(Photo Credit: Manuel Macias)

The Plácido Domingo Foundation held the first edition of its Zarzuela Residence from Sept. 21 to 26 at the Escuela Superior de Canto de Madrid.

Nine singers from seven countries took part in the week of intensive work on Spanish repertoire: Davide Battiniello, Ekaterine Buachidze, Aleksandra Domashchuk, Oleh Lebedyev, Jack Lee, Sarah Saturnino, Shine Lee, Yosif Slavov, and Yuliia Zasimova. All had competed in the zarzuela category at recent editions of Operalia. Buachidze won first prize, the audience prize, and the zarzuela prize in 2025, and Jack Lee received the audience prize in 2024.

Óliver Díaz, the foundation’s artistic director, led the program with mezzo soprano Nancy Herrera, baritone Carlos Álvarez, and stage director Emilio Sagi serving as mentors. Repetiteurs Borja Mariño and Carlos Sanchis also participated. The singers prepared arias and duets from Moreno Torroba’s “Luisa Fernanda,” Vives’ “Doña Francisquita,” and Sorozábal’s “La tabernera del puerto.” The residence also included master classes open to students of the school, among them a session led by Álvarez with baritone Alonso Cano, a student at the institution.

The residence is the foundation’s first training project dedicated to zarzuela.