1. Maria Agasovna Guleghina is a Soviet-born operatic soprano singer, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.
17 Facts About Maria Guleghina
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Maria Guleghina was born in Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, to an Armenian father and a Ukrainian mother, where she studied voice at the Music Conservatory with Evgeny Nikolaevich Ivanov.
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Maria Guleghina made her stage debut in 1985 as Yolantha at the State Opera in Minsk shortly before leaving USSR to pursue an international career.
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Maria Guleghina made her debut at the Paris Opera in 1995, in the killer-role of Abigaille in Nabucco.
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Maria Guleghina has appeared at the San Francisco Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, adding the lead soprano roles in works such as Ernani, Simon Boccanegra, Cavalleria rusticana, Fedora.
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Maria Guleghina later added other demanding roles such as Odabella in Attila and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, to her ever-growing repertoire.
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Maria Guleghina debuted at Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Russia in 1992 as Lisa in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades.
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Maria Guleghina has performed in Japan many times and has a fan base there.
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Maria Guleghina is considered by most as one of the leading dramatic sopranos of her generation.
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Maria Guleghina is largely admired for her warm and rich voice, strong stage presence, and absolute dramatic commitment to her roles on the stage.
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Maria Guleghina sang the opening aria at the official opening of the new Oslo Opera House.
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Maria Guleghina represented Russia by singing during the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver during the handover of the Olympic flag.
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Maria Guleghina participated of the Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Paralympics, singing "Cossack Lullaby" on top of an icebreaker that carried her though the stadium.
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Maria Guleghina returned to Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre as Eboli in Verdi's epic Don Carlos.
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Maria Guleghina performed in over 160 performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and has performed leading roles in 15 different opera productions at Teatro alla Scala where she had two solo recitals.
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Maria Guleghina is a member of the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee as well as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
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Maria Guleghina sang during the Closing Ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 as well as at the 2014 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony.