Lucas Somoza Osterc
Born in Buenos Aires in 1984, the baritone Lucas Somoza Osterc spent his formative years studying with Victor Srugo, graduating from the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in 2010. With a scholarship from the Fundación Música de Cámara, he studied with Guillermo Opitz from 2007 to 2010, making his début with Juventus Lyrica at the Teatro Avenida in Buenos Aires in 2008. He worked for a number of yeas with this company and with Buenos Aires Lírica, singing such prominent rôles as Zurga (Les Pêcheurs de perles) and participating in productions of Fidelio, Madama Butterfly, The Fairy Queen, and Belisario, among others. At Teresa Berganza’s masterclass in Bougival, France, he sang Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) before performing the rôle at the sixty-fourth Dubrovnik Summer Festival. He has sung Morales (Carmen) with the SNG Opera, Ljubljana and the baritone solo in Fauré’s Requiem at the Philharmonic Hall, Ljubljana with the Slovenian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded the baritone solo in Alberto Ginastera’s Estancia with the BBC Philharmonic for Chandos Records.

Juanjo Mena
began his conducting career in his native Spain as Artistic Director of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra in 1999. His uncommon talent was soon recognized internationally with the Bergen Philharmonic appointing him Principal Guest Conductor and the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa Chief Guest Conductor. In 2011 he was named Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic which he had led for seven seasons, taking the orchestra on tours of Europe and Asia and conducting annual televised concerts at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. His BBC tenure featured, notably, “thrilling” (The Guardian) performances of Bruckner Symphonies, a cycle of Schubert Symphonies, and set new standards for the interpretation of both well-known and less-performed Spanish and South American repertoire. He currently serves as Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival, the longest running choral festival in North America, where he has been expanding the scope of the legendary organization with new commissions and community engagement.

A sought-after guest conductor, Juanjo Mena has led Europe’s top ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, London Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Philharmonic among others. He appears regularly with all the major orchestras in his native Spain. ...