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Elīna Garanča is official in “baby break” for the second time. We are all happy for her. In order to let us with something while she is away from the spotlights, last month she released a Best of album with her most iconic interpretations and this month she is releasing her first auto-biography called “Wirklich Wichtig Sind Die Schuhe”. In German, it means “Really important are the shoes”.

Elīna Garanča, a star made in Latvia

Latvia is an amazing country. This country has a little more than 2 million inhabitants and they have probably one of the strongest concentration of Classical singers with an international career. Elīna Garanča is a perfect example of such talented and gifted Latvian singer. From Lizete Iesmina-Mihelsone at the beginning of the 20th century to young Maija Kovalevska or Anna Krauja, Latvia bursted into the international scene of Opera singers for more than 100 years.

Elīna Garanča was born in 1976 within a family of music virtuose in Riga. Living her first years with the best music culture she could imagine, it was obvious that in 1996 she entered the Latvian Academy of Music.

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She pursuit her education in Vienna and in the USA. She worked at the Frankfurt Opera. Since then she started traveling around the world and performed in the most amazing and prestigious opera places: Salzburg, Metropolitan Opera in New York, Opera Garnier in Paris, Munich Opera house, Vienna State Opera …

In 2005 she signs an exclusivity contract with the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon.

Probably it was in 2010, when she performed the leading role of Bizet’s Carmen, that she received the title of world star. The Met concert with Roberto Alagna as a singer partner was described as a challenge and a masterpiece. For your pleasure, please see here the final scene. Such a powerful emotion. Amazing!

 

Elīna, The best of Elīna Garanča

Last month Deutsche Grammophon launched a new album called Elina, The best of Elīna Garanča. 13 tracks from her most iconic performances.

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  1. Carmen Act 1 – Séguedille et Duo: “Près des remparts de Séville”
  2. Carmen Act 2 – Chanson: “Les tringles des sistres tintaient”
  3. Carmen Act 1 – “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” (Havanaise)
  4. Lakme Act 1 – Viens, Mallika, … Dôme épais (Flower Duet)
  5. Samson et Dalila Act 2 – “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix”
  6. Les Contes d’Hoffmann Act 2 – Brcarolle
  7. Bachianas brasileiras N.5 for Soprano and Cellos – Aria (Cantilena)
  8. Las Hijas del Zebedeo – Carceleras
  9. Siete canciones populares españolas arranged by José Maria Gallardo del Rey – Nana
  10. La Clemenza di Tito, K621 Act 1 – “Parto, ma tu ben mio”
  11. La Favorite Act 3 – Oh! Mon Fermand
  12. Adelson e Salvini Act 1 – Dopo l’oscuro nembo
  13. Capuleti e i Montecchi: Eccomi in lieta vesta Act 1 – Ascolta se Romeo t’uccise

If you wish to learn more about it you can check the Deutsche Gramophone website.

 

Or you can also listen to it here:

 

Elīna Garanča, Wirklich Wichtig Sind Die Schuhe

This month Elīna Garanča fans got the perfect christmas gift: her first auto-biography. In an interview given for the website DiePresse.com, Ms Garanča explains some of the reasons behind this initiative. For her, the shoes are an interesting symbol. They are both what connects oneself to the ground and it can be perceived as a dream. So what is behind Cinderella crystal shoes? According to the opera singer: real life!

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She talks about her childhood in Riga and the specific moment of the world history under the Iron Curtain and the Cold war. She describes her rebellious youth, the beginnings of her success and the rocky road to the top. Her mother always used to say: “there is only one place in this singing career, and it is being number one“. You can also discover some of the “behind the scenes” in the Opera business and how her private life preserves her from the negative aspects of fame and glamorous glory.

We can also wonder why a auto-biography so young. She is only 37 years old! She explains to DiePresse.com that she wishes to show to young generations that being rejected and fighting hard for one’s dreams is a long fight and there are no miracles. It is all about hard work, courage and talent. She also thinks that if she writes a second biography by the age of 60 and more, she will be able to compare her vision of things.

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The book is published in EcoWin, an Austrian independent Edition house. Founded in 2003, Ecowin focus on exciting authors with exciting topics. They also tend to invest in long-term relationships with writers, producers and booksellers. As a proud Austrian publisher, all books are produced in Austria with only environment friendly paper.

 

So if you are a big fan, as we are at Luxuryactivist.com, you feel happy for  Elīna Garanča and her new maternity leaving. And until she returns on stage, we can discover a little more about her life and how the young girl, passionate about fairy tales, became a world number one class singer.

LA

 

Info and images sourced at the Deutsche Grammophon website, diepresse.com, amazon.de, klassikakzente.de, wikipedia and ecowin.at. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available.