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About
Maria Katzarava is an opera singer from Mexico who achieved international fame by winning first place in the competition in the opera and zarzuela categories. Prior to this, she came to the attention of notable Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas, who helped her get a scholarship, and then won Mexico's Carlo Morelli national singing competition in 2005, which earned her a debut at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Since winning the Operalia competition, Katzarava has performed in Europe, where she currently lives, Asia and the Americas. She currently trains with soprano Mirella Freni.
Katzarava first major recognition of her talent was being named Revelación Juvenil at the Carlo Morelli National Singing Competition in 2002. In 2004, she debuted with the opera La Serva Padrona with the Chihuahua Symphony Orchestra and with the Oaxaca Chamber Orchestra. That same year, she placed first at the Maritza Alemán Competition and was a finalist at the Francisco Viñas International Competition.
Her first major break also came in 2004, when she was granted an audition organized by magazine Pro Ópera. There her voice sufficiently impressed tenor Ramón Vargas to not only offer a scholarship, but an offer to mentor her himself.
In 2005 Katzarava returned to the Carlo Morelli competition, the most important singing competition in Mexico. This time, she placed first, which earned her the opportunity to have her debut at age 21 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, performing as Stephano in Romeo and Juliet with established artists Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. She later returned to Bellas Artes for its 80th anniversary celebration.
Her first international break came in 2007, when Plácido Domingo heard her at a gala in Acapulco and invited her to audition in Los Angeles. In 2008, she was accepted as a resident into the Domingo-Thorton Young Artist Program of the Los Angeles Opera, to study and work with Gabriel Mijares and Luisa Besrokova.
This was followed by her participation in the 2008 Operalia competition in Canada, where she won first place in the opera and operetta category, competing against 1,000 other participants from 200 countries. She became only the third Mexican to win this competition along with tenor Rolando Villazón and Arturo Chacón Cruz, and it brought her international attention and standing.
Other awards that Katzarava has earned include the Carlo Bergonzi Prize, the Francisco Viñas international competition, the Oscar Della Lirica at the Arena di Verona in 2012, and she was named best singer by the Miami Life Awards.
Katzarava has performed in Europe, Asia and the Americas. In 2009, she debuted in Europe performing the role of Juliet in France. Since then she was performed in various Italian venues, such as the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Genoa Theater and is one of the few Mexican singers to have appeared at La Scala in Milan. She has performed at Royal Opera House in London, and in 2013, she made the Teatro Alla Scala Tournée in Verdi's Rigoletto. She made her debut at Teatro Manzoni, Bologna under baton of Michele Mariotti singing " Vier letzte Lieder " which had a huge success. Katzarava frequently performs in her native Mexico, as she states that she needs to come home regularly. Here she has performed with Orquestra Sinfónica de Minería in Morelia, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the Festival Cultural de Zacatecas and has appeared at the Festival Internacional Cervantino on various occasions since 2007.
Later on, Maria Katzarava sang the first Violetta of her career at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in 2013, for which she earned critical acclaim. In the spring of 2013 she returned to the Florida Grand Opera for their production of La traviata. During the 2012/13 season Katzarava also made her debut at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari as Isabella in Daniel Auber's rarely performed piece La muette de Portici. In July 2013 she debuted at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari singing her first Suzel in Mascagni's L'amico Fritz. She also joined the Teatro alla Scala on their tour to Japan where she sang Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto.
Engagements for the 2013/2014 season included debuts in roles like Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci at the Fondazione Sinfonica Petruzzelli in Bari; Manon in Massenet's opera at Palacio de Bellas Artes; Liù in Puccini's Turandot at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and Mimì in Puccini's La bohème.