María José Montiel was born in Madrid, where she studied voice at the city conservatory, before completing her studies under O. Miljakovic in Vienna. She also holds a bachelor's degree in music history from the Free University of Madrid. As a singer she has won following prizes: Lucrecia Arana, Federico Romero (SGAE) and Ojo Critico (RNE and CEOE); and she was named Best Performer of 2001 by the Coca Cola Foundation, Spain. She has sung on the most important stages in the world, among them La Scala Milan, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Pleyel in Paris, Théâtre du Capitol in Toulouse, Finland Hall in Helsinki, the Vienna Musikverein and Konzerthaus as well as at the New National Theatre in Tokyo. In addition she has performed at the NAC Ottawa, Cincinnatti Concert Hall, in Doelen in Rotterdam, at Budapest Opera, at La Monnaie in Brussels, at Warsaw's Grand National Opera, the Teatro Regio di Parma, Pelletier Hall Montreal, the Communale di Bologna, Verdi di Trieste, in Pisa, in Sydney Town Hall, at the Teatro Real Madrid, Palau in Barcelona as well as in Valencia, at the Stadttheater Bern, the Saarbrücken Festival, the Warsaw Philharmonic as well as at Los Angeles Opera. Montiel has worked under the direction of many notable conductors, such as R. Chailly, G. Martinez, J. Delacote, L. Slatkin, G. Navarro, Ch. Dutoit, Sir N. Marriner, R. Gandolfi, V. Spivakov, P. Decker, M. Bodmer, M. Foster, J. Kovacs, J. Tate, J. Mercier, J. Webb, J. P. Tortelier, R. Benini. She has sung together with Placido Domingo at the opening of the Teatro Avenida in Buenos Aires as well as at the Gala de Reyes in the Madrid Auditorium and in Luisa Fernanda at La Scala Milan and Washington Opera. Critics have acclaimed her as one of the most charming and sensual Carmens of the present time. In 2007 she enjoyed great successes as Carmen at the Théâtre du Capitol in Toulouse and in the new production at the New National Theatre of Tokyo.

She has been seen in the following operas: Carmen (Carmen), Les contes d'Hoffmann (Giulietta), La Favorite (Leonor), La clemenza di Tito (Sesto), The Marriage of Figaro (Cherubino), ll barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina), Merlin (Morgana), Werther (Charlotte). Her non-operatic repertoire includes Les nuits d’été (Berlioz), Songs of a Wayfarer and the 2nd and 8th Symphonies of Mahler, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Le damnation de Faust (Berlioz), Requiem (Verdi), Gloria (Vivaldi), Stabat Mater and Misa Solemne (Rossini), Schéhérazade (Ravel), Rhapsody (Brahms) and Il Tramonto (Respighi). She has taken part in around 120 song recitals, most of them together with M. Zanetti, of which there are numerous CD recordings. Her CD Modinha with Luiz de Moura Castro was a finalist in the Grammy Awards of 2002.

Keel Watson made his debut at the Royal Opera House in London as Bosun in Billy Budd. He has also appeared in the roles of Fasolt in The Rhinegold at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon, Reinmar in Tannhäuser at the Greek National Opera, Henry Davis in Street Scene in Turin, Mandryka in Arabella, Kreon in Oedipus Rex and the Speaker of the Temple, the Second Armed Man and the Second Priest in The Magic Flute at the Opera North, Leeds. He has sung Caronte in La favola d´Orfeo at English National Opera and Opera Zuid, Don Pizarro in Fidelio, the First Apprentice in Wozzeck, the Abbot in Curlew River, Pluto in Il Ballo delle ingrate, Neptune in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni and the Voice of Neptune in Idomeneo for the Birmingham Opera Company, the Doctor in Punch and Judy at the Casa da Música in Porto, Achilla in Giulio Cesare at Opera Ireland, Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles, Tonio in Pagliacci, Jorg in Stiffelio as well as Bertrand in Iolanta at Holland Park Opera, Elder Ott in Susannah at the Opéra de Nantes, Asantehene and the Second Messenger in The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi at the Opera O.T. in Rotterdam, Frazier in Porgy and Bess at the Opera National de Lyon, Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro, Colline in La Bohème, the Water Goblin in Rusalka and Lilas Pastia in Carmen for the English Touring Opera, and Kunrad in Feuersnot for the Chelsea Opera Group. He appeared as the Second Armed Man in Kenneth Branagh's film The Magic Flute and was the voice of Harasta in Geoff Dunbar's animated version of The Cunning Little Vixen. Among forthcoming projects is Iago in Otello for the Birmingham Opera Company.

The American bass-baritone Kevin Short is the embodiment of the singing actor who is able to enthral audiences all over the world. In the 2008/09 season he sang Porgy in Porgy and Bess at the Opéra Comique in Luxemburg, Philippo in Don Carlos at the Sarasota Opera, the King in Aida at the Bregenz Festival and Méphistophélès in Faust as well as Leporello in Don Giovanni at the Teatro Nacional São Carlos. In preceding seasons he sang the Count in The Marriage of Figaro at Cologne Oper, Ramphis in Aida at Omaha Opera, Porgy in Porgy and Bess with the Opéra Comique with performances in Paris and Caen as well as Porgy in a concert at Birmingham Opera, the New York Pops in Carnegie Hall and the Festival Internacional de Musica y Danza de Granada. He has sung major roles in the repertoire at Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New York City Opera, Vancouver Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Canadian Opera Company, Basel Theatre and the Vienna Volksoper. His concert schedule includes engagements with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, Boston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Virginia Symphony, the Dallas Symphony Chorus as well as in Europe with the Czech Philharmonic, radio symphony orchestras in Switzerland and Italy, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Parma Reggio Emilia orchestra.

The bass-baritone Bradley Garvin is known for his commanding stage presence and his powerful, full voice. In the current season he returns as the banker and theatre director in Lulu at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and plays the roles of Monterone in Rigoletto at the Houston Grand Opera, at the Toledo Opera as Jochanaan in Salome, the Speaker in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, and the King of Egypt in Aida at the Bregenz Festival. His stage performances of the recent past include Prince Arjuna in Philip Glass’s Satyagraha at the Metropolitan Opera, the King of Egypt in Aida and the Parson in The Cunning Little Vixen at Houston Grand Opera as well as Sharpless in Madame Butterfly at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Among the other notable venues he has sung at are the New York City Opera, Arizona Opera, Sarasota Opera, Calgary Opera, the Opera Theater of St. Louis, Pittsburgh Opera, Minnesota Opera and Palm Beach Opera. On the concert stage he has sung Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Handel's Messiah with the International Music Foundation, and he has performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Bach's St Matthew Passion and with the National Chorale in Bach's B minor Mass, the Philharmonia Virtuosi in Haydn's Creation, the Bach Consort of Washington in the St John Passion and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Honegger's Cantate de Noel.

Scott Hendricks, born in San Antonio, Texas, is among the most versatile of baritones. For three seasons he was principal soloist at Cologne Opera before his international career took off. Since then he has appeared in roles like Rigoletto, Germont, Eugene Onegin and Posa at such illustrious venues as San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, the Klangbogen Festival in Vienna, Welsh National Opera and the Vlaamse Opera House, where he sang the title role in Battistelli's Richard III. Scott Hendricks has also been seen at the Bregenz Festival in the role of Conte di Luna (Il Trovatore) and Scarpia (Tosca). In recent seasons he has made his debut at Washington Opera as Sharpless in Sophie’s Choice conducted by Plàcido Domingo, at the Opéra National de Lille as Germont, and at the Nederlandse Opera in Die Gezeichneten. In the 2007/08 season he sang the roles of Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades at the Saito Kinen Festival with Seiji Ozawa, Posa in Don Carlos with the Canadian Opera Company, the Traveller in Death in Venice at the Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, Silvio in Pagliacci at the San Diego Opera and in a performance of Mark Grey's A Navajo Oratorio with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 Scott Hendricks made his debut at the Opéra National de Paris as Scarpia in Tosca, immediately before appearing at the Bregenz Festival in the title role of King Roger. Engagements scheduled for the future include the lead role in Macbeth, Jochanaan in Salome and Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore, all at La Monnaie in Brussels. He will make his debut at the Bavarian State Opera as Scarpia in Tosca and return to the Bregenz Festival once again in 2011 as Carlo Gérard in Giordano's Andrea Chénier.

Olga Pasichnyk, born in Ukraine, studied piano and music pedagogy in her home town of Rivne, voice at Kiev Conservatory and at the Frédéric Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. From 1992 she was a soloist of Warsaw Chamber Opera. She has sung leading roles in operas by Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Debussy, Tchaikovsky as well as by contemporary composers with success in most countries of Europe, in the USA, Canada and Japan. She has performed at numerous concerts at international music festivals, celebrated concert halls and opera houses – among others the Opéra National de Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Salle Pleyel, the Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, Bavarian State Opera, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, the Theater an der Wien, Finnish National Opera, Vlaamse Opera and the Wielki Theatre in Poland. Among the many ensembles she has performed with are the Orchestre National de Belgique, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Warsaw, the Polish Radio  Orchestra, the Orquesta Nacional de España, the Orchestre philharmonique du Luxembourg, the Sinfonia Varsovia, the National Philharmonic of Russia, the Orchestra des Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Radio France, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre Colonne in Paris, Das Neue Orchester of Cologne, the English Concert, the Baroque Orchestra of the European Union, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Olga Pasichnyk has sung under conductors like H. Bicket, I. Bolton, F. Brüggen, J.-C. Casadesus, M. Creed, R. Jacobs, R. Goodman, H. Holliger, Ph. Herreweghe, K. Kord, J.-C. Malgoire, J. Maksymiuk, A. de Marchi, M. Minkowski, P. McCreesh, J. Nelsson, P. Neumann, K. Ono, A. Parrot, K. Penderecki, T. Pinnock, M. Soustrot, A. Spering, C. Spering, M. Viotti, A. Wit and M. Zanetti. She has been a prize-winner at the following singing competitions: ´s Hertogenbosch (Holland) in 1994, Mirjam Helin in Helsinki in 1999 and the Concours Reine Elisabeth (Belgium) in 2000.

In addition she has won the following awards: the Fryderyk for the best solo recording in 1997 and 2004 (Szymanowski and Lutoslawski), the Orfeusz at the 1999 Warsaw Autumn Festival, the Golden Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland in 2001, and the Hiolski Prize for the best female opera role of 2004 for her performance as Mélisande at Polish National Opera. In 2005 the specialist magazine "Opernwelt" named her best opera singer of the season for her performance as Almirena in Handel's Rinaldo. In 2006 she was awarded the Munich Opera Festival Prize. She has taken part in more than 40 CD and DVD recordings for various labels including Dabringhaus and Grimm, Naxos, Opus 111 and Harmonia Mundi.

Liubov Sokolova won the International Singing Competition in Perm in 1997. Born in Chelyabinsk in the Urals in 1962, she graduated from the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory of St Petersburg in 1993, after which she continued her studies until 1995. In 1993 she joined the Mariinsky Theatre, and toured a great deal in Europe, the USA and Japan with the theatre ensemble. She has performed roles at top opera houses like La Scala Milan, the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera New York and many others. Her discography includes the following recordings: Salome, Ivan the Terrible, The Tsar's Bride (under Valery Gergiev on Philips Classic).

Ronald Samm was born in Trinidad and studied in Great Britain at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal Northern College of Music and the National Opera Studio. He was a finalist in the Alexander Young Vocal Competition and attended master classes with John Tomlinson, Roger Vignoles and Johnathan Miller. The latter chose him to play Don José and Otello in the BBC TV series "Opera Works". He sang the role of Florestan in Graham Vick's multi-award-winning production of Fidelio, which won first prize in the category of opera at the South Bank Show Awards in 2002. Among the other roles in his repertoire are Don José in Carmen, the Drm-Major in Wozzeck, the title role of The Prodigal Son, Tamino, the First Armed Man and Second Priest in The Magic Flute, Mercure, Arcas, Tisiphone in Hippolyte et Aricie, Canio in Pagliacci, the title role of Otello, Bardolfo in Falstaff, Spoletta in Tosca, Laca in Jenůfa and the Dancing Master in Ariadne auf Naxos. He has appeared regularly on the concert platform with many top orchestras. His concert engagements have taken him all over the British Isles, to Gibraltar and Spain, as well as the Lionel Wendt Theatre in Sri Lanka. His oratorio repertoire includes Handel's Messiah, Bach's Magnificat and the St John Passion, Mendelssohn's Elijah, as well as Beethoven's Mass in C, the Mozart Requiem, the Verdi Requiem and Stainer's Crucifixion. Recently he has sung Siegmund in The Valkyrie at the Teatro Nacional de San Carlos in Lisbon, Florestan in Fidelio for the Burgarena Festival in Austria and Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess for Opera de Lyon and in concerts for the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, Sardinia.

With his acclaimed Salzburg Easter Festival debut in the role of Fasolt in The Rhinegold under Sir Simon Rattle, Iain Paterson consolidated his status as one of the foremost young bass-baritones in Europe today. In the coming seasons Iain Paterson will sing major roles at the New York Met, Opéra de Paris, the Bavarian State Opera, the Royal Opera House, the Glyndebourne Festival and English National Opera. His operatic roles in the recent past include Gunther in Götterdämmerung under James Levine in his debut at the New York Met, his first Don Giovanni at the Chicago Opera Theatre, Amonasro in Aida, Fasolt and Gunther in Götterdämmerung and Figaro for English National Opera, Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream in Caen, Toulon and Nancy as well as Monterone in Rigoletto in Covent Garden. Not long ago he earned accolades from the critics for his performance in Shostakovich's 13th Symphony in a debut concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra under Oleg Caetani. In other concert appearances he has sung in Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Timur (Turandot) under Leonard Slatkin with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the premiere of Luciano Berio's completion of the score, Orest in Elektra at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Edward Gardner, Verdi's Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall, Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Dream of Gerontius with the Hallé Orchestra, Elijah with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Paul Daniel as well as Messiah with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and at the Civic Opera House in Chicago. In forthcoming engagements he will sing in The Dream of Gerontius at the Edinburgh International Festival under Mark Elder, as well as the role of Mandarin in Turandot and Monterone for English National Opera, Fasolt in The Rhinegold for the Opéra National de Paris and Redburn in Billy Budd for the Glyndebourne Festival.

After completing her studies of the violin, Petra Lang studied voice under Gertie Charlent and Ingrid Bjoner. Starting out with lyrical mezzo roles, she has come to be much in demand in Wagnerian roles such as Brangäne, Kundry, Venus, Sieglinde, Ortrud, Adriano, as well as Bartók's Judith, Berg's Marie, Berlioz’s Cassandre, Strauss’s Ariadne; she is also sought after as a performer of Gustav Mahler's vocal works. Petra Lang sings with major European and American orchestras and at the renowned opera houses on both sides of the Atlantic, working with conductors like C. Abbado, G. Albrecht, P. Boulez, S. Bychkov, R. Chailly, M.W. Chung, A. Davis, C. Davis, C. von Dohnany, C. Dutoit, C. Eschenbach, I. Fischer, B. Haitink, D. Harding, E. Inbal, M. Janowski, A. Jordan, P. Jordan, F. Luisi, Z. Metha, R. Muti, J.P. Saraste, W. Sawallisch, L. Segerstam, S. Rattle, D. Runnicles, P. Schneider, J. Tate, C. Thielemann, S. Varviso and S. Young. Petra Lang has sung at the festivals of Salzburg, Bregenz, Edinburgh and appeared at Bayreuth in 2005/06 as Brangäne. She featured in a recording of Wagner's Lohengrin with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, released in 2009. The recording of Berlioz's Les Troyens under Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra with Petra Lang as Cassandre won Grammy Awards for the best recording and the best interpretation of 2002 - in addition to winning the opera award of the Deutsche Schallplatten-Kritik, the Classical Brit Awards Critics' Choice and the Orphée d'or de l'Academie du disque lyrique. The mezzo-soprano has given song recitals in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Brussels, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Dresden (Semperoper), Edinburgh, Feldkirch (Schubertiade), Geneva (Victoria Hall, Grand Theatre), Ghent, London (Wigmore Hall), Milan (Scala), Mainz, Munich, New York (Carnegie Hall/Weill Recital Hall), Paris and Wiesbaden with the pianists Adrian Baianu, Malcolm Martineau, Carmen Piazzini, Maurizio Pollini, Wolfram Rieger, Charles Spencer and Einar Steen-Noekleberg. Her recital CD "Songs by Great Conductors" was released by Oehms Classics in 2008. Future projects include Kundry in Vienna, Venus in Munich, Ortrud in Berlin, San Francisco and Vienna, Cassandre in Berlin, Eglantine and Erwartung in Toulouse, Ariadne at a gala in Mannheim, Judith in concerts in Berlin and Paris, Mahler's 3rd Symphony in Oslo, New York and London, Wagner concerts at the Schleswig Holstein Festival, the Wesendonck Lieder and Zemlinsky's Maeterlinck Lieder with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and a BBC recital in London.