Born in Avellino in southern Italy, Carmen Giannattasio studied singing at the Conservatorio Cimarosa in her hometown, with further studies at the Accademia di Perfezionamento at La Scala from 1999 to 2001. Among the roles she has sung are Adelia in Ugo conte di Parigi and Micaela in Carmen (both at La Scala), Desdemona in a semi-staged Otello with Roberto Alagna and Plácido Domingo at Los Angeles Opera, and the title role in L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Berlin Staatsoper and La Monnaie in Brussels. More recently she has given well-received performances as Leonora in Il trovatore at several Italian theatres, and as Elena in Rossini’s La donna del lago at the Edinburgh Festival – a performance recorded live and available on Opera Rara. For Opera Rara she also appears on Donizetti’s Parisina and Rossini’s Ermione (which won the Gramophone Award in 2011), Bellini’s Il pirata and Donizetti’s Caterina Cornaro. She performs regularly in concert and in productions throughout the world.