Marina Rebeka

Rebeka was born in Riga. She studied at the Nordic Gymnasium (Ziemeļvalstu ģimnāzijā). After attending a performance of Bellini's Norma at the Dailes Theatre with her parents at the age of 13 she was inspired to become a singer. Having no prior knowledge, she then began her initial musical studies at the music school "Rīdze" in the evening, concurrent to her Gymnasium studies. At the age of 17, she entered the Jāzeps Mediņš Riga Music High School (Jāzepa Mediņa Rīgas mūzikas vidusskola), studying under Natālija Kozlova.[1][2] She subsequently went to Italy, studying at the Conservatorio Arrigo Boito in Parma, Accademia Internazionale delle Arti in Rome, and Conservatorio Santa Cecilia, where she graduated in 2007. During her studies, she also attended Grace Bumbry's masterclass at the International Summer Academy at the Mozarteum University Salzburg.

Rebeka made her professional debut in 2007 at the Theater Erfurt as Violetta in La traviata,[3] a role which she proceeded at the Latvian National Opera,[4] Vienna Volksoper and Finnish National Opera. In the same year, as a participant of Alberto Zedda's Accademia Rossiniana, she portrayed Folleville and Madama Cortese in Il viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Opera Festival, where she returned for Maometto II (2008), Stabat Mater (2010). Her other engagements include Agilea in Teseo (Komische Oper Berlin), Britten's War Requiem (Liverpool Philharmonic),[5] Tatyana in Eugene Onegin (Teatro Lirico di Cagliari), Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem (Latvian National Symphony Orchestra). In 2009, she sang Adina in L'elisir d'amore at the Latvian National Opera,[6] debuted at La Scala in Il viaggio a Reims, and performed Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo at the Opéra national de Lorraine.[3] Her international breakthrough came when she debuted at the Salzburg Festival in Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon conducted by Riccardo Muti.

During L'elisir d'amore, she met Ukrainian tenor Dmytro Popov in 2009. They married in 2010 and their daughter, Katrīna, was born in 2011.[7]

In 2010, Rebeka sang in War Requiem with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, at the Usher Hall.[8] In May and June, she performed in a series of performances of Carmen as Micaëla at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, and Latvian National Opera.[9] In July 2010, she replaced Angela Gheorghiu as Violetta, debuting at the Royal Opera, London, where she didn't return until replacing Sonya Yoncheva in the same production in 2015.[10][11] Later in the year, she debuted in the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in a new production at the Deutsche Oper Berlin,[12] and was featured in a new staging of Moïse et Pharaon at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma conducted by Muti.[13] In April 2011, she performed in Rossini's Stabat Mater with the NDR Sinfonieorchester.[14] In October 2011, she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in Michael Grandage's new production of Don Giovanni,[15] and subsequently performed in another Moïse et Pharaon, presented by Collegiate Chorale, at Carnegie Hall.[16]

The year 2012 saw her performances in Riga: solo concert with the LNSO at the Riga Merchant Guild on 15 January,[17] debut in the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor in May and a solo concert on 28 September at the National Opera.[18] She returned to Deutsche Oper Berlin for Violetta, a role which she repeated at the Teatro Comunale, Florence, and was featured in the Rosenblatt Recitals at St John's, Smith Square in London. Later in the year, she debuted at the Vienna State Opera in the role of Donna Anna, after which she became a regular guest singer at the opera, featuring in consecutive seasons in Don Giovanni, La traviata, The Tales of Hoffmann (Antonia), and Roméo et Juliette (Juliette).[19] In January 2013, she was engaged in the premiere of Pierre Audi's production of William Tell as Mathilde at De Nederlandse Opera, and returned to the Rossini Opera Festival in the same role.[20][21] In May 2013, she debuted at the Zürich Opera House as Donna Anna, and returned in the next season as Donna Anna, Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. She then sang her first Juliette at the Verona Arena, and debuted at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in La traviata.

In 2014, Rebeka performed in Maometto II at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma,[22] and a new William Tell production at the Bavarian State Opera.[23] Later in the year, she returned to Chicago for Don Giovanni in Robert Falls' new production, which opened the season.[24] She then returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Violetta, followed by Musetta in La bohème with the same company.[25][26]

Rebeka has been a regular guest at the world's most prestigious concert halls and opera houses, such as the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Musikverein (Vienna). She collaborates with leading conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Fabio Luisi, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniele Gatti, Marco Armiliato, Thomas Hengelbrock, Paolo Carignani, Kent Nagano, and Ottavio Dantone.

As an active and widely noticed concert performer, she has given recitals at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, the Rudolfinum in Prague, La Scala in Milan, Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, accompanied by such ensembles as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Vienna Philharmonic.

In 2016, she debuted as the title role in Norma at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste.

In the 2017/18 season she was named the first-ever artist-in-residence by the Münchner Rundfunkorchester.[27] In 2018, she married Argentine sound engineer Edgardo Vertanessian,[28] and together they launched the record label "Prima Classic", aiming to give artists the freedom to record the repertoire they want instead of what's of the recording companies' interest.[29]

Rebeka has won prizes in the multiple competitions.

• 1st Prize at 4th Concorso Internazionale di Canto Lirico Premio Capriole in Franciacorta
• 1st Prize and Public Prize at 5th Concorso Lirico Internazionale Ottavio Ziino in Rome
• 1st Prize at 20th Neue Stimmen of the Bertelsmann Stiftung in October 2007

In 2009, she was awarded the "Outstanding Artistic Achievements" award in the annual Latvijas Gāze Awards from the Latvian National Opera.[30] In 2016 she was appointed Commander of the Order of the Three Stars for her cultural achievements.[31] She received the order on 6 December.[32] In December 2017, she won a silver medal in Global Music Awards for her Rossini album "Amor fatale".[33] In 2020, she was named "Artist of the Year" by the International Classical Music Awards.[34]

Her first solo CD, "Mozart Arias" with Speranza Scappucci and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, was released by EMI (Warner Classics) in November 2013. Her next album, "Amor fatale" – Rossini arias with Marco Armiliato and the Münchner Rundfunkorchester – was released in the summer of 2017 by BR-Klassik.

• 2013: Rossini: Petite messe solennelle, Antonio Pappano (conductor), Orchestra e Coro della Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (EMI)
• 2013: Mozart: Opera arias, Speranza Scappucci (conductor), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Warner Music)
• 2015: Puccini: La bohème Live at the Met (The Metropolitan Opera New York)
• 2015: Rossini: Guillaume Tell, Michele Mariotti (conductor), Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna (DECCA, DVD)
• 2016: Featured in "Romance at the Met" (Met Opera on Demand)
• 2017: Rossini: Amor fatale, Marco Armiliato (conductor), Munich Radio Orchestra (BR-Klassik)
• 2018: Verdi: Luisa Miller (Live), Ivan Repušić (conductor), Munich Radio Orchestra (BR-Klassik)
• 2018: Mozart: La clemenza di Tito (Live), Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor), Chamber Orchestra of Europe, RIAS Kammerchor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2018: Spirito, Jader Bignamini (conductor), Orchestra & Chorus of the Teatro Massimo di Palermo (Prima Classic)
• 2019: Verdi: La traviata, Charles Castronovo, George Petean, Michael Balke (conductor), Latvian Festival Orchestra, State Choir Latvija (Prima Classic)
• 2020: Elle – French Opera Arias, Michael Balke (conductor), Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen (Prima Classic)

• Talanta un gribas svētītā (Blessed by Talent and Will). director: Zita Kaminska. aired on LTV1 on 7 September 2017.[36]

• Official website
• Prima Classic