Cristina Gallardo-Domas

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Cristina Gallardo-Domas is a soprano, born in Santiago, Chile, who frequently performs in operas by Puccini.

She made her debut as Madama Butterfly in 1990 at the Municipal Theatre in Santiago and, three years later, began performing in opera houses in Europe, making her La Scala debut in 1993 in La Rondine.

Her many Puccini performances include: Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House; La bohème at the Met, La Scala, and Paris Opera; Manon Lescaut at the Zurich Opera and Los Angeles Opera; Bavarian State Opera, and the Palau de las Arts in Valencia; and Suor Angelica at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw and Teatro Colon.

She is known for her Madama Butterfly and was featured in the heavily promoted new production of this work which opened the 2006/2007 season at the Metropolitan Opera and marked the beginning of Peter Gelb's tenure as General Manager of the Met. According to her website [1], she was personally chosen by the director, Anthony Minghella, for this role, having successfully performed it previously at the Royal Opera.

Gallardo-Domas received a degree with honors in music from the Escuela Moderna de Musica in Santiago and also studied at the Juilliard School in New York. She has been recognized with top cultural honors in Chile: the Gabriela Mistral Award and the Gran Cruz Apostol Santiago. She has also won top prizes in singing competitions.

She lives in the Canary Islands, Spain with her husband, a Spanish lawyer, and her two children, Romina and Esteban Manuel.