INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
Soft Power & The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy:
Published June 27, 2023.
Cultural Diplomacy Issues and Perspectives:
Published June 22, 2023.
New York Times Feature: For the U.S. and China, It Starts With Listening
By Carla Dirlikov Canales
THE FLETCHER SCHOOL AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY APPOINTS CULTURAL DIPLOMACY EXPERT
Carla Dirlikov Canales to serve as Professor of Practice and Senior Fellow at The Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World
Carla D. Canales: “The best Cultural Diplomacy arises spontaneously, and Rosalía is a great example of this”
Through her music, she has shown the world pride for her land, culture and identity. This is one of the best examples of Cultural Diplomacy that exists today.
Harvard Business School Online Feature
"Business acumen is fundamental to being an artist, and there's a huge lack of business understanding," Canales says. "Artists and entrepreneurs are two sides of the same coin. Both have a vision and a dream, and you work hard to make them a reality. Both also hope they'll have a social impact. The difference is, there's an enormous lack of business understanding and entrepreneurial skills among artists."
Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Social Impact Review: The Future of Cultural Diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy is one of the oldest and most important tools of statecraft. Often referred to as “soft power,” a phrase coined by University Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus Joseph Nye, the power of culture offers the ability to create connections and persuade in a way that may advance national interests more effectively than traditional diplomatic and geopolitical means. The soft power of cultural diplomacy offers a country potential applications for culture “to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction rather than coercion (e.g., military might) or payment (e.g., economic sanctions).” In other words, a nation’s ability to influence by attraction rather than promotion.
USA TODAY Feature: Biden Should name a secretary of culture and creative industries to drive economic growth
Other nations already recognize that arts, culture and design, from video games to my field of opera, are major economic drivers now and in the future.
creative:impact - Applying An Operatic Voice To Arts + Creative Advocacy
“Meet Carla Dirlikov Canales, Ypsilanti native, renowned opera singer, and arts advocate. She is also founder of the Canales Project, an organization that uses the arts to bridge cultural divides. She joined Creative Washtenaw's Deb Polich and WEMU's David Fair to talk about how she uses her voice to advocate for the arts and creativity in the halls of Congress and across the world”.
I Care If You Listen: Carla Canales Navigates Cultural In-Betweens in “Duende”
“Duende weaves together disparate vignettes and stylistic choices that call back to Canales’ fascination with things that live neither fully here nor there. She impressively merges the specific musical vernaculars of her past and present, and employs masterful vocal facility in order to create a refreshing record that feels entirely relevant in this moment of post-genre art that questions cultural identity and belonging in the landscape of an ever-fragmenting society.”
District Fray: Carla Canales Creates A Better World Through Music
“The album – powerful yet dreamy, familiar yet distinct in sound…Canales is always using her voice as an advocate – for the world, her community and herself.”
El Economista: I Wanted to Regain the Power of Imagination
“she offers us an intimate and inspiring self-portrait that somehow synthesizes the cultural miscegenation that has nurtured her human and creative career.”
Somos Grandes: Opera singer Carla Canales pays tribute to her roots
“This is all part of the innovative and unique concept of Carla Canales, who has stood out internationally for the fusion of cultures and sounds through her artistic vision.”
Authority Magazine: I Am Living Proof Of The American Dream, With Opera Singer Carla Canales
“Never give up! If there is one key takeaway that most embodies the American spirit, it would be the idea of never giving up. Having the tenacity to not only pursue a dream but to pursue it relentlessly, is, in my opinion, something that is true to the American spirit and key to the ideals behind the notion of the American dream. This has certainly been a mantra for me throughout my life.”
OperaWire: Mezzo-Soprano Carla Canales to Release Genre-Busting Debut Album, ‘Duende’
“I wanted to explore my identity as a Latina, as a woman, and as a singer. I wanted to consider bridging the gap between the kind of music I listen to and the music I was performing. But most of all, I wanted to dive deep into the darkest parts of my soul, the places where my fears live, and try in some way to search for my duende.”
HoundArt: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Singer: Carla Canales
“Carla Canales is a person I might have never met. She is a singer, an opera diva, an arts entrepreneur, an advocate, a dog lover, a bilingual artist, and so many other things. She is also an incredibly focused, persistent, and generous person who answers her emails within 48 hours. Carla makes me a better person.
Recently, Carla and I have been talking a lot about creativity, writing and composing, as she is finishing work on her first album, Duende.”
WUNC 91.5 The State of Things: 30 Professionals of the Year - Movers & Shapers
“American classical music is overwhelmingly male and white, so if you’re trying to encourage diversity and equity in youth orchestras, the repertoire choices are not great. A new partnership between Durham-based El Sistema USA and The Canales Project is trying to mix it up…Now they will create beginner-friendly orchestral and choral arrangements for El Sistema participants in youth choirs and orchestras. The first song to be commissioned is an anthem called “Hear Our Song.” Host Frank Stasio speaks with Carla Canales, a renowned mezzo soprano opera singer and the founder of The Canales Project and Katie Wyatt, president and CEO of El Sistema USA about music, cultural identity and teaching equity through music.”
Musical America: 30 Professionals of the Year - Movers & Shapers
“Carla Dirlikov Canales is an opera singer turned diversity advocate. The mission of her Canales Project is ‘to give voice to issues of identity and culture through music and conversation.’ With an eclectic roster of more than 25 artists, the project presents programs such as ‘Finding Your Voice,’ a partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson, Arizona, that encourages children to use music and storytelling to address personal challenges; and ‘Hear Her Song,’ which celebrates women changing the world.
Foreign Policy: The Power of the Arts
“David Rothkopf takes the program to Abu Dhabi, where FP recently hosted its first CultureSummit, in partnership with Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority and TCP Ventures, an arts advisory firm. Joining The E.R. from CultureSummit 2017 were new guests Deborah Rutter, Darren Walker, Bob Lynch, and Carla Dirlikov Canales. The group discussed how the arts and culture can be used not only as a form of entertainment and expression, but how culture plays a critical role in diplomacy and national security, and that by bringing together thought leaders from all disciplines to celebrate this fact, a movement of positive social change can begin.
With significant cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts, what is the future of art and culture in America? And how will that affect these issues worldwide? The participants discuss this and more on the latest E.R.”
Harper’s Bazaar Arabia: Second CultureSummit Abu Dhabi Lends Focus To Culture
“Under the theme Unexpected Collaborations, the DCT Abu Dhabi-backed initiative in collaboration with The Rothkopf Group and TCP Ventures is the amalgamation of like-minds who understand that culture is a possible alternative when it comes to global issues. Working to foster relationships between disparate disciplines, the summit aims to create connections and draw parallels in understanding the overlap between social impact and cultural output.”
Latina Style Magazine: The Divine Voice of Mezzo-Soprano Carla Dirlikov Canales
“Opera star Carla Dirlikov Canales was well on her way to becoming a serious violinist when her lessons revealed a superior, hitherto undiscovered talent. She had grown up playing the instrument in the Midland, Michigan school music program and developed a love of classical music at an early age. Wanting to encourage their daughter’s music ambitions, Carla’s parents signed her up to take some private violin lessons. That’s where the young musician came face-to-face with the reality that mastering the challenging string instrument wasn’t for her.”
Classical Singer Magazine: Extending The Stage
“Carla Dirlikov might possess the classical music industry’s most unique formula to what it takes to make a successful operatic career. She envisions it backward.
’Many singers think of where they hope to be and work toward that goal,’ she says. ‘I think of how I might hope my children will think of me at the end of my life. At the end of the day, I want the work that I did to reflect who I was. What did I do with my life and my work to make the world a better place? You almost have to build backward from that.’”
Latin Post: Exclusive: Carla Dirlikov On Winning Sphinx Medal Of Excellence, Being A Cultural Envoy & Career Development
“Part of being an opera is playing a number of diverse roles ranging from tragic figures to comic schemers. But few of them play the number of roles that mezzo-soprano Carla Dirlikov has managed to take on in her yet blossoming career. The rising singer, who is well-known for her interpretation of Bizet's ‘Carmen,’ was recently awarded the Sphinx Medal of Excellence and is a cultural envoy with the U.S. State Department. Dirlikov, the daughter of a Bulgarian father and Mexican mother, recently spoke with Latin Post about her accolades, her sense of duty and responsibility, and her developing career.”
Michigan Muse: A Voice for Change
“Carla Dirlikov Canales (BA ’02) has many questions. An internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano, she is on a quest to connect the dots between performing artists and service: Who do we serve? Are we getting into communities at large? How can we reach underserved communities? How can we use culture to create social impact and social change? How can we measure impact? What is the metric for success?”
Feel Like You Belong: Carla Canales - Hear Her Voice
“Michigan-born Carla Canales is a child of immigrant parents who uses her multi-cultural and multi-lingual upbringing in her day job as a world-traveling soprano. When she lands long enough in her current hometown of New York, she's busy singing the praises of famous women, from Malala to Michelle Obama.”
Hora Cero: ‘las Artes Pueden Crear Un Mundo Mejor’: Dirlikov
“Do not be fooled by the last name. Carla Dirlikov is more Mexican than the mole. His father is from Bulgaria, but his mother was born in Mexico. Through his blood runs passion, courage and great compassion that characterizes the Mexican people. Carla Dirlikov Canales is a talented mezzo-soprano who sees in music not only an art, but a tool to make this world a better place.”
Women Like Us Foundation: Carla Dirlikov Canales - The Mezzo-Soprano Behind Hear Her Song
“Women Like Us Foundation is thrilled to support and be a part of this impactful and important initiative as participant and sponsor…The organization reaches out to women internationally in order to honor a variety of achievements and hard work. Canales Project founder and director, Carla Canales, believes music is a beautiful way of appreciating the different languages that have built accomplished women.”
High Life (China): You Are So Charming
“warmth, grace, splendid vocal abilities and acting...she soared to the vocal stratosphere” - Baltimore Sun
REVIEWS
“Mexican mezzo-soprano Carla Dirlikov, a well-practiced, sexy Carmen, DOMINATED the show. She moved suggestively, singing the habanera from atop the audience, deep-kissing a stunned Micaela. Dirlikov’s dark mezzo displayed all the nuances that make Carmen an independent woman in love.” - Opera News
“the most compelling voice of the evening, one that grabbed the heartstrings with its dramatic force and musicality” - Opera Magazine
“a beautifully portrayed Eboli played by the young and promising Carla Dirlikov, who has a very beautiful voice (she made out brilliantly faced with such a difficult role)” - ResMusica La Presse
“a rich sound, full at the bottom, in the crucial ‘Pie Jesu’ movement” - The Washington Post
“The skillful technique of [Dirlikov] created such a liberating experience that it simply led us to the essence of lyric beauty. Those qualities speak for themselves: emotiveness, idealized nuance, mastery of style, and an intuition for intimacy…Executing her rendition in warm vocal subtleties, the gentle guest artist discerned a variety of accents and transmitted the legacy of emotion and supplication proclaimed by the verse ‘Reviens! Reviens!’. A prolonged, heartfelt applause rewarded both soprano and orchestra.” - Diario de Yucatan
“It's a splendid voice, one surely to be followed with interest as Dirlikov's career evolves” - Classical Voice North Carolina
“warmth, grace, splendid vocal abilities and acting...she soared to the vocal stratosphere” - Baltimore Sun
“[an] admirable vocal performance” - Detroit News
“The voice, projection, the presence, the gesture: all indicated the beginning of a great career” - La Press
“a seductive Carmen with the right looks and a dark-hued voice” - Opera Magazine
“The skillfully acting and well suited voice of the lead mezzo-soprano made the part of the gypsy Carmen most capturing. Carla Dirlikov gave the role a distinctive persona with her unique timbre.” - Grenz Echo
“In the role of Principessa Eboli, the Mexican-American Carla Dirlikov made a shining debut.” - Grenz Echo
“Saint-Saens would have been pleased with him [Samson], and the same can be said for Carla Dirlikov as Dalila. Her beautiful voice is well suited to the different demands of this role: it can be deceptively gentle in her quest to ensnare Samson in her trap, or cruelly dramatic when scolding him..she sang it with such emotional sentiment that by the end she held the audience in the palm of her hand.” - Por Esto
“In the performance of one of the most beautiful arias ever written for mezzo-soprano, the unforgettable ‘My heart opens to your voice,’ Carla showed her richly colored voice to great effect with varying intensity.” - Diario de Yucatan
“A BRILLIANT INTERPRETATION: To play Bizet's gypsy you have to be dazzling, and Carla ideally embodies the cigarrera, or cigarette factory worker, who so cynically toys with men's emotions. A mezzo-soprano with exciting vocal colors wedded to a nuanced dynamic and rhythmic range, she releases an arsenal of expressive tone, perfectly depicting Carmen's unbounded freedom, ease in ensnaring lovers, all the while revealing her as mistress of a fiery and vibrant sensuality, a woman accustomed to exploiting capriciousness to get her way. In Carmen's arias, Carla demonstrates a profound internalization of the character, and her efforts provide a delight for the audience.” - Diario de Yucatan
“astonishing range and power, superb phrasing, and a vocal technique so remarkably secure that it becomes a force of nature sometimes at odds with Carmen’s mercurial personality. Ms. Dirlikov is extremely beautiful with an elegant, perfectly oval face and copious, healthy, flowing, long shiny tresses.” - Por Esto
“Fenena, Princess of Babylon, as sung by Carla Dirlikov, allows for delicate emotions.” - The New Monitor
“Carla Dirlikov’s Maddalena was a hussy who would tempt the devil himself.” - The Grand Rapids Press