Edna Garabedian Edna Garabedian Edna Garabedian is an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and opera director. Born to Armenian immigrants to the United States in Fresno, California, Garabedian studied singing with William Vennard at the University of Southern California, Lotte Lehmann at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Anna Hamlin in New York City, and Rosa Ponselle in Baltimore. In 1961 she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She made her professional opera debut in 1965 as Santuzza in Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana" with the New York City Opera. She went on to sing leading roles with the Baltimore Opera Company,
José Cura Rusticana" and "Pagliacci" at the Met in New York, and "Turandot", "Cavalleria rusticana" and "Pagliacci" in Zurich. Cura continues to tour concert halls and opera houses around the world, performing his signature roles of Otello, Samson, Canio, Turiddu, Don José, Stiffelio, Cavaradossi, Dick Johnson, Calaf, Edgar etc. – debuting in "La Bohème" as Rodolfo at the Zurich Opera House in 2010. He took his "Otello" to the Met in 2013, not before saving the last performance of "Carmen" at the same opera house, a favour which he had been asked to do the very moment he landed in New York,