## The First Guest - Hvorostovsky The concert season in the legendary Jūrmala hall is in full swing. And July is the time when for the tenth time "the meeting place cannot be changed." Every year, our great singer, now living in London and Spain, but usually spending the summer in her hometown in Riga's Pardaugava, performs here. "It was recently, it was long ago" – ten years ago, when we held the first such concert of Elīna, who became the leading mezzo-soprano in the world and conquered all the major opera stages. And then the first guest of the Garanča project was the great baritone Dmitry Hvorostovsky, and it is a joy that we managed to hear the genius singer in the company of our diva – soon he passed away after a serious illness. But the atmosphere of the celebration, combining popular opera arias and music, the very atmosphere of the warm resort at this time of year – remained. ## There’s Plenty to See Since then, Elīna has performed with various colleagues in these concerts – both already famous and just starting out. And, as a rule, it is always top-notch – starting from the choice of repertoire, accompanied by the festival orchestra (which, by the way, is constantly conducted by the wonderful conductor Kārlis Mark Šišons, Elīna's husband), and ending with a real fashion show (Ms. Garanča shines in these gala concerts in luxurious outfits from a renowned couturier from former Yugoslavia). ## From Carnegie Hall to Dzintari This time, in the anniversary concert "The Best of," guests – soprano from South Korea Hera Haisang Park and tenor from the USA Ángel Romero – took the stage with our opera diva. The soprano made her international debut in 2015 when the graduate of the famous Juilliard School in New York, a participant in the prestigious young artist program of the New York Metropolitan Opera, became a laureate of the Plácido Domingo Operalia competition (by the way, did you know that Plácido Domingo himself will soon perform in Dzintari?). After that, Hera debuted at the Met. She became the first singer of Asian descent to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon (the label has already released two of her albums), and she is currently captivating audiences not only in opera productions but also in performing vocal-symphonic works, as well as giving solo concerts on the most famous stages in the world – for example, at Carnegie Hall. ## Houston, We Have No Problems As for the angelic Ángel Romero, this lyrical tenor from Houston caught the close attention of the audience and producers two years ago, becoming the holder of the second prize and the award for performing zarzuela at the same Plácido Domingo competition. He interned at the Pittsburgh Opera, and in 2024 began his European career with the role of the Singer in "Der Rosenkavalier" at the Vienna State Opera. He performed the same role at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. Major tours in France and Luxembourg with "La Bohème" and in Japan with "Der Rosenkavalier" further developed Romero's success. The magnificent trio with Elīna featured beautiful opera arias and ensembles, including the beloved "Sous le dome épais" – the "Flower Duet" from Delibes' "Lakmé," as well as popular Spanish and Latin American songs. ## Something New And in honor of the anniversary, our singer presented the audience with a special gift – a world premiere. She performed for the first time on stage the famous aria of Cio-Cio-San from Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly." The evening concluded with a grand medley "Around the World" arranged by Maestro Šišons. "I sing Lakmé and think this melody can be performed at any concert," said Ms. Garanča shortly before the performance, having specially come to Riga for a press conference. "Because it is so beautiful that it is always performed on all occasions. Of course, the masterpiece is our concluding medley, which we always arrange at the end of concerts. For ten years now, there has been such a bright moment, so-called selective and very international singing, and in the end, it results in an all-encompassing medley of many melodies from around the world, more or less known. Every year we organize such a concert, and every year I have to come up with something new to surprise the audience and the press. Of course, I am extremely happy to have the opportunity to perform in Jūrmala every year and bring friends. Organizing a concert is a huge pleasure, and of course, I am grateful to all those who support and preserve the spirit of culture in Jūrmala, who come and perform for people, as well as introduce new or less experienced singers." ## Musical Everest The opera diva also praised her husband Kārlis, calling him a master who always finds something new and amazing. And she shared her new achievements – recently, for example, she conquered her personal musical Everest by performing at the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Amneris in the great "Aida" by Giuseppe Verdi. "I am actually a mezzo-soprano, whose repertoire is quite narrow, and now I am gradually starting to get used to a broader repertoire. It is quite possible to perform opera arias at concerts, in separate parts, without immediately diving into the entire soprano opera repertoire, performing full roles. So this year we found something new that I have not sung in Latvia yet. It seems that so much has already been sung that there is nothing more to lose." ## The Secret of Success And speaking about the secret of her global success, Elīna added: "An outstanding singer cannot just be found on demand. Each singer has their own path, their own way of development, and their own time for development. I will say right away that a very good voice does not guarantee a career – it doesn’t work that way. There must be many coincidences, and one must be able to work, to be disciplined. And I just followed my path. To be honest, I am a melodist; I am attracted to harmonies, the way of revealing sound – it is truly an emotion that unfolds, not just a part of noise, so to speak. There is my voice and timbre, as well as my personality and how I can show my inner world. And I know, however, that the classical opera repertoire suits me better than the music of our time. I believe that every singer should continue to seek and reveal their abilities and talents.