Itziar Martinez Galdos

About Itziar Martinez Galdos

Itziar M. Galdos, soprano

Itziar Martinez Galdos is from San Sebastian in Spain, where she began her study of voice. She received her diploma in music in Stuttgart, and then in 1985 she came to Oslo to study at the National Opera Academy.

Galdos made her début in 1988, and was awarded the 'Debutant Prize' and the 'European Movement Prize' the same year. In 1989 she became a permanent soloist with The Norwegian National Opera, where she has interpreted a wide range of roles from the standard repertoire to contemporary opera. She received critical acclaim for her interpretation of Puccini's famous heroine, Manon Lescaut, and for Tosca, as well as Desdemona in Verdi's 'Otello'.

Her latest major roles have been The foreign princess in Rusalka by Dvorak, the highly dramatic Minnie in La Fanciulla del West by Puccini, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser by Wagner and the powerful and ambitious Lady Macbeth by Verdi.

As one of the most eminent romance singers in Scandinavia, Galdos performs throughout much of Europe together with Per Arne Frantzen, and her Spanish repertoire is generally the centerpiece of these performances.

Itziar M. Galdos has been awarded 'Operaens Venners Ærespris' and the prestigious Kirsten Flagstad Prize. In spring of 2013 the Kingdom of Spain honoured her outstanding contribution to the Norwegian cultural and musical scene by awarding her the title of Commander of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic.