About
Born in Rovigo, young mezzo Paola Gardina graduated in 2001 with full marks in her native town’s Conservatory.
Still a student, she’s invited to appear for some seasons in the opera houses of Rovigo (in co-operation with Gran Teatro La Fenice di Venezia), Ferrara, Bologna, Cremona and Cagliari for contemporary music performances (Opera Giovani). She wins the 2003 International Toti Dal Monte Competition for Cenerentola (Tisbe) and As.Li.Co. 2005 for Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino). She’s now studying with Sherman Lowe in Venice. In the 2005/06 season she made her debut in Gounod’s Faust (Siebel) conducted by M° Fournillier directed by Micha van Hoecke for the opening of the 2005 Ravenna Festival; in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Romeo) at Teatro Municipale in Piacenza with Orchestra Cherubini conducted by M° Fournillier and directed by Cristina Muti, production which was also revived in Como, Brescia, Ravenna and Lucca; in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut (Musico) at Teatro Regio in Turin conducted by Evelino Pidò and directed by Jean Reno and in La Cenerentola (Tisbe) at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, conducted by M° Palumbo.
She was then Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana at Carlo Felice in Genova conducted by M° Bartoletti and Anna Kennedy in Maria Stuarda in Lyon, Paris (Champs Elysées) conducted by Evelino Pidò and at La Scala in Milan directed by M° Pizzi. She made her debut in Carmen (Mercedes) at Sferisterio in Macerata.
She obtains a huge success as: Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Annio in La clemenza di Tito at Regio in Turin and Lucy in The beggar’s opera directed by Lucio Dalla at Teatro Comunale in Bologna.
In recent seasons she made her debut in Rossini’s Stabat Mater in the Basilica di Monreale in Palermo, L’Italiana in Algeri (Zulma) and Tancredi (Roggiero) at Teatro Regio in Turin, Il turco in Italia (Zaida) at Theater an der Wien, appears at Teatro alla Scala in Die Lustige Witwe, Makropulos case and Il viaggio a Reims directed by Luca Ronconi, sings Lucio Silla, Makropoulos case and Il barbiere di Siviglia in Nantes, Cenerentola in Nice, Gianni di Parigi at the Martina Franca Festival.
In concert she was conducted by such prestigeous names as Claudio Abbado, Peter Maag, Jeffrey Tate, Eliahu Inbal.
She has just completed a very successful run of performances for her debut in Così fan tutte (Dorabella) at Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, made her highly successful debut at the Bayerische Staatsoperin Munich with Cenerentola (Tisbe) in the Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production alongside Joyce Di Donato and Lawrence Brownlee and returned to Venice for L’occasione fa il ladro (Ernestina) at Teatro Malibran.
Among her future engagements: Così fan tutte (Dorabella) at Teatro Real in Madrid and at La Monnaie in Bruxelles directed by Michael Haneke, Cenerentola at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Lucio Silla (Cecilio) at the Opéra National de Bordeaux.