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Biography

The Latin-American soprano Íride Martínez was born in San José, Costa Rica, and had conquered through her passionate interpretations over her professional trajectory, the major international stages.

She started her musical education in her native country and subsequently went on to study in Europe with very well known teachers like Mirella Freni and Elio Battaglia. She enjoyed early success in a number of important international competitions, including the Bilbao Singing Competition in Spain and the Caniglia Competition in Italy. Her official debut took place in 1994 in the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, singing Norina in Don Pasquale. From then on started her appearances in Germany, where she first joined the ensemble in Cologne Opera House from 1995 to 2002. This stage was witness of brilliant interpretations of lots of her repertoire roles such as Violetta-Traviata, Adina-Elisier d’amore, Giulietta-Capuleti e Montecchi, Gilda-Rigoletto, Cleopatra-Giulio Cesare, and also Nannetta-Falstaff, Susanna-Nozze di Figaro, Konstanze-Entführung aus dem Seral, Pamina-Zauberflöte.

Dotted with a very special taste and exquisitely, extraordinary technical skill ness, versatility in her vocal work and excellent acting capacities, Íride Martínez has successfully presented parts of very different styles and periods, some of them memorable as Nachtigall in Die Vögel/Braunsfeld en Cologne, the Queen of Schemaka in The golden CockerelRimsky-Korsakov for the Bregenz Festival in the production Pountney/Fedosejev, Marfa in Zar’s Bride/ Rimsky-Korsakov with the Viena Symphonic and Viola/Cesario, critically-acclaimed, 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 and signed her international breakthrough.

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

The Costa-Rican soprano came to appear regularly in the Salzburg Festival in the productions Boris Godunov, Liebe der Danae and 2003 singing the role of Konstanze in Entführung aus dem Serail.

Miss Martínez brought to numerous stages the enchantment, the force and temperament of her interpretations, making regular appearances in opera houses as Berlin, Essen, Stuttgart, Frankfurt in Germany, the Opera Bastille Paris, the Florida Grand Opera, the Grand Theatre de Génève, the Opera de Montecarlo, the Teatro Sao Carlo Lisboa, the Palau des les Arts in Valencia and the famous festivals Spoleto, Innsbruck, Baden Baden, Luzern, Ludwigsburg and Glyndebourne.

Her concert appearances have included the Bamberger Symphoniker and the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne, 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.

Miss Martínez sang under the direction of important musicians as Lorin Mazel, Ivor Bolton, James Conlon, Sir Colin Davis, Semyon Byschkov, Valery Gergjev, Fabio Luisi, René Jacobs, Vladimir Fedosejev and others.

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

The season 2008/09 Íride Martínez made her Debut at La Scala di Milano for Lorin Maazel's 1984.

In november 2008 she went to appear in concert at the side of the great tenor Plácido Domingo with whom she already shared the stage in Goya from Gian Carlo Menotti at the Vienna KlangBogen in 2004.

Iride Martinez is the only Costa Rican singer who accomplished an international career, and she’s not only working on her own success. In 2005 Iride Martinez created the „Jovenes Cantantes M.P.“, which helps singers from Costa Rica to work international. So Ms. Martinez is also working as a teacher and supervisor for pupils of her foundation and shares her knowledge with them. She’s very successful in that and was nominated by the Costa Rican press as the “person of the year 2008”. She also received the “award for the woman in art and culture” by the magazine „Vanidades“ in november 2008.

In coming projects, the Central American artist will make her debut at the Covent Garden Royal Opera House in London as Norina in Don Pasquale, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras.