Inga Kalna

The Latvian soprano Inga Kalna commands a strong following in her home country, where she is a repeated award winner; in Britain, where she was trained; in Germany, where she spent part of her career, and beyond. Kalna is a versatile singer with a repertory running from the Baroque to Richard Strauss; in the 2010s, she has consistently focused on early music, and has collaborated with several of the top conductors in the field. Kalna was born in Riga, Latvia, on May 1, 1972. She attended the Latvian Academy of Music, studying musicology but also taking voice lessons. She went on to the Royal Academy of Music in London in the latter field and received a top award. Upon graduating, Kalna made her debut as Pamina in a performance of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and then joined the company of the Latvian National Opera, performing mostly Italian roles (including Mimi in Puccini's La bohème) but also essaying the title role in Handel's Alcina at a time when Baroque opera was still comparatively rare in Eastern Europe. She continued to perform in Britain, appearing as the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro under the baton of Sir Colin Davis. In 1999, she joined the International Opera Studio of the Hamburgische Staatsoper and, after several appearances in 19th century operas, became a member of the cast of the Hamburg Opera from 2001 to 2007. There she appeared not only in mainstream repertory roles but in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze's We Come to the River. She made her Salzburg Festival debut in 2006 in Die Zauberflöte and has also appeared at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, the Vlaamse Opera, the Nederlandse Opera, and the opera houses of Toulouse and Lausanne. Kalna has developed strong working relationships with early music conductors René Jacobs, appearing under him at several festivals, and Marc Minkowski, for whom she performed major Handel roles at the Vienna State Opera and Berlin State Opera. She has also performed solo parts in Bach's Passions and other choral works. Kalna has appeared on recordings with the Latvian National Opera and Latvian Radio Choir, and she was heard in Jacobs' recording of Handel's Rinaldo with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. In 2018 she appeared opposite countertenor Franco Fagioli in an acclaimed production and recording of Handel's opera Serse.
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