Marta Domingo, née Marta Ornelas, made her directing debut in 1991 with Samson et Dalila at Teatro de la Opera (Puerto Rico). This was followed by Tosca in Seville's La Maestranza Theater during Expo '92, Rigoletto at Los Angeles Opera in 1993 and Il barbiere di Siviglia in Puerto Rico in 1994. In 1995, she conceived and directed a new production of La rondine at Oper der Stadt Bonn, which was remounted at The Washington Opera during its 1997-98 Season for seven sold-out performances. A tape from those performances was televised nationally on PBS. During the 1998-99 Season, she not only mounted her production of La traviata at Los Angeles Opera, which originated at Opéra Royal de Wallonie, but also staged the American premiere of Wolf-Ferrari's Sly at The Washington Opera. In April 2002, Sly will premiere at the Metropolitan Opera.

Marta Ornelas began her operatic career as a singer studying at the Conservatory in Mexico City. Her career took her to Opera Belles Artes in that city and later, for two and a half years, to the Opera Company of Israel after she had met a fellow student named Plácido Domingo. Her repertoire included leading roles in Così fan tutte, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Die Fledermaus, Carmen, Faust, Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, La bohème and Pagliacci. Upon leaving Israel, she retired from singing to raise a family. Most recently, Marta Domingo acted as Stage Director for the November 2000 premiere of Les contes de Hoffmann at the Mariinsky Theatre (Kirov); she also directed The Washington Opera's new production of this work last month.