Oviedo, debuted at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires as Adina in “L’Elisir d’Amore” and made her operatic debut at the Royal Opera Covent Garden as Musetta, “La Boheme” at the Metropolitan, the Houston Grand Opera, the Dallas Opera Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni” in Palm Beach, Liu in “Turandot” in Bilbao and “La Rondine” in Oviedo.
ConCerts and recitals
A critically acclaimed recitalist, Ainhoa Arteta gives dozens of recitals and concerts yearly. Among innumerable concerts, she has performed in Carnegie Hall with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony, the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, the Metropolitan Opera, the Perelada Festival, the Antibes Festival, Graz and Vienna. The soprano has also sung in concert at the White House and has appeared frequently with Plácido Domingo including performances in Berlin, Hamburg, Istambul, Leipzig, Madrid, Paris, Munich, Valencia, Brazil and London.
Ainhoa Arteta was invited to sing with tenor Ramón Vargas on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico, and she subsequently sang with Plácido Domingo at Baalbeck Festival (Lebanon) with great success.
CD - recordings
Ainhoa Arteta can be heard on CD in the title role of Amadeo Vives’ Dona Francisquita, a recital CD of Zarzuela and Spanish songs with the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra, as well as on a CD of music of the Renaissance for Helicón. Further CD productions include “Ainhoa Arteta – Recital” for Ensayo RBA and ”Entrañable” for RTVE-Música.
Among the performances in her latest season, highlights include Marguerite at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich (with the tenor Rolando Villazón and conducted by Friedrich Haider), her debut as Tatyana in ”Eugene Onegin” at the Palau de la Música in Valencia, her debut as Musetta in La Bohème at the Arena di Verona and at the Trieste Theatre, as well as Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife.
Awards
Ainhoa Arteta Awards include ”Best classical music artist” at the 5th Spanish Music Awards, the ONDAS Prize, the ”Federico Romero”, the award by the Autor Foundation for her international career, ”Universal Basque” by the Basque Government, Member of the Board of the Winterthur Foundation, Academician of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Cádiz, Member of the Board of the Orfeó Catalá-Palau de la Música Foundation, the Gold Medal of the Palau de la Música de Valencia and Artist in Residence of the Cadaqués Symphony Orchestra.
Last year, she celebrated further successes with her debut as Manon in Bilbao and her performance as Marguerite in Valencia, with the premiere of Dulcinea: cantata-fantasía para un caballero enamorado by Lorenzo Palomo at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in Mozart’s Requiem with Sir Neville Marriner, with her debut in the Musikverein in Vienna (accompanied by Roger Vignoles) and in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Orchestra of Tenerife conducted by Víctor Pablo Pérez. Further highlights include La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera House and in Las Palmas, as well as her debut as Blanche in Dialogues de Carmélites in Bilbao. Recently, she has given recitals with Roger Vignoles, Malcolm Martineau and Rubén Fernández Aguirre, as well as a Lyric Concert with José Carreras.
Future engagements
Future engagements include La Bohème, Eugene Onegin, Manon Lescaut, Turandot, Don Carlo, Adriana Lecouvreur, Don Giovanni, Simon Boccanegra and Cyrano de Bergerac (with Plácido Domingo), in such major venues as the Metropolitan Opera, the Liceu in Barcelona, ABAO, Las Palmas, the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and in San Francisco. Further engagements include performances with the following orchestras: Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and Orquesta de Cadaqués. Conductors will include Sir Neville Marriner, Gianandrea Noseda, Christopher Hogwood, Vasily Petrenko, Pablo González, Adrian Leaper, Víctor Pablo Pérez, Friedrich Haider, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Günter Neuhold, Gustavo Dudamel…
Wikipedia In English
Aïnhoa Arteta Ibarrolaburu (born 24 September 1964 at Tolosa, Basque province of Gipuzkoa) is a Spanish classical and crossover soprano.
Personal life and training
Her father, José Ramón Arteta, was founder and director of the Coral Eresoinka and she thus grew up in a musical environment. Aged 12, she entered the Conservatory of San Sebastián. Jacques Bodmer, former resident conductor of the Argentine National Symphony La Nación and then resident conductor of the local orchestra, was a friend of her father and, having heard her sing, saw her take up study, after an exam, under Ettore Campogalliani in Italy, aged 18, before moving to New York with a grant from the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa, to study at the Actors Studio. In 2003 she reworked her voice under Ruth Falcon.
She married baritone Dwayne Croft on 20 April 1998 with whom she had a daughter, Sarah. They divorced in 2003. She married showjumper Jesús Garmendia in secret on 1 July 2013 in Fuenterrabia. She gave birth to their son, Íker, in 2010.
Professional career
Her operatic debut came in 1990 as Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola with the Palm Beach Opera company in a production by the Tehrani producer Bijan Ahsefjah. She replaced the soprano who had cancelled a few days before the premiere and needed to learn the part quickly, since she had told the opera company in her enthusiasm that she knew the part, when in fact this was not the case. Her reviews were mixed: ”Ainhoa Arteta and Maureen Taylor, as the wicked stepsisters, offered fairly bright, agile voices, but failed to project fully and missed opportunities to enliven their music”, according to the Sun Sentinel. The following month, April, she was billed to appear in a production by Westchester Opera of Franco Leoni’s L’Oracolo.
After winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1993, she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera House in October 1994 as Mimì in La Bohème Further Met performances include rôles as Violetta in La Traviata, the Coutness Olga Sukarev in Giordano’s Fedora with Plácido Domingo and Mirella Freni, Micaela in Carmen, Musetta in Bohème and Thérèse/The Fortuneteller in Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias conducted by Levine.
Her first London performance was in 1999 at a concert with Plácido Domingo at the Barbican Hall organized by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Her first performance at Covent Garden was in 2002 when she sang Musetta with Ramón Vargas as Rodolfo and Cristina Gallardo-Domâs as Mimì.
Her first appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall was with Dolora Zajick and Plácido Domingo, with whom she works regularly with concert performances in several countries including Spain, the United States, Brazil, France, Turkey, England, Germany, Austria and Lebanon.
Other major venues for her opera performances include the Kennedy Center Opera House (Washington Opera), La Scala in Milan, the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the Arena di Verona, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Stopera (Netherlands Opera), Graz Opera, the San Francisco opera house and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in México.
Her performance of Lieder, songs and zarzuela are of no less acclaim than her operatic performances. She has sung with the orchestra of Cadaqués conducted by Sir Neville Marriner, with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony Orchestra.
She has performed and recorded with her former husband Dwayne Croft.
Among other awards, she has the Concours International de Voix d’Opera Plácido Domingo (Paris, 1993).
In December 2008, she gave a series of recitals accompanied by Malcolm Martineau.
In 2009 came her debut classical pop album La Vida.
Metropolitan Opera
| [Met Concert/Gala] CID:350690 National Council Winners Concert Metropolitan Opera House; 04/18/1993 First Appearance: Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Pulley, Kathryn Krasovec, Margaret Lattimore, Ainhoa Arteta |
| [Met Performance] CID:318230 La Bohème {1015} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/20/1994 Debut: Ainhoa Arteta |
| [Met Performance] CID:319750 La Traviata {794} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/20/1995 |
| [Met Performance] CID:319790 La Traviata {795} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/24/1995 |
| [Met Performance] CID:319850 La Traviata {796} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/30/1995 |
| [Met Performance] CID:319910 La Traviata {797} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/5/1995 |
| [Met Performance] CID:320290 La Traviata {803} Montclair, New Jersey, Brookdale Park; 06/27/1995 |
| [Met Performance] CID:320310 La Traviata {804} New Brunswick, New Jersey, Buccleuch Park; 06/30/1995 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326050 New Production Fedora {27} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/5/1996 Debuts: Denis Sedov, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Benjamin Diskant, Beppe De Tomasi, Ferruccio Villagrossi, Pier Luciano Cavallotti |
| [Met Performance] CID:326080 Fedora {28} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/8/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326120 Fedora {29} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/12/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326170 Fedora {30} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/17/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326220 Fedora {31} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/21/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326300 La Traviata {811} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/29/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326340 La Traviata {812} Metropolitan Opera House; 11/2/1996 Debut: Maurizio Barbacini |
| [Met Performance] CID:326370 La Traviata {813} Metropolitan Opera House; 11/5/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326420 La Traviata {814} Metropolitan Opera House; 11/9/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326470 La Traviata {815} Metropolitan Opera House; 11/14/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:326690 Carmen {850} Metropolitan Opera House; 12/7/1996 |
| [Met Performance] CID:327080 La Traviata {817} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/14/1997 |
| [Met Performance] CID:327120 La Traviata {818} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/18/1997 Broadcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:328050 Fedora {33} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/22/1997 |
[Met Performance] CID:328090  Fedora {34} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/26/1997 Broadcast / Telecast |
| [Met Performance] CID:328140 Fedora {35} Metropolitan Opera House; 05/1/1997 |
| [Met Performance] CID:328270 Carmen {854} Aichi Prefectural Theater, Nagoya, Japan; 05/28/1997 |
| [Met Performance] CID:328430 Carmen {857} New York, Bronx, Van Cortlandt Park; 06/19/1997 |
| [Met Performance] CID:328441 Carmen {858} Stanhope, New Jersey, Waterloo Village; 6/21/1997 |
| [Met Performance] CID:328510 Carmen {862} New Brunswick, New Jersey, Buccleuch Park; 07/3/1997 |
| [Met Concert/Gala] CID:331165 Pavarotti Gala Metropolitan Opera House; 11/22/1998 Luciano Pavarotti’s 30th Anniversary Telecast Review |
| [Met Performance] CID:331213 La Traviata {823} Metropolitan Opera House; 12/9/1998 Debut: Roberto Aronica |
| [Met Performance] CID:331225 La Traviata {824} Metropolitan Opera House; 12/12/1998 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331252 La Traviata {827} Metropolitan Opera House; 12/22/1998 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331264 La Traviata {828} Metropolitan Opera House; 12/26/1998 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331273 La Traviata {829} Metropolitan Opera House; 12/30/1998 Debut: Scott Bergeson |
| [Met Performance] CID:331288 La Traviata {830} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/4/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331297 La Traviata {831} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/7/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331330 La Bohème {1055} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/18/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331342 La Bohème {1056} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/22/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331354 La Bohème {1057} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/26/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331366 La Bohème {1058} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/30/1999 Broadcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:331375 La Bohème {1059} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/2/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331384 La Bohème {1060} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/5/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331457 La Bohème {1064} Metropolitan Opera House; 3/2/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331471 La Bohème {1065} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/6/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331483 La Bohème {1066} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/11/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331666 La Bohème {1067} New York, Manhattan, Central Park, Great Lawn; 06/8/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331687 La Bohème {1070} Waterloo Village, Stanhope, NJ; 06/19/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:331699 La Bohème {1072} Pennsauken, New Jersey, Cooper River Park; 6/26/1999 |
| [Met Concert/Gala] CID:332282 Millennium Gala: Die Fledermaus, Act II Metropolitan Opera House; 12/31/1999 |
| [Met Performance] CID:332537 La Bohème {1073} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/24/2000 Debut: Leontina Vaduva |
| [Met Performance] CID:332552 La Bohème {1074} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/29/2000 |
| [Met Performance] CID:332564 La Bohème {1075} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/1/2000 |
| [Met Performance] CID:332576 La Bohème {1076} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/5/2000 |
| [Met Performance] CID:332588 La Bohème {1077} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/8/2000 |
| [Met Performance] CID:333504 La Bohème {1096} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/9/2001 Debut: Miriam Gauci |
| [Met Performance] CID:333519 La Bohème {1097} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/13/2001 Debut: Richard Pearson |
| [Met Performance] CID:333531 Opera News 1 Opera News 2 La Bohème {1098} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/17/2001 Broadcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:333546 La Bohème {1099} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/21/2001 |
| [Met Performance] CID:333555 La Bohème {1100} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/24/2001 |
| [Met Performance] CID:333729 La Traviata {858} New York, Brooklyn, Prospect Park; 06/20/2001 |
| [Met Performance] CID:333735 La Traviata {859} Stanhope, New Jersey, Waterloo Village; 06/23/2001 |
| [Met Performance] CID:333738 La Traviata {860} New York, Manhattan, Central Park, Great Lawn; 06/25/2001 |
| [Met Performance] CID:333756 La Traviata {863} Montclair, New Jersey, Brookdale Park; 7/6/2001 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350222 La Bohème {1116} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/07/2002 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350223 La Bohème {1117} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/12/2002 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350678 Opera News 1 Opera News 2 La Bohème {1118} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/16/2002 Broadcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:350241 Parade : An Evening of French Music Theater{26} Parade {26} Les Mamelles de Tirésias {26} L’Enfant et les Sortilèges {26} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/04/2002 Debuts: Damian Woetzel, Christine McMillan, Desiree Sanchez, Blanche Hampton, Andrew Robinson, Simone Cardoso, Andreas Bjorneboe, Sarah Weber Gallo, Jennifer Manino, Amir Levy, LiYana Silver, Tom Patrick, Dmitry Povolotsky, Matt Baker, Nicholas Flair, Jeff Lewis, Steve Oltorik, John Hancock, Olga Makarina |
| [Met Performance] CID:350242 Parade : An Evening of French Music Theater{27} Parade {27} Les Mamelles de Tirésias {27} L’Enfant et les Sortilèges {27} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/08/2002 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350243 Parade : An Evening of French Music Theater{28} Parade {28} Les Mamelles de Tirésias {28} L’Enfant et les Sortilèges {28} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/11/2002 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350244 Parade : An Evening of French Music Theater{29} Parade {29} Les Mamelles de Tirésias {29} L’Enfant et les Sortilèges {29} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/16/2002 Debut: Ian Greenlaw, Keith Phares Broadcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:350245 Parade : An Evening of French Music Theater{30} Parade {30} Les Mamelles de Tirésias {30} L’Enfant et les Sortilèges {30} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/22/2002 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350224 La Bohème {1124} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/19/2003 Debut: Elena Kelessidi |
| [Met Performance] CID:350541 La Bohème {1125} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/22/2003 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350548 La Bohème {1126} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/26/2003 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350557 La Bohème {1127} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/01/2003 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350560 La Bohème {1128} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/04/2003 |
| [Met Performance] CID:350638 Opera News 1 Opera News 2 La Bohème {1129} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/08/2003 Broadcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:351052 La Bohème {1152} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/22/2004 |
| [Met Performance] CID:351054 La Bohème {1153} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/25/2004 |
| [Met Performance] CID:351057 La Bohème {1154} Metropolitan Opera House; 10/28/2004 |
| [Met Performance] CID:351062 La Bohème {1155} Metropolitan Opera House; 11/1/2004 |
| [Met Performance] CID:351067 La Bohème {1156} Metropolitan Opera House; 11/5/2004 |
| [Met Performance] CID:351809 La Bohème {1187} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/24/2007 Broadcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:351815 La Bohème {1188} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/27/2007 |
| [Met Performance] CID:351823 La Bohème {1189} Metropolitan Opera House; 01/31/2007 |
| [Met Performance] CID:351833 La Bohème {1190} Metropolitan Opera House; 02/03/2007 Broadcast |
[Met Performance] CID:352451  La Bohème {1194} Metropolitan Opera House; 03/29/2008 Debut: Quinn Kelsey |
| [Met Performance] CID:352455 La Bohème {1195} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/01/2008 Broadcast/Streamed |
| [Met Performance] CID:352466 La Bohème {1196} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/05/2008 HD Simulcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:352474 La Bohème {1197} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/09/2008 Broadcast |
| [Met Performance] CID:352480 La Bohème {1198} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/12/2008 |
| [Met Performance] CID:352490 La Bohème {1199} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/15/2008 Broadcast/Streamed |
| [Met Performance] CID:352494 La Bohème {1200} Metropolitan Opera House; 04/18/2008 |
Read more
- Wikipedia In English
- Naxos
- Discogs
- Zemsky/Green
- Sopraner i världen
- Artist Management for Ainhoa Arteta
