NATS is pleased to announce that Ana María Martínez will appear as guest artist at the NATS 56th National Conference in Knoxville, June 26-30, 2020. The world-renowned soprano will appear in concert on Saturday, June 27 at the historic Tennessee Theater. The following day she will teach a master class and lead a talk/Q&A session.

Grammy Award® winner Ana María Martínez is considered to be one of the foremost sopranos of her time, with an international career that spans the world’s most important opera houses and concert halls. Her repertoire encompasses opera’s most intriguing and diverse leading ladies, and she engages her audiences season after season with signature roles, spellbinding debuts, and a myriad of captivating recordings.

"We are so glad that Ana María Martínez will join us in Knoxville as we celebrate together the art form we love," said NATS Executive Director Allen Henderson.

Martínez was engaged for the NATS Conference following news that tenor Lawrence Brownlee had to cancel his guest artist appearance due to a scheduling conflict.

Recent rave reviews for Ms. Martínez include: “Her soprano harks back to the golden age. Her range is even, from a dusky chest-voice through a claret-colored middle and up to radiant top, and is impressive in its quiet moments as it is at full power.” (Opera News, Cover Story)

Ms. Martínez is constantly challenging and stretching herself as an artist. In addition to a full calendar of performances, she has recently taken on two new exciting roles that expand her presence offstage, including joining Houston Grand Opera as their first-ever Artistic Advisor as well as Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as Artist-in-Residence for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years. Equally interesting, she voiced the role of opera singer Alessandra in season three of Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, and proudly represented her birthplace Puerto Rico as an honoree and performer in the 62nd Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. During her travels she frequently goes into the classroom to teach and offer guidance to students, has provided candid encouragement to young singers as a contributing editor to Classical Singer Magazine and her reflections were profiled in Latino Wisdom: Celebrity Stories of Hope, Inspiration, and Success to Recharge our Mind, Body, and Soul by Cathy Areu, published by Barricade Books.

Ms. Martínez was the inaugural recipient of the Pepita Embil Prize of Zarzuela at the 1995 Operalia II, and in the years since has been honored to regularly share the stage in concert with Plácido Domingo. Highlights of their touring include performances at The White House, HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro for the World Cup Celebration, her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, as well as performances at the Abu Dhabi Festival in the United Arab Emirates, Arena di Verona, Chorégies d’Orange, Teatro Real in Madrid, with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra in honor of Domingo’s 50th Anniversary, in a special concert event with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis, and for the inaugural performance at the Dubai Opera House, to name just a select few. Their recordings include a Zarzuela DVD recorded live at the Salzburg Festival entitled Amor, Vida de Mi Vida (EuroArts), the Latin Grammy Award® winning recording of Albeniz's Merlin (Decca), as well as the Grammy nominated recording of Bacalov's Misa Tango (Deutsche Grammophon), and the DVD Spanish Night (EuroArts) with the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Maestro Domingo. Ms. Martínez has also performed on international concert tours with star tenor Andrea Bocelli. Highlights of their collaboration include her appearance on the Emmy nominated PBS TV special and DVD American Dream: Andrea Bocelli’s Statue of Liberty Concert (WNET/Thirteen) with the New Jersey Symphony, as well as her participation in his star-studded performance in New York’s Central Park which was recorded live, entitled Concerto: One Night in Central Park (Verve). She performs the role of Nedda opposite Andrea Bocelli in the recording of Pagliacci (Decca), and portrays the title role in Manon Lescaut (Decca) recorded opposite Andrea Bocelli with Plácido Domingo conducting the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana.

During the 2019-20 season Ms. Martínez portrays the role of Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly with Opera National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Metropolitan Opera. She will be heard on the concert stage with the Houston Symphony for Composer-in-Residence Jimmy López’s Dreamers Oratorio.

Born in Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father, Ana María spent her formative years in Puerto Rico and New York City. She graduated from The Juilliard School with both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. Ms. Martínez makes her home in Houston, Texas, where her relationship with Houston Grand Opera runs deep. In addition to being named the company’s first-ever Artist Advisor, she is an alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Studio.

The biennial NATS National Conference attracts NATS members and others from around the world to share in programs, demonstrations, lectures, master classes and competitions that help celebrate the art of singing and increase knowledge of teachers to help them better assist their students. The 56th NATS National Conference will be held June 26-30, 2020, in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the Knoxville Convention Center. CLICK FOR MORE INFORMATION