The mezzo-soprano Monica Minarelli studied piano and opera singing at the conservatories in Bologna and Ferrara and was a finalist at the Pavarotti International competition in Philadelphia. Her teacher was Sesto Bruscantini. She has appeared at major opera-houses throughout Europe and recent rôles have included Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera) at the Berne Stadttheater and Adalgisa (Norma) at the Solothurn Festival, with appearances in Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten in Palermo, Donizetti’s Il campanello di notte in Liège and Richard Strauss’s Elektra in Catania.