MENTORS 2019
Wolfram Rieger
Wolfram Rieger
Wolfram Rieger studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich with Erik Werba and Helmut Deutsch, and attended several masterclasses with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hans Hotter and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He began teaching at the Munich Hochschule in 1991 while still a student. In 1998 he became a professor at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin and regularly holds masterclasses throughout Europe and Japan. He is frequently invited to important venues and festivals around the world, such as the Feldkirch and Vilabertran Schubertiades, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, London’s Wigmore Hall, and the Vienna Musikverein. He has accompanied Brigitte Fassbaender, Barbara Bonney, Juliane Banse, Michelle Breedt, Thomas Hampson, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Matthias Goerne, and Thomas Quasthoff, among others.
Alumni 2019
Violeta Alarcón, soprano (Catalonia)
Violeta Alarcón was born in Barcelona in 1994. She began studying piano at the age of seven and completed her undergraduate degree in voice at the Conservatori del Liceu, supported by a scholarship from the Ferrer-Salat Music Foundation, under the guidance of Carmen Bustamante. She later continued her training with the Lied Master’s program Victoria de los Ángeles at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC). In 2018, she made her operatic debut in the role of Elisabeth (Tannhäuser) at the Opéra-Studio in Geneva, and in 2019 she performed the role of Mimi (La Bohème) at the Atlàntida in Vic and at the Palau de la Música Catalana. She has appeared in several festivals across Catalonia, including LIFE Victoria and the Schubertíada de Vilabertran. In 2023, she won second prize at the Concurso Juventudes Musicales de España and shared first prize at the 11th International Competition Germans Pla – Ciutat de Balaguer. This season, she made her debut as Liù (Turandot) in the Òpera a Catalunya season.
Irene Mas Salom, soprano (Balearic islands)
Born in Palma de Mallorca, she completed her Professional Degree in Voice with the Extraordinary First Prize in both voice and chamber music, and in June 2016 earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Voice at the Conservatori Superior del Liceu. She has received several awards, including the Mirna Lacambra Prize for the role of Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), the “Joves Promeses” scholarship from the Ferrer-Salat Foundation, the advanced specialization scholarship from the AIE Foundation, and a grant to join Jordi Savall’s Professional Training Academy. More recently, she was awarded the AOTP'18 prize for Best Supporting Female Voice for her portrayal of Sophie (Werther), has performed in the last three editions of LIFE Victoria and made her debut with the Balearic Symphony Orchestra, and recorded an album for Toccata Classics in London alongside Emma Kirkby, Charles Daniels, Timothy Roberts, and the Ars Musicae orchestra.
Marc Serra, piano (Catalonia)
Marc Serra has been described as a musician who “seems to have a primal, respectful, and intimate relationship with music, as if he understood it from the cortex and breathed life into it” (Diari Núvol), and according to the Revista Musical Catalana, he “pays absolute attention to timbre and is subtle, sweet, and tender when bringing out all kinds of sonic nuances from the instrument.” He made his solo debut at the age of sixteen at the Auditori Palau de Congressos in Girona under the baton of Lluís Caballeria and has received numerous national and international awards. He debuted at the Palau de la Música Catalana as part of the “El Primer Palau” series. Much of his artistic activity is devoted to lied: he took part in the recording of the CD Pau i Victòria and in recent years has collaborated with the Lied Master’s program at ESMUC. He has also made his debut at the Schubertíada Vilabertran and LIFE Victoria, among other festivals.
Eric varas, piano (Catalonia)
Born in Barcelona in 1996, she studied at the Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona with Maria Rosa Ribas and Jordi Vilaprinyó, earning her Professional Degree in Piano with Honors. In 2014, she entered ESMUC, where she recently completed her advanced studies under the guidance of Jean-François Dichamp. Her interest in lied began in 2015 through classes with Francisco Poyato and Alan Branch, and since then she has taken part in masterclasses with Malcolm Martineau, Simon Lepper, Wolfram Rieger, and Pablo Assante. Since 2013, she has worked as a collaborative pianist both nationally (Teatre Principal de Maó, 2018; MEAM, 2019) and internationally (New Delhi, 2018). She currently serves as répétiteur for Bohemia’s Produccions (Òpera al PMC) and the Companyia d’Amics de la Sarsuela de Gràcia. This past October, she performed at the LIFE Victoria Festival alongside soprano Violeta Alarcón.
The biographies presented on this page were written at the time of the corresponding edition. Over time, the paths of the artists and professors have evolved, and therefore, the biographies here do not reflect the full extent of their current journeys.
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