María Bayo, true love for classical music

Twenty-two years have passed since a very young María Bayo won the City of Logroño Song Competition (Certamen de Canto Villa de Logroño). It was quite a first acid test for María, as it was the first competition she had ever entered. It was furthermore the formal recognition of the praise the soprano had been receiving at the Conservatory. From that moment on, María's career has gone 'in crescendo' and has turned her into one of the most important lyrical sopranos in the world at this moment. Success that - she never gets tired of repeating - has come to her step by step, and thanks to many hours of hard work. María lives in between the United States and France (the soprano settled down in Lyon several years ago), and therefore, the opportunities the people from Bilbao get to enjoy her voice - such as was the case in her recital at the Arriaga Theatre - are very welcome.

Specialized critics recognize that Bayo (Fitero, Navarra) has a great many of virtues, such as perfect diction and a unique colour of voice: "As soon as I open my mouth, people know it is me". With the passage of years - Bayo thinks for a moment and then says - her voice has "become more lyrical", which has allowed her to specialize in the "light-lyrical" repertoire, a field only a few voices can successfully enter, as is María's case. She is a leading expert in Spanish cult music, especially baroque music, and since she does not like to be pigeonholed, she is always looking for new challenges in opera, without ever abandoning the repertoire she feels most comfortable with.

María Bayo became a mother a few months ago - her daughter's name is Ilía, named after the main character of the opera 'Idomenio', one of her favourites of Mozart -, a role she had had to postpone "due to the complexity of combining family life with such a sacrificing job as mine; we are like modern gypsies". "Both our personal and our professional lives are a road of sacrifices, and that means, by way of speaking, that we cannot have a social life, such as going out with friends at night or smoking. We are always on the road... The human voice is a very fragile instrument and we always carry it with us. Our body is our means of expression, so everything we do affects us. Nonetheless, it is also a big advantage, because it allows us to express our most intimate feelings. It is true that not all of us are made for this kind of life; just to give and example, I have been working for 20 years now and I can count the days I have spent at home. Combining family and children is also complicated, but it is worth it, because I love my job".

She confesses to be a real perfectionist and that has been the case since the very beginning. Before dedicating herself professionally to singing, María was immersed in an intense training programme. She began her musical studies at the Conservatory and continued them in Germany for five years. Some years later, she was given the opportunity to perform at some of the finest theatres, such as La Scala in Milan or the Salzburg Festival, among many others.

The Navarre soprano has been granted several international awards, among which stands out the First Prize, together with ten more Honourable Mentions, at the Great International Belvedere Competition in Vienna. She has performed at La Scala in Milan, Covent Garden in London, New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna State Opera, to name just a few. María has also appeared with Teresa Berganza, Alfredo Kraus and Plácido Domingo. Apart from live performances, we can enjoy María's extraordinary voice on her numerous recordings, such as her last one of baroque zarzuela, called 'Arias de zarzuela Barroca', by Boccherini, or 'La Calisto' by Cavalli, 'L'occasionne fa el ladro' by Rossini, 'Doña Francisquita' by Vives and 'La tabernera del puerto' by Sorozábal, among many others.

María Bayo is firmly resolved to rescue Spanish music, and eighteenth century Zarzuela in particular, from the "oblivion" it is buried in. "There is much ignorance about our music, especially in the rest of the world. Only Falla and Turina, and few more Spanish composers, are known outside of Spain. I believe it is our obligation to fill the world's knowledge with many others".