Lydia Caruana is a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

who performs in the opera houses and concert halls of Europe and her native Malta. She has sung in two rarely performed

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s by Maltese composers,

Carmelo Pace Maestro Chev. Carmelo Pace (August 17, 1906 – May 20, 1993) was a Maltese composer, and a professor of music theory and harmony. Born in Valletta, Malta on August 17, 1906, Pace was the eldest of three children. His parents were Anthony Pac ...

's ''I martiri'' and

Nicolo Isouard Nicolas Isouard (; also known as ''Nicolò'', ''Nicolò Isoiar'' or ''Nicolò de Malte''; 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Franco-Maltese composer. Biography Born in Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Francesco Azopardi ...

's ''Jeannot et Colin''.

Biography

Lydia Caruana was born in Malta, and initially studied music at the Johann Strauss School of Music in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

. She later furthered her studies in singing with the Maltese soprano

Antoinette Miggiani Antoinette Miggiani (born 5 September 1937) is a Maltese people, Maltese operatic soprano and Vocal pedagogy, singing teacher. Biography Antoinette Miggiani was born in Sliema, Malta. After studying piano and voice in her native country, she won ...

and took master classes in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

with the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n soprano,

Sona Ghazarian Sona Ghazarian (born September 2, 1945) is a Lebanese-Austrian operatic soprano. A Kammersängerin of the Republic of Austria, she has sung over 70 roles in the major opera houses of both Europe and the United States. Biography Sona Ghazarian was ...

. She made her operatic debut as Musetta in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' at the Teatru Manoel in Valletta in 1995. Amongst the roles she has performed in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and Malta are the title role in ''

Suor Angelica ''Suor Angelica'' (''Sister Angelica'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an original Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is the second opera of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico'' (''The Triptych''). It received its wor ...

'', Mimi in ''La bohème'', Norina in ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'', Elvira in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' and Rosalinde in ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original literary source for ' was ...

''. She has also sung in rarely performed operas such as

’s ''Jeannot et Colin'' (as Thérèse) and

's ''I martiri'' (as Graziella). While she retains her interest in performing and creating roles which are not in the standard operatic repertoire, she continues to perform in

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ope ...

, as in her concerts with the Berwald Symphony Orchestra of

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

conducted by

Manfred Honeck Manfred Honeck (born 17 September 1958, in Nenzing) is an Austrian conductor. He is currently the music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Early life Honeck was born in Nenzing, Austria, near the border with Switzerland and Liechte ...

and the

Malta Philharmonic Orchestra The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra is recognized as Malta’s foremost musical institution. Founded in 1968 as the Manoel Theatre Orchestra, in September 1997 it became an independent body and was officially named as Malta's national orchestra. In ...

conducted by Charles Olivieri Monroe. Caruana has sung in major concert halls across Europe such as the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Grea ...

National Concert Hall The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Laeiszhalle The Laeiszhalle (), formerly Musikhalle, is a concert hall in the Neustadt, Hamburg, Neustadt of Hamburg, Germany, and home to the Hamburger Symphoniker and the Philharmoniker Hamburg. The hall is named after the German shipowning company F. ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Theatre of the Estates in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and

Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna The Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna ("philharmonic academy of Bologna"; sometimes known in English as the Bologna Academy of Music) is a music education institution in Bologna, Italy. The Accademia de' Filarmonici was founded as an associ ...

. In 2005, concert tours with the Belarusian State Symphony Orchestra took her to 16

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

cities. She also sang in the Das Neue Europa Festival in

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

accompanied by the Georgian Chamber Orchestra. During 2006 she presented a

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

programme in the final concert of the Valletta International Sacred Music Festival, a programme which she also performed in

St. Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. In 2007 Caruana partnered, on different occasions,

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

and

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

in Malta and

Joseph Calleja Joseph Calleja (born January 22, 1978) is a Maltese operatic tenor. Early life and career Calleja was born in Attard, Malta. He began singing at the age of 16, having been discovered by tenor Brian Cefai and continued his studies with Maltese ...

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

for the Rathaus concert series. Lydia Caruana is also an active recitalist, with a repertoire ranging from

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

to de Falla. In 2006, she gave a series of recitals in Vienna and Malta with

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

Paul Gulda, with whom she also recorded a CD of

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

songs. In 2008, she recorded a programme of Maltese composers, and their European contemporaries for the Austrian broadcasting company

ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the g ...

in Vienna.

Recordings

*''Mediterranean Melodies'' - Lydia Caruana (soprano) and Paul Gulda (piano), 2007. Label: Gramola.

Past performances (highlights)

2008

*''La Bohème'' (Mimi) - Aurora Opera House,

Victoria, Malta Victoria (, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an administrative unit of Malta, and the main town on Gozo. Victoria has a to ...

*''Malta Felice!'' - ORF Radiokulturhaus, Vienna *''Malta Felice!'' -

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (, ; ) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mountains. The main river of the region is the Traun (r ...

Festwochen, Gmunden Festwochen Schloss Roith,

Gmunden Gmunden () is a town in Upper Austria, in the district of Gmunden (district), Gmunden. It has 13,204 inhabitants (estimates 2016 ). Geography Gmunden covers an area of and has a median elevation of . It is situated next to the lake Traunsee on t ...

*''Lydia Caruana in Concert'' - Mediterranean Centre, Valletta. *''Celebrity Recital'' of

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

and Maltese Composers - Phoenicia Concert Hall, Valletta

2007

*''Concert with José Carreras'' - Malta Philharmonic Orchestra; St George's Square, Valletta *''Concerto del soprano Lydia Caruana'' - Accademia di Bologna,

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

*''Rathauskonzerte Series 2007'' - Rathaus, Regensburg *''Love is in the Air'' - Presidential Palace, Valletta *''20th Century Music from Malta'' - Estates Theatre,

*''Sterling Opera Recital - Phoenicia Concert Hall, Valletta

2006

*''Concert with Andrea Bocelli'' - Malta Convention Centre *''International Opera Gala'' - National Concert Hall, Dublin and City Hall,

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

*''A Celebration of Mediterranean Arias'' -

Bösendorfer-Saal Bösendorfer-Saal (Bösendorfer Hall) was a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, on Herrengasse in the Innere Stadt of the city. Connected with the Viennese piano manufacturer Bösendorfer, it was opened in 1872, and many famous musicians performed th ...

, Vienna *''Opera Gala Concert'' - Badner Stadttheatre Orchestra; Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''A Celebration of Mediterranean Arias'' - Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''Finale Concert - International Sacred Music Festival''; Vienna-Malta Baroque Ensemble; St John's Cathedral, Valletta *''Semper Europa Nostra'' - concert; Auberge d’Aragon, Valletta

2005

*''An Evening of Romantic Arias'' - St. Finbarr's Cathedral, Cork *''Nations in Dialogue'' - concert; Palazzo Parisio, Valletta *''Concert with Soloists of the

Vienna Chamber Orchestra The Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammer Orchester, or WKO) is an Austrian chamber orchestra based at the Vienna Konzerthaus. History The WKO was founded in 1946, and its first artistic directors were Franz Litschauer, Heinrich Hollreiser, P ...

'' - Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''Das Neue Europa'' - concert, Stadttheater, Ingolstadt *16 city concert tour - Wiener Johann Strauss Philharmonie of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Before 2005

*''Don Giovanni'' (Elvira) - Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''Crossroads of Civilisations'' -

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Concert;

WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

*''Mozart Concert'' in St Giles, Edinburgh,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Department of Information - Government of Malta
Malta's first ever participation in the Edinburgh Arts Festival
13 August 1999. Accessed 6 February 2009. *''Don Pasquale'' (Norina) - new production; Teatro Petrarca,

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

; Teatro di Valdarno,

Valdarno The Valdarno is the valley of the river Arno, from Florence to the sea. The name applies to the entire river basin, though usage of the term generally excludes Casentino and the valleys formed by major tributaries. Some towns in the area: * R ...

; Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''La bohème'' (Musetta) - Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''I martiri'' (Graziella) - Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''Die Fledermaus'' (Rosalinde) - Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

Gala Night'' - Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to the Virgin Mary that portrays her suffering as mother during the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Saba ...

'' - Commemoration Concert; Teatru Manoel, Valletta *''Jeannot et Colin'' (Thèrése) - Teatru Manoel, Valletta

References

External links

Lydia Caruana official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caruana, Lydia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Maltese women singers 21st-century Maltese singers Maltese operatic sopranos 21st-century women opera singers