Biography

Íride Martínez was born in Costa Rica where she began her musical education.

She subsequently went on to study in Los Angeles, in Italy with Mirella Freni and Prof. Elio Battaglia and with Wilma Lipp in Munich/Germany.

She enjoyed early success in a number of important international concours, including the Bilbao Singing Competition in Spain and the Caniglia Competition in Italy.

After a number of guest appearances in Italy and Argentina, she moved to Germany where she first joined the ensemble of the Braunschweig-Opera, moving in 1996 to the Cologne Opera.

Her international breakthrough came in 1998, with a critically-acclaimed interpretation of the role of "Viola" in the world première of Manfred Trojahn's Was Ihr Wollt at the Munich State Opera, earning her the coveted title of Young Artist of the Year 1998 by a panel of 50 music critics.

She went on to appear as "Pamina" in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Ludwigsburg Festival, while at the Cologne Opera she sang the role of the "The Nightingale" in Braunfels' Opera Die Vögel (The birds).

In 1999 the Semper Oper in Dresden invited her for their new production of Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by sir Colin Davis and directed by Marco Arturo Marelli.

Iride Martines triumphed as "Zerbinetta" and was immediately re-invited to sing the role of "Sophie" in Der Rosenkavalier the following Season, conducted by Semyon Bychkov.

Her ever expanding repertoire includes the roles of "Nanetta" in Verdi's Falstaff, "Giulietta" in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor as well as "Gilda" in Rigoletto and "Norina" in Don Pasquale, "Adina" in L'Elisir d'amore, and "Violetta" in La Traviata.

Her debut at the Bregenz Festspiele came in 2000 as "Queen Schemacha" in Pountney/Fedosejev's production of Rimski-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, while at the Innsbruck Festival she sang the role of "Flaminia" in Joseph Haydn's Il mondo della luna, counducted by René Jacobs, adding other major successes to her career.

In 2002 she was "Marfa" in The Tsar's Bride at the Vienna Konzerthaus and at the Salzburg Festival she was "Semele" in Die Liebe der Danae conducted by Fabio Luisi.

She returned to Salzburg in 2003 as "Konstanze" in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, conducted by Ivor Bolton and sang in the 2004 festival's Mozart Matinée Concerts.

Iride Martinez has made regular appearances at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, as well as Rome, Essen, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt.

Her concert appearances have included the Bamberger Symphoniker under Claus Peter Flor and the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne conducted by James Conlon.

Other significant appearances recently have included Zurich, the Lucerne Festival, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Turin with the orchestra della RAI, Santa Cecilia Rome and concerts with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague.

In addition, a critically-acclaimed debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra took place in June 2003.

As much at home in contemporary repertoire, her engagements have included the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hannover and Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestras, and in the autumn of 2000 she sang the French première of Arvo Pärt's Como anhela la cierva at the Palais Garnier in Paris.

Engagements in the Season 2003/04 included the world-première of Matthias Pintscher's L'Espace dernier at the Opéra National Bastille in Paris and a particular highlight as "Queen Maria Luisa" in Menotti's Goya alongside Placido Domingo at the Vienna KlangBogen in July 2004.

In the year 2006 she was singing in the Glyndebourne Festival the rol of Tytani a in Midsummer Night’s Dream and in Bern Opera in Rossini’s Viaggio a Reims.

Highlights of the last season 2007 for Ms. Martinez were successful appearances at the Berliner Deutsche Oper in Lucia di Lammermoor, concerts conducted by Lorin Maazel for Valencia Opera and the main soprano part in World Premiere “La hija del cielo” in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria in the Fura del Baus production.

The present season 2008/09 Iride Martinez will make her Debut at La Scala di Milano for Lorin Maazel's 1984, conducted by Mº Maazel and the Jurmala Festival in Latvia as Adina in Elisier d’amore.

In the coming season she will appear at the Bilbao Opera House in Fille du Regiment.