A graduate of the Rigovo Conservatoire, Paola Gardina perfected her vocal technique with Sherman Lowe in Venice. Whilst still a student, she took part in a number of operatic seasons at theatres in Rovigo, Bologna, Cremona and Cagliari. In 2003, she won the Toti dal Monte International Competition with the role of Tisbe in La Cenerentola and in 2005 the As.Li.Co with Cherubino in Marriage of Figaro. She has performed the roles of Siebel (Faust) at the Ravenna Festival; Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi) in Piacenza, Cômo, Brescia, Ravenna and Lucca with the Cherubini Orchestra; a Musician (Manon Lescaut); Cherubino and Annio (La Clemence di Tito); Zulma (An Italian Girl in Algiers); Ruggiero (Tancrede); Cherubino at the Teatro Regio inTurin; Tisbe and Lola (Cavalleria rusticana) at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa; Mercedes (Carmen) at the Teatro Sferisterio in Macerata; Lucy (The Beggar’s Opera) at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna; Zaida (Il Turco in Italia) at the Theater an der Wien; Tisbé in Nice, at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and at the Royal Opera House in Muscat; Rosina (The Barber of Seville); Krista (The Makropoulos Case) and Cecilio (Lucio Silla) in Nantes; Figaro (I due Figaro de Mercadante) at the Salzburg Festival, the Ravenna Festival, at the Teatro Real in Madrid and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires; Ernestina (L’Occasione fa il ladro), Lucilla (La Scala di seta), Romeo (I Capuletti e i Montecchi) and Vagaus (Juditha Triumphans) at La Fenice in Venice; Dorabella (Così fan tutte) at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, at La Fenice, at the Teatro Real in Madrid, La Monnaie in Brussels, the Wiener Festwochen, La Scala Milan, in Bogota and Florence; Cecilio at Bordeaux Opera and Ascagne (The Trojans) at La Scala Milan conducted by Antonio Pappano. She has worked with conductors like Ricardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Peter Maag, Jeffrey Tate, Eliahu Inbal, Evelino Pidò, Bruno Bartoletti, Patrick Fournillier and Renato Palumbo and with opera directors such as Micha van Hoecke, Cristina Muti Mazzavillani, Jean Reno, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Lucio Dalla, Luca Ronconi, Emilio Sagi and Michael Haneke. This is her Paris Opera debut.

Paola GardinaMezzo-soprano