Elaine Alvarez

Vocalists — Soprano

• Manager: Elizabeth Crittenden, Damon Bristo
  Management Territory: Worldwide

"On stage there is the incarnation of femininity: Elaine Alvarez, a triumph of luxuriance and sensuality (same as her singing), totally dominated the stage. With finesse she played the depraved Magda; a kept woman who, greedy for luxury, sells herself to a duke, but at the same time dreams of romantic, fulfilling love – a very dangerous mixture in women." —Wolf-Dieter Krönig, Bild Leipzig, March 2009 - Magda in "La rondine" with Oper Leipzig (new production)

“If one had to choose the most intense moment of the masterpiece that is the "Stabat Mater" of Rossini, the preference would almost certainly go to the aria "Inflammatus" where the composer recalls in amazing way the flames of hell and the pain and anguish of man in front of his possible destiny. This aria needs a soprano that knows how to favour, to ride and then to transcend the musical score with her voice. In Mazara the extraordinary Elaine Alvarez succeeded, sustained by the chorus of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by Riccardo Muti.” —Vincenzo di Stefano, La Sicilia, July 9, 2008 [translation from Italian: Davide Grassi] - Rossini's 'Stabat Mater' with Riccardo Muti

"As the consumptive seamstress Mimì, Alvarez on Monday revealed an appealingly natural stage presence and a big, vibrant lyric soprano the color of deep burgundy. The voice bloomed under pressure the way you want a Puccini voice to bloom, yet kept its warm tonal finish when she floated the high pianissimos opera lovers wait for in rapt anticipation...Conveying lyric pathos seems to come as naturally to Alvarez as breathing. She reserved her most deeply affecting singing for the third act, investing her duets with Quinn Kelsey as the Bohemian painter Marcello and Roberto Aronica as her lover, the poet Rodolfo, with shimmering beauty." —John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, October 2, 2007 - Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Mimì

About

"Luminous" declared the Chicago Sun-Times of Elaine Alvarez's Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Mimì in 'La bohème'. In a production directed by Renata Scotto and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, the critics were unanimous with praise for the Cuban-American soprano: "Conveying lyric pathos seems to come as naturally to Alvarez as breathing" (Chicago Tribune). Major successes followed as soprano soloist in Rossini’s 'Stabat Mater' under the baton of Riccardo Muti with the Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino on tour in Ravenna, Mazara del Vallo, and Athens, as well . . . as celebrated performances of Magda de Civry in ‘La rondine’ for Oper Leipzig. Most recently, Ms. Alvarez made her Bayerische Staatsoper debut as Violetta in 'La traviata' with Jonas Kaufmann and Simon Keenlyside, conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson.

Ms. Alvarez begins the 2009 – 2010 season with her Oper Frankfurt debut in 'La bohème', returning for concert performances of 'La rondine' later in the season at Frankfurt's Alte Oper. She will also make her Arizona Opera debut in 'La bohème' followed by a much-anticipated Florida Grand Opera debut in her hometown of Miami as Micaela in 'Carmen'. Additionally, Ms. Alvarez will make her Carnegie Hall debut as a featured performer in the Marilyn Horne Foundation Annual Recital. Highlights of future seasons include a return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago and performances at the Saito Kinen Festival in Tokyo, Carnegie Hall and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées under the baton of Seiji Ozawa

The 2008 – 2009 season saw Ms. Alvarez as the Countess in Mozart’s ‘Le nozze di Figaro’ with Opera Cleveland followed by 'La bohème' at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova with Daniel Oren conducting and a new production of ‘La traviata’ for Theater St Gallen in Switzerland, under the baton of Maurizio Barbacini. She returned to Oper Leipzig for new productions of ‘La rondine’ and ‘Don Giovanni’ (Donna Anna) as well as repeat performances of ‘La traviata’.

In past seasons, Ms. Alvarez has been seen as Violetta in 'La traviata', Mimì in Peter Konwitschny's in 'La bohème' and Pamina in 'Die Zauberflöte', all with Oper Leipzig. She also toured to Hong Kong for a series of performances of Mozart’s 'Mass in C minor' with the Leipzig Ballet and the Gewandhaus Orchestra. For Glimmerglass Opera, she created the role of La Comtesse de Breville in the world premiere of Stephen Hartke’s ‘The Greater Good’, now commercially available on Naxos Records.

Recitals for Ms. Alvarez have included her Washington DC debut with the prestigious Vocal Arts Society at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater and a Marilyn Horne Foundation recital residency at the University of Pittsburgh – Bradford, both in the fall of 2007. As a grand prizewinner of the MHF Competition, Ms. Alvarez made her New York recital debut under the auspices of the Horne Foundation in April 2007.

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