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Layna Chianakas Artist's Website >> Greek-American mezzo-soprano Layna Chianakas has been hailed as "the type of singer that makes one remember why to go to the opera." Her versatility as a singing-actor has aided her in the portrayal of many leading opera roles including Carmen in Carmen, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Sesto in Giulio Cesare, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, The Woman in Poulenc's La Voix Humaine, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and the title role in La Perichole. She has performed with such opera companies as Cleveland Opera, Nashville Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, Virginia Opera, Dayton Opera, Festival Opera, Nevada Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Madison Opera, Sacramento Opera, Intermountain Opera, Opera San José and Richard Wagner Bayreuth Festival. Future engagements include Carmen with Sacramento Opera in February, 2007, and Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Greensboro Opera in November, 2008. Ms. Chianakas is equally comfortable in the recital forum, in which her experience is extensive. She spent three years touring with The Songs of Franz Schubert Concert Series performing over 100 recitals, accompanied by world-renowned coach and accompanist John Wustman. She has performed on the mid-day public radio broadcast of the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, in Chicago, IL, the Krannert Center Sunday Salon Series in Champaign, IL, the Listening Hour Recital Series in San José, CA, and various recital series throughout Germany. She was named Artistic Ambassador of the United States, performing recitals in Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala and Jamaica. Ms. Chianakas was featured in the Carmel Music Society Concert Series in Carmel, CA, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Recital Series, and sang on the Concerts at Holy Cross series in Belmont, CA. Ms. Chianakas gave her New York Recital Debut at Christ and St. Stephen's Church and most recently performed an all-Schubert program as part of the San Francisco Performances Concert Series. As a soloist, she has sung with numerous symphonies and choral societies. The Los Angeles Times wrote of her "Beautiful tone and control as she graced the stage in a flowing candy-apple-red dress" after hearing her performance of Maurice Ravel's Shéhérazade with the New West Symphony. Other orchestral appearances include performances with the Oakland-East Bay Symphony, Peoria Symphony, San José Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic, Sinfonia da Camera, the Masterworks Chorale, the Choral Society of the Hamptons, New West Symphony, Vallejo Symphony, Diablo Symphony, Lake Tahoe Music Festival Orchestra, and Augustana Orchestra. Ms. Chianakas sang the world premiere of Saints written for her by Craig Bohmler, with the San José Chamber Orchestra, and also sang the world premiere of Winter Requiem with San Francisco's Schola Cantorum, in which the mezzo-soprano solos were written for her by Alva Henderson. Winter Requiem will be reprised in June 2007. Future concert engagements include the alto solos in Dvorak's Requiem with the Chorus of Westerley in Rhode Island. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Ms. Chianakas moved to Kassel, Germany, where she taught voice and beginning piano with the Musikschule-Ehlen for four years. While in Germany, she attended the Mozarteum Salzburg and studied Lieder with some of the foremost coaches in the world. It is there, she acquired her fluency in German. She returned to the United States and received a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois. Ms. Chianakas can be heard on her latest CD, I Recognized Your Face, and with the San José Chamber Orchestra on its CD of works by composer, Craig Bohmler. Future recordings include mezzo-soprano arias by composer Henry Mollicone, available the end of 2006, The Holocaust Memorial Cantata by Mona Lyn Reese in May 2007, as well as Winter Requiem with Schola Cantorum. She lives in San Jose, CA with her husband, Elie Haddad, her son, Ghythe, and daughter, Sophia. O1C Performances: The Gypsy In Me |
