Yaroslava Kozina
General Director
Yaroslava Kozina left Minsk following the advice of Galina Vishnievskaya, the great Russian singer and wife of Rostropovich, to study singing in France. After successfully obtaining her Prize at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon, she was selected to join the opera studio “Les Jeunes Voix du Rhin”, a lyric training center of the Opéra National de Strasbourg.
Her international career began after obtaining the “theater directors” prize at the Belvédère international competition in Vienna.
In 2007, Opern Welt magazine named her “Young Artist of the Year”. In 2008, following her interpretation of Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), she received the scholarship for young Wagnerian singers from the Bayreuth Festival.
Her first steps were taken on the stage of the National Opera of Strasbourg, then the Bremen Opera hired her to join its troupe.
From then on her collaboration with prestigious theaters throughout Europe began: Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Liège, Bordeaux, Lille, Nice, Strasbourg, Seville, Aachen, Berlin, Friborg, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Essen, Wiesbaden, Geneva, Paris.
She also worked with great conductors including Soltesz, Latham-Koenig, Halffter, Herreweghe, Minkowski Anikhanov, Jurowski etc., and directors such as Barrie Kosky, Braunschweig, Loy, Audi, La Fura dels Baus, etc. On these stages, she interpreted more than thirty roles, among which: Carmen, Dulcinea (Don Quixote), Dalila (Samson and Delilah), Preziosilla (La Forza del destino), Judith (The Castle of Bluebeard), Santuzza ( Cavalleria rusticana), Giulietta (Les Contes d ‘Hoffmann), Isolde / Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde). By participating in world premiere Yaroslava Kozina collaborated with renowned composers: Boesmans, Dusapin, Penderecki.
In 2016, she participated in the recording of two DVDs: Troika by Rachmaninoff and Pentesilia, the world premiere by composer Dusapin.
Along with her career as an opera singer, Yaroslava Kozina holds the post of artistic director of the ArtEurope association.
She produced various concerts and shows internationally: Offenbach in Brussels, Bartók at the Saint Petersburg International Festival, Camille Saint-Saëns in Las Palmas, etc. In June 2019 at the Grand Palais, Yaroslava Kozina co-directed the Rouge project. This event was ranked fifth on the France Info list of events related to the Fête de la Musique.
Ecouter Yaroslava Kozina
Ambrogio Maestri
Artistic Director - Master Artistic
Ambrogio Maestri was born in Pavia where he studied singing and piano.
His sensational debut in 2001 coincided with the most important musical event of the Verdi Centennial, Falstaff, conducted by Riccardo Muti and directed by Giorgio Strehler, which saw him in the leading part at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the historic Teatro Verdi in Bussetto.
This interpretation earned him enthusiastic reviews from the international press and opened the doors of the most important opera houses of the world. The collaboration with Riccardo Muti leads him over the next three years to debut at the Teatro alla Scala in some of the most emblematic Verdi roles such as Jago in Otello, Renato in Un Ballo in maschera, Don Carlo di Vargas in La forza del destino and Giorgio Germont in Traviata, thus strengthening the foundations of a constantly growing career.
Guest of the most prestigious opera companies world-wide (Metropolitan Opera, Opera de Paris, Covent Garden, Staatsoper di Vienna,
Deutsche Oper di Berlino) Maestri continues his Verdian journey performing as the Conte di Luna in Trovatore, Amonasro in Aida, Rolando in La battaglia di Legnano, and in the leading roles of Simon Boccanegra, Rigoletto and Nabucco.
In these years of intense activity Maestri is directed by the best international conductors including Zubin Mehta, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Oren, Fabio Luisi, Antonio Pappano, Jeffrey Tate, Nello Santi, Marcello Viotti, Marco Armiliato, Gianandrea Noseda, Renato Palumbo,Daniel Harding…and by directors such as Franco Zeffirelli, Robert Carsen, Graham Vick, Peter Stein, Bob Wilson, Larent Pelly, Mario Martone, Hugo De Ana, Bartlett Sher…
In 2013 during the celebration of Verdi bicentennial Maestri was recognized as the best Falstaff of the last years. He was Sir John at La Scala, at the Opèra National de Paris, at Zurich’s Opernhaus, at Salzburg’s Festival, in Munich, in Tokyo, and at the Met in New York.
Ecouter Ambrogio Maestri
Maestro Enrico Zucca
Musical director - Interpretation teacher
Born in Pavia, Enrico Zucca starts his music studies at the age of 8 with singing-master Salvatore Di Pietro ( pupil of Franco Vittandini), he gets a diploma in theory and solfeggio at the Conservatory of Milan at the age of 11.
Enrico studies piano with professor Annamaria Moro and successfully passes exams at the Conservatory.
At the age of 15 he becomes a piano accompanist for numerous world-famous opera singers: Magda Olivero, Gina Cigna, Carlo Bergonzi, and Franco Correlli.
Thanks to his collaboration with famous singers, he earned a world-class reputation in French and Italian opera. He then focuses on
interpretation and vocal technic lessons ; the baritone Ambrogio Maestri is one of his most outstanding pupils. In his work on numerous teaching projects he cooperates with such prestigious artists as Nicola Martinucci, Giacomo Prestia, Anna Maria Chiuri, Amarilli Nizza…
Since April 2018 on the invitation of The Central Academy of Drama in Beijing he has been giving Master classes in vocal music and interpretation.
He is also a talented conductor; his repertoire includes such outstanding operas as Aida, La Traviata, Rigoletto, il Trovatore,etc…. He often conducted Ambrogio Maestri in numerous solo recitals. He is the author of many sacred musical compositions.
Enrico Zucca also participates in numerous Tv shows.
The idea for MIR OPERA was born among a few professionals in the sector who chose to showcase their professionalism for the benefit of young artists who are taking their first steps in the world of opera.
I had the chance to work with various artists who were the most important representatives of lyrical art of yesterday and today and who were able to communicate to me the great passion that gives me enthusiasm for this project. I have followed many artists in this journey and now I am happy to be by their side in this didactic experience with the hope that my contribution will relight the torch of this art.
In all fairness, the road will not be easy. But accompanying and guiding young people in a work that is made of passion, but also of deepening, sacrifice and effort is necessary to highlight their talent.
We are ready and well motivated to take up this challenge with the desire to see our students shine on the stage, following the principles and our idea of opera; the one that we love and want to contribute to make perpetual.
– Maestro Enrico Zucca
Tenor Francesco Medda
President - Singing and diction teacher
Since childhood, Francesco Medda has been fascinated by singing. He was immersed in music starting with studying several instruments, accordion, piano and guitar, but mostly singing in his school choir. After his acting debut with the Akroama Company, he studied at the Florence Conservatory of Music with the tenor Gianni Raimondi. He then graduated from the Giuseppe Verdi Academy in Parma and the Carlo Bergonzi Academy in Busseto.
Francesco Medda won numerous international singing competitions: the Giuseppe Di Stefano competition, the International Teatre de Modena Competition, the ” Gli amici del loggione della Scala ” scholarship that allowed him to study with the great tenor Franco Corelli. After performing twenty-two leading roles as baritone, he changed registers in 2006 and made his debut as Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca. He was then invited to Fidenza to sing Otello, that became his favorite role. From that moment on he performed the most important roles in the dramatic repertoire: Calaf, Radames, Don Alvaro, Manrico, Canio, Turiddu and many others.
Francesco Medda performed on the stages of several theaters of the world: La Scala, Teatro della Fenice, Cagliari, NHK of Tokyo, Toronto, Bolshoi of Minsk, Capetown, etc … He collaborated with great conductors: Bonynge, Chailly, Oren, De Bernart, Gandolfi, Frizza, Bellugi, Bisanti etc. and directors such as Franco Zeffirelli, Crivelli, De Tomasi, Colonello, Maestrini, etc.
During his artistic career, he was a musical assistant for Showa University in Tokyo; he taught the course for actors at the Arc Theater in Cagliari; he was Vice-President of the Association La Lira and Artistic Director of the Concertist seasons of La Lira with the Fondazione Piccinni di Bari. He also staged Rigoletto (Molfetta, Italy) and Le Château de Barbe Bleue at the Saint Petersburg International Festival.
Currently, and since 2014, he is artistic consultant of ArtEurope.
Ecouter Francesco Medda