Marina Comparato is celebrating 30 years of her career, including three decades on the international opera stage, closely intertwined with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

Comparato has had a long-standing artistic journey marked by concerts, landmark productions and premieres, as well as recording projects and important accolades, including the recent Premio Abbiati for Best Production for “Der junge Lord.”

In a statement Comparato said, “Today, a sudden flashback comes over me. I see myself entering the great auditorium of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Emotional, astonished, grateful. But that evening, for the first time, I was on the other side, on stage. In the pit was a great and renowned orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, so large they could barely fit, with the trombones placed in a small adjoining room. The Festival opened with Elektra, conducted by Claudio Abbado. As the curtain rose, I was kneeling just behind. In front of me, that slender figure radiated an energy that filled the entire theatre. He conducted from memory, his eyes following everything and everyone. The opera seemed to pass in a single breath; then the lights came up and the whole theatre rose to its feet, captivated by that slight man and the magic he created. It was May 1996 — thirty years ago — and that was the beginning of this extraordinary journey. Over the years, the Teatro del Maggio has been a fundamental part of my career, accompanying and supporting my vocal development through the many roles I have performed on its stage. I am deeply grateful and proud to have been able to celebrate this 30th year with such a beautiful opening, in the theatre I consider my home.”

Over the years, Comparato has sung in productions of “Elektra,” “The Tale of Tsar Saltan,” “L’Orfeo,” “Le Comte Ory,” “Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria,” “Les Troyens,” “Manon Lescaut,” “Le Nozze fi Figaro,” “Così fan tutte,” “Il barbiere di Siviglia,” “Don Giovanni,” “Carmen,” “Der junge Lord,” and “The Death of Klinghoffer.”