Carla Dirlikov Canales

Michigan-born, of Bulgarian and Mexican heritage, Carla Dirlikov Canales studied at the University of Michigan and McGill, the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and the Paris Conservatoire. Carmen has been the axis of her stage work, sung across Europe, Asia and the Americas, with Dalila, Eboli and Giulietta in Les Contes d'Hoffmann beside it. In 2016 she founded The Canales Project, which puts music and storytelling to work on questions of identity and belonging, and she has served as a United States Arts Envoy and as Senior Advisor and Envoy for Cultural Exchange at the National Endowment for the Arts. She holds the Sphinx Medal of Excellence. Shirley Verrett taught her at Michigan, and her professional debut came as Carmen in Toronto in 2003.