Pilar Alva-Martín

SOPRANO

MUSIESPAÑA

BIO

Young Spanish soprano Pilar Alva-Martín began her musical education as a violinist, later deciding to pursue singing and moving to Switzerland to begin her studies at the Haute École de Musique of Lausanne with the bass-baritone and conductor, Stephan MacLeod. She obtained her Soloist Master’s degree in June 2023 with a special award from the jury. Throughout her vocal studies Pilar has received the invaluable guidance of the countertenor and conductor Carlos Mena.

She has already performed several operatic roles in her career, including Belinda in Dido & Aeneas by Purcell for Overture Opéra, Switzerland, Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with the City of Granada Orchestra, 1st Witch in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Cantatio ensemble of Geneva, El Fuego in Antonio Literes’ Los Elementos with Forma Antiqva, Ninfa in Gagliano’s La Dafne with Concerto Soave, Glauco in Antonio Literes’ Acis y Galatea and La Fama in Sebastián Durón’s La Guerra de los Gigantes with the Granada Baroque Orchestra and the Iliber Ensemble, with whom she recorded this Spanish baroque opera for the IBS Classical label.

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In orchestral concerts, Pilar performs as a soloist with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, performing First Elf in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Handel’s Messiah with Orchestra of Principado de Asturias (Oviedo- Spain), Beethoven’s Mass in C major with the Ensemble Cantatio of Geneva, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Filarmonía Orchestra of Granada, Händel’s Brockes-Passion with Capella Concertata and soprano solo in a selection of Monteverdi’s Madrigals with Gli Angeli of Geneva.

As a recitalist, Pilar has been invited by various festivals such as the International Festival of Music and Dance of Granada, Lavaux Classic, Le Mont Musical, Lied & Mélodie of Geneva, Vevey Spring Classic Festival, Festival du Lied de Fribourg (Switzerland) and the International Festival Santa Lucía in Monterrey, Mexico. She has also performed with the renowned tenor Rolando Villazón at the Gala of the Crescendo con la Música Foundation in the concert series of the Rosey Concert Hall in 2021.

Her love of the fusion between music and poetry was inspired by her great-uncle, the composer and organist Juan-Alfonso García. His undying affection for Andalusian poetry led her to create De lo mundano a lo sublime (From the mundane to the sublime), with the pianist Stefano Arena, a programme centred on 20th century Spanish vocal repertoire. This project won them the first prize in the Lavaux Classic Competition 2021.

Their first album as a duo, Paraíso Cerrado (Paradise locked), will soon be released. A homage to Juan-Alfonso García and his mentor, the composer Valentín Ruiz-Aznar, it is mainly comprised of their unpublished vocal works. It was produced in collaboration with the Haute École de Musique of Lausanne and the Claves label. In 2024, the duo also won the second prize of the Osez competition in Geneva and the Tremplin prize of the Leenards foundation in Switzerland with their new interdisciplinary project Glowing ashes, together with dancer Taro Troupe.

Throughout her musical career Pilar has worked with conductors such as Philippe Herreweghe, Michel Corboz, Carlos Mena, Leonardo García Alarcón Daniel Reus, Stephan MacLeod, Aarón Zapico, Joshua Weilerstein, François-Xavier Roth, John Duxbury, Joseph Swensen, Yves Corboz, Martín Baeza Rubio, Jean-Marc Aymes, Giancarlo Andretta, Salvador Mass, Philip Pickett, Lluis Villamajó, Manuel Hernández Silva, Pablo González and John Axelrod.

In addition to her Soloist Master’s degree at the Haute École de Musique of Lausanne, Pilar obtained a bachelor’s degree in lyrical singing at the same institution in 2021 and she also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in violin studies at the Real Conservatorio Victoria Eugenia of Granada in 2018 with the highest distinction.

Among her engagements in the 2024-2025 season, Pilar will sing Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas for Ouverture Opéra in Switzerland, Handel’s Messiah with the Orchestra of Principado de Asturias (Oviedo- Spain), the role of Fuego in Literes’ Los Elementos with Forma Antiqva and she will make her debut at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid in the production, CÓMICAS.

Pilar has had the pleasure to receive the support of various Swiss Foundations: Foundation Colette Mosetti, Casino Barrière Montreux and the Max Jost Foundation.