American
National
Opera
Company
Maria Ruiz, soprano
Born in Segovia, she studied guitar and piano at the Conservatoire in her native town. She went to Madrid and there continued her studies at the National High School of Singing. Her most distinguished teachers were: Victoria de los Ángeles, Istvan Cesjan, Wolfgang Rieger, Sergio Bertocchi, Teresa Berganza and Pedro Lavirgen. While still a student she sang the role of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and the title role in La Traviata. Then she made her first professional appearance at a concert in the International Festival “Juan de Borbón”, immediately she sang a role in Luisa Fernanda (Moreno Torroba) at Villamarta Theatre in Xerez (Cádiz). In the following years she sang all over the Spanish theatres working with important conductors such as Miguel Ortega, Josep Pons, Carlos Cuesta ,Jose Miguel Pérez-Sierra and the Russian conductor Guerassim Voronkov. She has sung: La Traviata, Verdi,at Madrid, Barcelona , Córdoba,Valencia and Vigo; La Rondine, Puccini (Girona), Roberto Devereux, Donizetti (Barakaldo, Bilbao), Pagliacci, Leoncavallo (Málaga), La Médium, Menotti (A Coruña and Valladolid).She also made the role of Mimì in La Bohème at Baluarte Theatre in Pamplona with great success, Madrid and Barcelona.She made her debut in Verdis’opera Don Carlo in the role of Elisabetta di Valois produced by Alcalá de Henares University under the stage direction of Giancarlo del Monaco and also Il Trovatore in the role of Leonora at Roquetas’ Auditorium in Almería.She also made the role of Cio Cio San in Puccini´s opera Madama Butterfly, and Bellini’s Norma in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Vigo .She has made the following Zarzuelas (spanish operas): La Leyenda del Beso( Soutullo y Vert), Huésped del Sevillano(J.Guerrero), Katiuska at Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao; Gavilanes (J.Guerrero) at Teatro Principal de Castellón, La del Soto del Parral (Soutullo y Vert) at Teatro Barakaldo. Pan y Toros (Barbieri) and Estreno de un Artista,( Gaztambide), at Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid.
The principal international music press critics said about her voice: “A wide, warm lyric-spinto soprano with a beautiful timbre with an excellent technique and very special pianissimo and legato singing”. (Opera Actual). ”María Ruiz was admirable as the Druid priestess. She gave her all throughout and more than once we were reminded of a Callas-like manner. Along with the extreme vocal demands, a successful Norma must communicate determination, courage and large doses of jealousy. Ruiz went even further in her own musical expression of fragility and Forgiveness”. (VictoriaStapells ”Opera”).
She was finalist in many competitions and she won the 1st prize at Pedro Lavirgen’s International Singing Contest (one of the foremost lyric contests in Spain ) in 2007. In May 2008 she has sung with the Orchestra of Spanish Broadcast Television a lyric concert at Madrid’s Monumental Theatre. She is also currently undergoing a serie of concerts all over the world with the”Instituto Cervantes”, a spanish public Institute in charge of promoting Spanish classical music abroad, and also with The Soloists of London. Next year she will sing the role of Cio Cio San ( Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly) in Bilbao produced by ABAO and Torre del Lago Puccini.