15 December 2024 |
Mariinsky Theatre Guest Soloist
• Prize-winner at the 9th Bella voce Open All-Russian Student Vocalists’ Competition (Moscow, 2001; 3rd prize)
Elena Ushakova was born in Leningrad. Graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov St Petersburg State Conservatory in 2008 (class of Grayr Khanedanian). Has taken part in masterclasses conducted by Vladimir Atlantov, Renata Scotto, Montserrat Caballé, Ileana Cotrubaş and Larisa Gergieva.
In 2003 she made her debut at the Mariinsky Theatre as Barbarina in the opera Le nozze di Figaro.
Repertoire at the Mariinsky Theatre:
Prilepa (The Queen of Spades)
A Young Polovtsian Maiden (Prince Igor)
A Daring Skomorokh (Sadko)
Gemma (Maddalena)
Cook (Le Rossignol)
A Pale Lady (The Gambler)
Mother (The Nose)
March and June (A Christmas Tale)
Susanna and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro)
Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore)
Lady-in-Waiting (Macbeth)
Mlle Jouvenot (Adriana Lecouvreur)
A Novice (Suor Angelica)
Klingsor’s Flower Maiden (Parsifal)
Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos)
Guard of the Entrance to the Temple (Die Frau ohne Schatten)
Ellen (Lakmé)
She has sung at the world premiere of Rodion Shchedrin’s opera A Christmas Tale (2015, Mariinsky Theatre) and the Mariinsky Theatre’s premiere of Adriana Lecouvreur (2017).
Repertoire also includes the soprano roles in Schubert’s Mass No. 6 in E-flat major, Rachmaninoff’s The Bells and Shostakovich’s Fourteen Symphony.
In 2009 she took part in the Mariinsky label’s recording of Parsifal conducted by Valery Gergiev (released in 2010).
In 2003 Elena played Olga Ilyinskaya in The Life of Ilya Ilyich directed by Igor Koniaev (based on Ivan Goncharov’s novel Oblomov and Mikhail Ugarov’s play The Death of Ilya Ilyich) at St Petersburg’s Baltic House Theatre-Festival.
Has appeared at the Moscow Concert Hall Zaryadye, the Grand and Small halls of the St Petersburg Philharmonia and at festivals in Italy, France, Bulgaria, Finland, Estonia.
Information for February 2023