Lydia Caruana had her operatic debut in 1990 at the Manoel Theatre with the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica.  A year later she sang the lead role of Therese in Isuaord’s Jeannot et Colin.  At the same time she collaborated with Maleth and sang the soprano parts of Angele in Lehar’s Count of Luxembourg, Odette in Kalman’s Baiadera and Rosalinde for Strauss’ famous Die Fliedermaus. In 1995 she also sang Josephine in Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore for Amber productions.

Lydia Caruana’s big break, however, occurred in 1995 with her interpretation of Musetta opposite Cecilia Gasdia’s Mimi in La Bohème. Caruana’s versatility as singer and actress enabled her to make this role her very own and she was talked about as “the best Musetta the Manoel had seen in years” This role managed to put her in the right light and opened the door for other performances in Europe.  She sang Norina in Don Pasquale with the Cantanti Giovani Europei, which saw her working with conductor Alessandro Sangiorgi, former principal director of San Paolo Teatro Municipale in Brazil.  In Spring 1997, on the occasion of the bi-centenary celebrations of Gaetano Donizetti, Caruana sang Don Pasquale to capacity audiences in theatres in Malta and Italy.  The success of this role in Italy earned Caruana repeat performances in December of the same year. In 1999 Caruana sang the title role of Graziella in Pace’s I Martiri at the Malta Opera Festival and in 2003 she auditioned for Operalaboratorio in Palermo, with whom she sang, to acclaim, the role of Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, performing it also for the 2003 BOV Opera Festival.

The year 1999 saw this soprano’s prestigious debut at the Edinburgh International Arts Festival in Scotland, with a concert featuring Mozart, Handel and Bach at St Giles Cathedral. During the same year Caruana sang opposite tenor Antonio Ordionez in a SPAK Puccini Gala Night, was the main guest at the Central Bank Anniversary Concert and was invited to sing for the Millennium Celebrations.  In November 2001 Lydia Caruana sang for the United Nations at the WIPO Centre in Geneva. The President of Malta H.E Prof Guido de Marco and Dr Vladimir Petrovsky Director General of the United Nations in Geneva were guests of honour during this extremely well received concert. Other concert engagements include performances for the European Banking and Finance Conference, the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly, and the Theatregoers’ Club of Great Britain.  She has also sung for the l’Accademia Internazionale di Scienza e Cultura in tribute to world famous tenor Giuseppe di Stefano who described her as “un gioiello maltese”, and for the Scottish Lord of Ludston, Richard Comyns.  In Malta Lydia Caruana has frequently been guest singer at the Malta International Arts Festival, and she has participated, together with the national orchestra, in anniversary concerts which commemorated Presidential Birthdays, Independence Day celebrations, and late Maltese composers. She has also contributed to Philanthropic causes and dedicated concerts and recitals in this regard.  Caruana gives frequent recitals at The President’s Palace and Ambassadors’ residences.

 Lydia Caruana studies with renowned Maltese dramatic soprano Antoinette Miggiani.  Lydia’s partners in opera have included the likes of Cecilia Gasdia, Antonio Ordionez, Giorgio Cebrian and Francesco Walls.  Caruana has been directed by Aldo Tarabella, Mauro Avogadro, Peter Foster and Vivienne Hewitt (of Torre del Lago).  Conductors she has worked with in opera include Alessandro Sangiorgi, Danilo Lombardini, Brian Schembri, Michael Laus and Joseph Vella.

 Lydia is married to Robert Caruana CPA FIA, a Central Bank Senior Executive and they have two children, Deborah and Jonathan.