Greek-American mezzo-soprano, Layna Chianakas, has been hailed as "the type of singer that makes one remember why to go to the opera." Her versatility as a singing-actor has aided her in the portrayal of many leading opera roles including Carmen in Carmen, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Sesto in Giulio Cesare, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, The Woman in Poulenc's La Voix Humaine, and the title role in La Perichole. She has performed with such opera companies as Cleveland Opera, Nashville Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, Virginia Opera, Dayton Opera, Festival Opera, Nevada Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Madison Opera, Sacramento Opera, Intermountain Opera, Opera San Jose and Richard Wagner Bayreuth Festival. Future engagements include a concert-version Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Chorus Pro Music in Boston in June 2007, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Dayton Opera in Fall 2007, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera Santa Barbara in February 2008, and with Greensboro Opera in November 2008, and a multi-media performance of Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne with Sacramento Opera in February 2009.

Ms. Chianakas is equally comfortable in the recital forum, in which her experience is extensive. She spent three years touring with The Songs of Franz Schubert Concert Series performing over 100 recitals, accompanied by world-renowned coach and accompanist John Wustman. She has performed on the mid-day public radio broadcast of the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, in Chicago, IL, the Krannert Center Sunday Salon Series in Champaign, IL, the Listening Hour Recital Series in San Jose, CA, and a number of recital series throughout Germany. She was named Artistic Ambassador of the United States, performing recitals in Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala and Jamaica. Ms. Chianakas gave her New York Recital Debut at Christ and St. Stephen's Church and most recently performed an all-Schubert program as part of the San Francisco Performances Concert Series.  Most recently, she appeared in a solo recital with the Old First Concerts Series in San Francisco. She was featured on the Los Gatos Community Concert Series in January 2008.

As a soloist, she has sung with numerous symphonies and choral societies. The Los Angeles Times wrote of her "Beautiful tone and control as she graced the stage in a flowing candy-apple-red dress" after hearing her performance of Maurice Ravel's Sheherazade with the New West Symphony. Other orchestral appearances include performances with the Oakland-East Bay Symphony, Peoria Symphony, San Jose Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic, Sinfonia da Camera, the Masterworks Chorale, the Choral Society of the Hamptons, New West Symphony, Vallejo Symphony, Diablo Symphony, Lake Tahoe Music Festival Orchestra, and Augustana Orchestra. Ms. Chianakas sang the world premiere of Saints written for her by Craig Bohmler, with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and also sang the world premiere of Winter Requiem with San Francisco's Schola Cantorum, in which the mezzo-soprano solos were written for her by Alva Henderson. Winter Requiem reprised in June 2007. Other concert engagements include Beethoven's Symphony #9 with the Vallejo Symphony in May 2007, Dvorak's Requiem Mass with the Chorus of Westerly in Rhode Island in May 2007, and an encore performance of Saints with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra in January 2008.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Ms. Chianakas moved to Kassel, Germany, where she taught voice and beginning piano with the Musikschule-Ehlen for four years. While in Germany, she attended the Mozarteum Salzburg and studied Lieder with some of the foremost coaches in the world. It is there, she acquired her fluency in German. She returned to the United States and received a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois.Ms. Chianakas can be heard on her latest CD, I Recognized Your Face, and with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra on its CD of works by composer, Craig Bohmler. Future recordings include mezzo-soprano arias by composer, Henry Mollicone, available the end of 2007, the Choose Life! Uvacharta Bachayim by Mona Lyn Reese, as well as Winter Requiem with Schola Cantorum.