Students of 2017-2019

Performed in Teatro Liceo in Salamanca, Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, Palau de la Música and Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Teatro Principal in Burgos,  Teatro López de Ayala in Badajoz, Miry Concertzaal Ghent, Minardschowburg, Muziekcentrum De Bijloke in Ghent, Concertgebouw in Bruges, BOZAR, Téâtre royal des galeries in Brussels and Flanders Opera.

Spanish baritone Alberto Martínez (Almendralejo, 1986) studied flute and singing at the conservatory of Salamanca and received a Master in opera performance at the conservatory of Valencia. He studied with David Menéndez, Ofelia Sala, Javier San Miguel, Dietrich Henschel and Manuel Burgueras, among others.

In 2017 he was selected for the International Opera Academy in Ghent, where he attends a two-year postgraduate course.

He has performed the roles of Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (Mozart), Nardo in La finta giardiniera (Mozart), L´horloge and Le chat in L´enfant et les sortilèges (Ravel), Schaunard in La Bohème (Puccini), The Drunken Poet and The winter in The Fairy Queen (Purcell), Uberto in La serva padrona (Pergolesi), Brundibar in Brundibar (Kràsa), Brabantische Edle in Lohengrin (Wagner), Golaud in Petit Pelléas (based on Pelléas et Mélisande by Debussy) and Beck in A Matter of Triumph and Void (based on Triumph of Spirit over Matter and Void by Henderickx).

He also performed zarzuela roles like Ricardo Martín in El Barbero de Sevilla (Giménez and Nieto), Lamparilla in El barberillo de Lavapiés (Barbieri) and Joaquín in La del Manojo de Rosas (Sorozabal). He sang several oratorio masterpieces including Messiah (Handel), Requiem (Fauré), Requiem (Mozart), Lazarus (Schubert) and various cantatas by J.S Bach within the project Bach Studium, conducted by Alfonso Sebastián. He worked with conductors Korneel Bernolet (Apotheosis), Philip Raté (Spectra ensemble), Alejo Pérez (Opera Vlaanderen), Otto Tausk (Belgian National Orchestra) Eduardo López Banzo (Al ayre español), Javier Castro (Ars Nova) and Jordi Francés, and directors David Alden, Darren Ross, Jorinde Keesmat, Gema Beltran, Lucija Brnic, Wolfgang Gruber and Guy Joosten.

Visit his personal website here.

In 2005, Arnaud Dos Santos started studying piano at 12 years old. Quite soon, he was admitted to the Jacques Thibaud conservatory in Bordeaux, France, where he studied for a couple of years with Jean-Philippe Guillo. He also studied the accompaniment course with Françoise Larrat, and became the accompanist of the choirs Point d’orgue and Allegro vocal.

After receiving  First Prize of Piano and Chamber Music at the Bordeaux conservatory, he entered Dominique Cornil’s class at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, while also studying with her assistants Yoko Kikuchi and Alexander Besant. Eventually, Arnaud obtained his piano Bachelor with High Distinction in 2016. He received his Master piano, also with High Distinction, in 2018.

In 2019, Arnaud was awarded the Gerofi-Baschwitz Prize by the Royal Conservatory Patrimony Commission. He won many other prizes these past years in national and international competitions – such as the Léopold Bellan competiton in Paris, the Belgian Charlier competition, the Open 2015, 2016 and 2017 in Cap Ferret, the French Chatou competition, etc…

He also got the opportunity to study with great pianists in many masterclasses such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Bertrand Chamayou, Marie-Josèphe Jude, François Frédéric Guy, Aquiles Delle Vigne, François-René Duchâble, Romano Pallotini, Olivier Gardon, Alan Weiss, Diane Andersen etc… Further, in 2014 he met the great American tenor Howard Haskin, who asks him regularly to accompany his singers class in Paris for concerts, recordings or lessons.

At the moment, Arnaud studies at the International Opera Academy in Ghent (specialized repetiteur studies). At the same time, he regularly plays recitals, chamber music concerts or functions as an accompanist in many festivals like La Nuit comme en Plein Jour in Paris, Courant d’Air, Les Nocturnes in Brussels, the Music Festival of Durtal, but also in Bordeaux (l’Art d’être Ensemble Festival), Cap Ferret (Cap Ferret Music Festival), Liège, Angers, Saint Jean d’Illac, etc…

In 2017 and 2018, he played in two productions : Bohemians (creation based on Puccini’s La Bohême) during the United Music of Brussels festival, and in the musical Jekyll and Hyde in Brussels (as a last minute substitute).

In 2019, he is pianist-repetiteur for the productions Banket! and Macbeth (Verdi) at Kunsthuis Opera Vlaanderen, as well as for the IOA productions La Finta Giardiniera (Mozart) and A Matter of Triumph and Void (Henderickx).

Astrid Joos is a young Belgian soprano. In 2018 she obtained her Master’s degree in classical singing from the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, where she studied with Stephanie Friede. During her studies Astrid has had the opportunity to perform several opera roles, including ‘Susanna’ in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, ‘Clarijn’ in Haarlemse Opera’s production of De Spiegel uit Venetië by Hendrik Andriessen, ‘Pamina’ in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and ‘Woglinde’ in Lidal North’s production of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung. In September 2018 Astrid sang the role of Edelknabe 2 in Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s production of Wagner’s Lohengrin. Astrid is currently part of the International Opera Academy in Ghent, Belgium and sang the role of ‘Serpetta’ in their production of Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera. Starting September 2019, she continues her studies at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the class of Samantha Malk. 

astridjoossoprano.com

Barbara Jop is a Polish soprano. She is a recent graduate of the Royal College of Music, London. Barbara gained her Bachelor of Music degree working with Jadwiga Rappé and Krystyna Jazwinska at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Now she is under the tutelage of renowned sopranos Amanda Roocroft and Stephanie Friede. In October 2018, she joined the International Opera Academy in Gent.  

She had the opportunity to be mentored by great pianists such as Roger Vignoles, Gary Matthewman, Caroline Dowdle and Christopher Glynn. She has worked with conductors including Peter Selwyn, Michael Lloyd, Alexander Crowe, Michael Roswell, Natalie Murray, Jonathan Peter Kenny, Alejo Pérez, Otto Tausk and stage directors such as Stuart Barker, Elaine Kidd, James Hurley, Beata Redo-Dobber, Garth Bardsley, Nina Brazier, Stephen Unwin, David Alden and Jorinde Keesmaat.  

Her operatic roles include Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Martha in Martha, Marenka in Bartered Bride, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Oscar in Un ballo in maschera, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte.  

This season she has performed as Edelknaben in Lohengrin (Wagner) with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, La bergère/ La chouette in L’enfant et la sortillèges (Ravel) with National Belgian Orchestra in BOZAR, Arminda in La finta giardiniera (Mozart) and in A Matter of Triumph and Void (Henderickx).

Deborah Salazar is a young French-Mexican lyric soprano. She started singing in the children’s choir at the Conservatoire de Dijon, where she also studied piano. As a member of the choir, she took part in Opera de Dijon productions staged by Olivier Desbordes (Carmen, Tosca, La bohème).

Deborah owns the Diplôme National d’Orientation Professionnelle and a unanimous First price advanced programme from the Conservatoire de Valenciennes. She also graduated from the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris with the Diplôme Supérieur de Concertiste. During masterclasses, she benefited from advice by Viorica Cortez, Leontina Vaduva, Georg Nigl, Marco Guidarini, Mariella Devia, Dietrich Henschel, Deborah Polaski and Wim Henderickx. She currently trains with Catrin Wyn-Davies. 

In 2015, Déborah won First prize in Melodie Repertoire at the Concours de Bordeaux, a young hope price at the Concours de Béziers, a Third price at the International Bellan Competition, the Centre Français de Promotion Lyrique Price and the Young Talent Price at the Concours de l’Opéra d’Avignon. In 2017 she received the CFPL price at the International Competition of Clermont-Ferrand, for the second time. She was also finalist at the International Bellini Competition. At the New Year Gstaad Festival, she was granted the Odiot Award. In 2018, she was selected for the Queen Elisabeth Competition.  

Déborah has been La Musique in Les plaisirs de Versailles (Charpentier), Kätchen in Werther at the Opera de Massy, Blonde in a French version of Mozart’s Entführung aus dem Serail at the Opera de Clermont-Ferrand, and Leila in Les Pêcheurs de Perles at the Salle Cortot in Paris. Deborah also performed at the Opera de Lille and at the Opera de Bordeaux. She was invited to sing for the Armel Festival in Budapest. She was Pastorello in Tosca in the Opera de Metz in February 2019, Serpetta in La Finta Giardiniera in March 2019, and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel in Opera d’Avignon in December 2019. In October 2019, she will be Contessa di Ceprano in Rigoletto in Opera de Metz and Reims.

https://www.deborahsalazar.com/

Diana Santos, a Portuguese mezzo soprano, started playing the saxophone at age 12. At 17 years old, she started studying lyric singing. Over the course of three years, she perfected her technique with Wim Henderickx, Jessica Pratt, Déborah Polaski, Christophe Rousset, Dietrisch Henschel, Luís Rodrigues, Manuela Costa, Ana Ester Neves, Paulo Ferreira, Lúcia Lemos, Jorge Vaz de Carvalho, António Salgado and Rui Taveira. In 2014, Diana started studying at Évora University where she did a Bachelor with Liliane Bizineche, a Romanian mezzo soprano. Diana joined the Gulbenkian choir to perform Messiah. For two years (2016/2017), she collaborated with the Metropolitan Orchestra of Lisbon, where she performed in Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino) and in La Clemenza di Tito (Sesto). She also had an important role as soloist with the Évora Classical Orchestra during the last years. In 2017, Diana started her studies at International Opera Academy, where she had the opportunity to perform Geneviève in Petit Pelléas (adaptation of Pelléas et Melisande) and also Ramiro in La Finta Giardiniera. Last year (2018), she performed fourth Edelknabe in Lohengrin at Kunsthuis Opera Vlaanderen.

Performed in Opera Flanders, BOZAR, Concertgebouw Brugge, Minardschouwburg in Ghent, Théâtre Royal des Galeries in Brussels, Piccolo Regio Puccini, Magnitogorsk Opera Ballet and Theatre and Teatro Splendor in Aosta.

Italian soprano Elisa Soster (1997, Aosta), studied flute and singing at the Conservatoire de la Vallée d’Aoste. She took part in masterclasses of Anna Pirozzi, Barbara Frittoli, Mariella Devia, Dietrich Henschel, Christophe Rousset, Jessica Pratt, Deborah Polaski, Wim Henderickx and others.

She interpreted the roles of Gilda in Rigoletto (Verdi), Mélisande in Petit Pelléas (adaptation for children of Pelléas et Mélisande by Debussy), Edelknabe in Lohengrin (Wagner) Serpina in La Serva Padrona (Pergolesi) and Sandrina in La Finta Giardiniera (Mozart). 

She sang the solistic parts in A Matter of Triumph and Void by Henderickx, Sarah was ninety years old by Pärt, Carmina Burana by Orff, Jagdkantate by J.S. Bach, Stabat Mater by Boccherini, Stabat Mater by Pergolesi.

She has worked with conductors such as Alejo Pérez (Symphonic Orchestra of Opera Vlaanderen), Korneel Bernolet (Apotheosis Orchestra and Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen), Jeroen Felix (Holland Baroque, Nederlandse Bach Vereniging‘), Filip Rathé (Spectra Ensemble), Stijn Saveniers (HERMESensemble), Daniele Ruzza (Ensemble delle Fondazione Arturo Toscanini), Stéphanie Praduroux (Orchestre du conservatoire de la Vallée d’Aoste) and directors like David Alden, Guy Joosten, Meryl Tankard, Lucija Brnic, Wolfgang Gruber, Benoît de Leersnyder and Gemma Beltrán.

She won the third prize in the Italian National Award Premio Abbado.

Follow her career here.

Visit her personal website here.

Read her testimonial about the IOA here.

Fernando Loura was born in 1994 in Lisbon, Portugal. He completed his Piano Bachelor in Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa in 2014 in the class of Miguel Henriques, and finished his Piano Masters in 2016 at the Conservatori del Liceu in Barcelona in the class of Stanislav Pocheckin. During his bachelor, he also had the opportunity to study privately with renowned pianist Artur Pizarro.

He had masterclasses with Paul Badura Skoda, Boris Berman, Luíz de Moura Castro, Dmitri Alexeev, Olga Prats, among others.

In 2017, he attended a two-week opera masterclass in Tenerife with repetiteur and vocal coach Giulio Zappa.

In 2018, he attended Berlin Opera Academy as an Apprentice Repetiteur. He worked in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) and Die Fledermaus (Strauss).

Kiup Lee was born in Incheon (South Korea) in 1992, and studied at the department of vocal music at Kyung Hee University. Over the course of four years, he studied with Akyung Lee, Byungkil Yoon and Jaedo Choi.

He performed as Nathanael in Les contes d’Hoffmann (2011), Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera (2013), Rodolfo in La bohème (2015, 2017), Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore (2016) La Théière, Le Petit Vieillard and La Rainette in L’enfant et les sortilèges (2018), and Podestà in La finta giardiniera (2019).

At this moment he is a part of the Académie in the Opéra national de Paris.

Follow his career here.

Read his testimonial about the IOA here.

Mario completed his bachelor degree in Piano at the Conservatory of Music of the National University of Colombia with Piedad Pérez. In 2016 he started his Master’s degree in Piano performance with Nicolas Callot at Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten – Netherlands.

Recently, he worked as one of two apprentice-repetiteurs in the production of  La Cenerentola (Rossini) during the Winter session of the Lyric Opera Studio in Weimar – Germany 2017. During the production, he also worked as harpsichordist of the orchestra Türinger Symphoniker (theater Rudolstadt).

He has been awarded several prizes, among which the prize for pianist in the National Singing Contest of the Bogota Philharmonic (May 2016), the Young performers of the Bank of the Republic (2016) and the competition of Young performers of the Caldas Symphony Orchestra (2014). Mario was scholarship holder of the Cartagena International Music Festival 2014 and 2016.

Soprano Marta Estal completed her Bachelor’s as a student of soprano Gloria Fabuel, obtaining the Extraordinary Prize unanimously. She is currently finishing her Masters in Opera at the conservatory ‘Joaquín Rodrigo’ from Valencia. She has participated in masterclasses with Mariella Devia, Simon Lepper, Gianluigi Gelmetti and Wolfgang Rieger. She studied several months at the Conservatory ‘Gioacchino Rossini’ di Pesaro with Evghenia Dundekova. In July 2017 she became part of the Georg Solti Academy In Tuscan, Italy, directed by Jonathan Papp (Royal Academy of Music) and received classes from a.o. Corradina Caporello (Julliard), singers Barbara Frittoli, Massimo Giordano and conductor Richard Bonynge. In 2016, Marta finished her Bachelor in Piano Performance with highest marks, as well as obtaining a graduate degrees in Translation and Interpreting (literary translation) and Acting.
She won First Prize and ‘Best Singer’ in the Competition ‘Intercentros Melómano’ and was a finalist in the 84th Competition ‘Jeunesses Musicales’ in Spain and the ‘Anita Cerquetti’ Competition in Italy.
She made her début as Musetta in La Bohème on the National Auditorium of Spain with the Filarmonía Orchestra. She has also sang the roles of Pamina (Die Zauberflöte, Mozart) and Regina (Una cosa rara, Martín y Soler), and has been the soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Materwith the Sinfonietta Orchestra of Canary Islands and theOratorio de Noël by Saint-Saëns, among others. In April 2018, she sang as a soloist with the National Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra with a selection of opera arias. She has given recitals in the National Auditorium of Spain, Reale Accademia di Spagna a Roma, Italy, Palau de les Arts, and Palau de la Música, etc. Marta has been invited to sing at the Spanish Music Festival in Moscow, Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada, Festival Internacional de Úbeda, and Festival de Música Española de Cádiz. She has sung with the Partiture Orchestra of Jaén and the violinist Ara Malikian.
Recently, Marta released a CD of unpublished music from the 20th century with the Philharmonic University Orchestra of Valencia. With the theater company ‘Bambalina Teatre Practicable’, she toured as soprano and actress with the 2015 show Satie: Gimnopedias, drawings and puppets.