Italian mezzo Cecilia Bartoli was born on June 4, 1966 in Rome. Cecilia Bartoli performed for the first time in public at the age of nine. Her career therefore started very early: Cecilia Bartoli was noticed in French and Italian television shows. She made her professional debut at the Verona Arena in 1987. Noticed by Herbert von Karajan and Daniel Barenboim, Cecilia Bartoli performed on the greatest opera stages, Pesaro, San Carlo in Naples, Opéra-Bastille in Paris, Scala in Milan, Festival de Salzburg, particularly brilliant in the characters of Rossini and in the baroque operas. In 2012, Cécilia Bartoli became Artistic Director of the Salzburg Pentecost Festival.

Italian mezzo Cecilia Bartoli was born on June 4, 1966 in Rome. Cecilia Bartoli performed for the first time in public at the age of nine. Her career therefore started very early: Cecilia Bartoli was noticed in French and Italian television shows. She made her professional debut at the Verona Arena in 1987. Noticed by Herbert von Karajan and Daniel Barenboim, Cecilia Bartoli performed on the greatest opera stages, Pesaro, San Carlo in Naples, Opéra-Bastille in Paris, Scala in Milan, Festival de Salzburg, particularly brilliant in the characters of Rossini and in the baroque operas. In 2012, Cécilia Bartoli became Artistic Director of the Salzburg Pentecost Festival.

Rolando Villazón (*1972) is probably one of the most spirited opera singers and directors of our time. The Mexican-born singer became known to a worldwide audience in 2005 with his role as Alfredo Germont alongside Anna Netrebko in "La traviata" at the Salzburg Festival.The tenor began his international career in 1999 with his European debut in Genoa as Des Grieux in Jules Massenet’s Manon. This was followed by further successful performances at some of the world’s great opera houses, including the Opéra Bastille Paris, the Bavarian State Opera, the Vienna State Opera and the New York Met. His roles include classics such as Rodolfo (La Bohème), Alfredo (La traviata), Roméo (Roméo et Juliette) and Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor).After vocal cord problems and a corresponding operation, Villazón returned to the stage in March 2010 and debuted as an opera director at the Opéra de Lyon one year later with a production of Jules Massenet’s Werther. The versatile artist, who is also active as a writer and presenter, has been the artistic director of the Mozartwoche Salzburg since 2017.Rolando Villazón has had French citizenship since 2007, is married and has two sons.