Alina Sánchez Rodríguez

She is a Cuban soprano singer residing in Spain. She has been one of the great interpreters of the zarzuela Cecilia Valdés, by Gonzalo Roig.

She was a member of the Teatro Lírico Nacional de Cuba. She founded and directed the Estudio Lírico de las Artes Escénicas.

She studied singing with Mariana de Gonitch and Carmelina Santana. She has been one of the great interpreters of the zarzuela Cecilia Valdés, by Gonzalo Roig for whose characterization she received a performance award at the I Festival de Teatro de La Habana, in 1980.

She had made her debut in that work, as an amateur directed by the author, in 1965 and presented it in Central Europe (1974) and Mexico (1984). Member of the Teatro Lírico Nacional de Cuba in 1968. Among her principal performances, in addition to Cecilia, stand out the zarzuelas and operettas La leyenda del beso (Amapola, 1968); Marina (r. t., 1969); Molinos de viento (Margarita, 1972); Amalia Batista (r. t., 1979); La viuda alegre (Ana de Glavary, 1987) and the operas La traviata (Violetta, 1972); Rigoletto (Gilda, 1976); La esclava (Matilde, 1980); Lucia di Lammermoor (r. t., 1981); Don Pasquale (Norina, 1985); La bohème (Mimì/ Musetta, 1986); Aida (r. t., 1993); Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San, 1994).

Founder and director of the Estudio Lírico de La Habana, between 1987 and 1991, with which she presented the works María la O and El murciélago, by J. Strauss. She has worked as a dramatic actress in theater and in several Cuban films: El otro Francisco (dir. S. Giral, 1974), Retrato de Teresa (dir. P. Vega, 1979); Patakín (dir. M. O. Gómez, 1982); Plácido (dir. S. Giral, 1986). In 1984 she joined the Spanish company Antología de la Zarzuela, with which she toured several countries.

Currently she resides in Spain where she remains very active as a singer.

From a very young age she had artistic inclinations and therefore received piano, music theory and solfège classes at a conservatory, but she abandoned them upon realizing that her true vocation was singing, which she began to study in 1963.

She studied with Mariana de Gonitch, Carmelina Santana Reyes and Gonzalo Roig. In 1964 maestro Gonzalo Roig was attempting to stage, with the amateur theater of the Universidad de la Habana, his zarzuela Cecilia Valdés. The then Art History student, Alina Sánchez, 17 years old and with the physique of the classic Creole mulatta, was selected.

In 1968 she joined the Teatro Lírico Gonzalo Roig, with which in her debut she performed "La leyenda del beso", by Reveriano Soutullo and Juan Vert. Since then she has developed an intense career as a lyric singer. At the height of her career, she starred in the leading roles of the operas "Rigoletto" and "La Traviata", by Giuseppe Verdi; as well as the zarzuelas:

Marina, by Emilio Arrieta
Molinos de viento, by Pablo Luna
Luisa Fernanda, by Federico Moreno Torroba
María la O, by Ernesto Lecuona
Amalia Batista, by Rodrigo Prats

In 1980 she obtained, at the I Festival de Teatro de la Habana, the award for best female performance, for her embodiment of the character Cecilia Valdés, by Roig. In 1981, together with tenor Ramón Chávez, she conducted a tour through the Soviet Union, Poland and Bulgaria.

In 1984, she traveled to Spain as a member of a delegation of artists, a country to which she later returned, as soloist with the Antología de la Zarzuela of José Tamayo, with which she performed in:

Puerto Rico
United States
Canada
Italy
France
Belgium
Norway
Sweden
Finland

Repertoire
She performed a repertoire that included:
La Gran Vía, by Federico Chueca and Joaquín Valverde
La Tabernera del puerto, by Pablo Sorozábal
El Cabo primero, by Manuel Fernández Caballero
La Dolores, by Tomás Bretón

Her presentations at the Kennedy Center, Washington; Madison Square Garden, New York; the Opera of Rome, were demonstrations of the prestige gained by her interpretive talent and musicality, in summary: her high professional level earned her in these performances the favor of a knowledgeable and demanding audience.

Principal Performances
Among her principal performances, in addition to Cecilia, stand out:

Zarzuelas:
La leyenda del beso (Amapola, 1968)
Marina (r. t., 1969)
Molinos de viento (Margarita, 1972)
Amalia Batista (r. t., 1979)
La viuda alegre (Ana de Glavary, 1987)

Operas
La traviata (Violetta, 1972)
Rigoletto (Gilda, 1976)
La esclava (Matilde, 1980)
Lucia di Lammermoor (r. t., 1981)
Don Pasquale (Norina, 1985)
La bohème (Mimì/ Musetta, 1986)
Aida (r. t., 1993)
Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San, 1994)

Regarding her performance at the Festival Cervantino de Guanajuato, Mexico, 1975, E. Baqueiro expressed:

«She is a soprano of immense possibilities. To the precious timbre of her voice she adds perfect technique and an expressive temperament that favorably impresses her audience. She displayed an array of exceptional qualities. Her Traviata was a lesson for the knowledgeable [...].»

Contributions
She was a member of the Teatro Lírico Nacional de Cuba, and in 1986 she founded and directed the Estudio Lírico de las Artes Escénicas. She conducted research with Jorge Berroa, on the African and Spanish folkloric heritage, which resulted in them creating versions for soprano voice with accompaniment of string instruments and batá drums, works with which they offered recitals in different halls of the capital.

Tours
She toured through:
Argentina
Brazil
Ecuador
United States
Texas
San Antonio
New Orleans
Canada
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Quebec
Italy
Milan

Filmography
She has worked as a dramatic actress in several Cuban films:
Cecilia Valdés
Patakín, (dir. M. O. Gómez, 1982)
El otro Francisco, (dir. S. Giral, 1974)
Retrato de Teresa, (dir. P. Vega, 1979)
Plácido (dir. S. Giral, 1986)

She was decorated with the Alejo Carpentier Medal.