CantoFest 2025

 Born in Arkhangelsk, Russia, soprano Olga Makarina made her New York debut at the New York City Opera in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. Following the success of these performances, she returned to the company as Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Gilda in Rigoletto.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Makarina has performed leading operatic roles such as Mimì (La Bohème), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Amina (La Sonnambula), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Micaëla (Carmen), Desdemona (Otello), Violetta (La Traviata), Elektra (Idomeneo), Lyudmila (Ruslan and Lyudmila), Lucrezia (Lucrezia Borgia), and Norma. 

She has appeared on major stages worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Regio in Rome, the Mariinsky Theatre, Teatro de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the National Theatre in Prague.

Her concert appearances include a solo recital at Weill Recital Hall in New York, and performances as soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Mahler’s Second Symphony with conductor Atsushi Yamada and the New York City Opera Orchestra at Frederick P. Rose Hall in Lincoln Center. She also appeared as Marfa in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride with Olga Borodina and the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall, where she also sang leading roles in Les Huguenots and Robert le Diable.

Ms. Makarina has given recitals and concerts in Tokyo and Nagoya (Japan), and at the Teatro Liceu in Barcelona. She has performed at renowned festivals including the Spoleto Festival and the Český Krumlov Festival with the Brno Philharmonic, the latter of which was broadcast on Eurovision.

She made her stage debut singing Mozart’s C Minor Mass under the baton of Yehudi Menuhin, and has since worked with many of the world’s top conductors, including James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, and Bruno Campanella.

After her Metropolitan Opera debut in L’enfant et les Sortilèges in 2002, Ms. Makarina went on to perform with the company for 18 consecutive seasons. Her Met repertoire has included:

• Gilda (Rigoletto)

• Elettra (Idomeneo)

• Donna Anna and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni)

• Imogene (Il Pirata)

• Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor)

• Maria Stuarda

• Anna Bolena

• Princess Eudoxie (La Juive)

• Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann)

• Manon

• Violetta (La Traviata)

• Italian Singer (Capriccio)

She has recorded three solo albums for Romeo Records:

• Italian Opera Arias

• Olga Makarina Sings Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff

• Mozart Arias: Exsultate, Jubilate

Ms. Makarina is a graduate of the Mannes School of Music and holds a Master’s degree in piano and voice from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. She is a winner of numerous awards, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Singers Development Foundation, and the Liederkranz Competition.

She is also an internationally sought-after teacher, giving masterclasses around the world.

Vlad Iftinca is a Romanian pianist, conductor, and opera coach of international distinction. Born in Romania, he received his musical education at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid and The Juilliard School in New York.

Between 2007 and 2014, he served as a staff coach in the prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, where, over the past twelve years, he has worked as a pianist under the baton of legendary conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Gianandrea Noseda, Marco Armiliato, Sir Andrew Davis, James Levine, and Maurizio Benini.

As a collaborative pianist, Mr. Iftinca has performed in recital with some of the world’s most distinguished artists, including Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Deborah Voigt, Thomas Hampson, Luca Pisaroni, Joan Rodgers, Isabel Leonard, Erin Morley, Matthew Rose, and Elza van den Heever.

He has appeared at prestigious venues such as the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall’s “Great Singers” Recital Series, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Max-Joseph-Saal in Munich, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Soirées Musicales d’Arles (France), the Beijing Music Festival, the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Seoul Performing Arts Center, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Virtuoso Series (Salt Lake City), and the Ravinia Festival.

He has also served on faculty or collaborated with festivals including Spoleto Festival USA, Aspen Music Festival, and the Savannah Voice Festival.

In 2017, he was featured in a live recital recording with soprano Lisette Oropesa, titled Within/Without, which received widespread critical acclaim.

As a conductor, Mr. Iftinca has led productions at Oper Frankfurt, Oper Stuttgart, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Tri-Cities Opera, OPERA San Antonio, and the Opera on the Avalon Festival.

He is currently a member of the music staff at the Staatsoper Stuttgart and serves as Music Director of the International Opera Studio. 

Ugo Mahieux was born in Naples into an Italian-French family of artists. He studied piano at the San Pietro a Majella Music Conservatory and art history at the University of Naples Federico II. His passion for early music led him to specialize in harpsichord and baroque performance at the Centro di Musica Antica – La Pietà dei Turchini, studying under renowned conductor Antonio Florio.

Mr. Mahieux refined his skills as a collaborative pianist under the guidance of distinguished coaches Iréne Kudela, Margaret Singer, Robert Kettelson, and Enza Ferrari. In 2008, he was admitted to the prestigious Atelier Lyrique of the Paris National Opera, where he began his professional career as part of the music staff for mainstage productions at both the Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille. He also performed as a recital partner at esteemed venues including the Auditorium du Louvre, Palais de l’Élysée, the French Cultural Institute in London, Villa Medici in Rome, and the Hospices de Beaune Festival.

Throughout his career, Mr. Mahieux has been engaged by many leading opera houses and festivals across Europe, including Opéra de Paris, Riga National Opera, Opéra de Marseille, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra de Lille, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Bordeaux, Spoleto Festival, Wildbad Rossini Festival, and Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia. In recent seasons, he has prepared productions of Le Nozze di Figaro and Carmen at Williamsburg Opera, Un Ballo in Maschera at Paris Opera, and Samson et Dalila and Carmen at Dallas Opera. Upcoming engagements include La Bohème and Falstaff at Dallas Opera, La Cenerentola at Staatsoper Stuttgart, La Vestale at Theater an der Wien, and La Favorite at Houston Grand Opera.

He has collaborated with world-renowned singers such as Cecilia Bartoli, Natalie Dessay, Olga Borodina, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Isabel Leonard, Patrizia Ciofi, Sandrine Piau, Ludovic Tézier, Lawrence Zazzo, and Michael Spyres. As a pianist and harpsichordist, he has worked under the baton of distinguished conductors including Emmanuel Villaume, Bertrand de Billy, Emmanuelle Haïm, Daniel Oren, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, and Thomas Hengelbrock.

Mr. Mahieux is also a sought-after collaborator for masterclasses, having accompanied classes led by legendary singers such as Raina Kabaivanska, Renato Bruson, Ann Murray, and Luciana Serra.

His playing is featured on commercial recordings, including Rossini’s La Gazzetta (Naxos label). As a language and style coach, he has contributed to major vocal recordings, such as mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes’s Rossini album (CIC label) and tenor Topi Lehtipuu’s Vivaldi: Arie per tenore (Naïve label).