Paola Andrea LEGUIZAMÓN SANTOS
Lyrical Singer

Paola Andrea received a grant to help her study at The Teatro Real

What is your artistic background?
I was born in Bogota, Colombia. I began my studies at the University of Cundinamarca in Zipaquirá, a small town in the north of Bogotá, the capital. There I studied my Bachelor’s degree in Music with an emphasis on lyrical singing, when I graduated I continued my singing studies with a private teacher and then I knew that I needed to go outside of Colombia  to grow my career, so I began to search opportunities in United States which were not possible for different reasons. Then, despite the pandemic I was able to audition at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain and fortunately I got to enter in 2020 and currently I am studying my Master’s degree in singing interpretation. Also thanks to being in Madrid I was able to be part of the Crescendo program that has given me the greatest opportunities in Spain, such as singing at the great Teatro Real in Madrid and other important theaters.

What is your view on your profession today?
Opera currently has many opportunities because it has become a worldwide art, which is performed even in the smallest corners and theaters, however, the number of singers around the world has grown greatly, for that reason, to have a chance in this world is very competitive, you have to have something special to offer to the public, the jury, agents, colleagues and be outstanding at something such as Mozart’s specialist or Rossini’s coloratura’s expert among others, and always be in an alert mood of what is happening in theaters, what they are looking for in the artists.

How do you see yourself in 5 years? In 10 years?
I really have no expectations of the future. I enjoy what is currently happens in my career and try to build step by step something that I will be proud of later on.

This interview was conducted in 2021
Photography credit: Julia Grandperret