Many know her as the “Russian Cinderella.” Singer Maria Guleghina today is considered one of the most famous world opera divas.
"Vocal miracle"
The magnificent Russian soprano, which has “Verdian music” in its blood, became famous for its amazing performance of the parts of Tosca and Aida in the works of the same name.
The main roles in "Manon Lesko" and "Norm", "Fedor" and in "Turandot" and "Nabucco". Her performance is decorated with more than one opera. Maria Guleghina sang the parts of Violetta in the famous La Traviata, Lisa from The Queen of Spades, Desdemona in Othello and many, many others. Marina Agasovna Meitardzhyan, and this is exactly what her maiden name sounds like, in 1987 received the title of Honored Artist of the Belarusian SSR. And most recently - in 2013 - in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, she was awarded the national title.
Biography
Maria Agasovna was born on August 9, 1959 in Odessa in the family of an Armenian and a Ukrainian. She graduated from the local conservatory in vocals. Her teacher was A. Dzhamagortsyan. Maria Guleghina, whose biography is closely connected with Belarus, began her main activity on the stage in 1983, as a soloist of the Minsk Academic Theater. A year later, she was invited to La Scala, where she made her debut in the opera Ball Masquerade. Her partners were many celebrities, including Pavarotti, with whom she first performed on this world-famous stage under the direction of maestro Gavazzeni.
The warm and strong voice that Maria Guleghina received from nature, her acting abilities turned her into a welcome guest in many world theaters. It is interesting that the star of the world opera scene, who does not know equal in the performance of the parts of the dramatic soprano, made her debut as an artist at sixteen years old, but not a singer, but ... a dancer. She performed the part of a gypsy in the opera Traviatta, which was staged by students of the Odessa Conservatory. The fact is that Maria Guleghina graduated from the ballet school and only after that she tried her hand at vocals. At first she studied as a contralto, then as a mezzo-soprano, and only then she showed herself as a dramatic soprano.
Professional career
In La Scala, Guleghina took part in fourteen productions, including the performances “Two Foscari” and “Tosca”, “Fedora” and “Macbeth”, “The Queen of Spades” and “Manon Lesko”, as well as “Nabucco” “The Force of Fate” in staged by Riccardo Muti, etc. After her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, where Maria Guleghina took part in the production of “Andre Chenier” together with Luciano Pavarotti in 1991, the singer appeared on this stage more than thirty times, including the performances of Aida, as well as Norma and Adrienne Lekuvrer.
In the same 1991, the “Russian Cinderella” made its debut at the Vienna Opera directed by Andre Chenier. Here she sang the parts of Lisa and Tosca, as well as Elvira in Hernani, Aida and many others. Even before she entered the stage in Covent Garden, where she performed at Fedor with Placido Domingo, the opera diva took part in the Barbican Hall in a concert performance of the immortal work Hernani with the Royal Theater troupe. This was followed by an invitation to speak at Wigmore Hall.
In 1996, opera lovers could enjoy her voice on the stage of the Arena di Verona. Here, for playing the role of Abigail in Nabucco, Maria Guleghina was awarded the Zanatello Prize. Later she repeatedly sang in this theater.
Personal life
Surprisingly, in this woman two images coexist beautifully. She manages to easily combine two great roles at once in her stormy and sometimes unpredictable life: a great singer and a talented mother. Her daughter - already an adult Natasha from her first marriage - today helps her mother in many matters. And the ten-year-old son Ruslan gives her the opportunity to fully experience the joys of motherly love. And Maria Guleghina never hid that it was her children, and not the large fees and main roles, that were and are the most important in her life. Only a few women managed to reach such peaks in their beloved profession, which were conquered by the “Russian Cinderella”. For almost thirty years of work, she managed to sing in all the famous world theaters. Her arrival at any point is an event for this country.
The husbands of Maria Guleghina were very different. She was married for the first time at the age of eighteen. As a result, Natasha was born. After which she married with a famous pianist, whose last name still bears. It was with him that in 1989, after leaving the Soviet Union, she moved to Hamburg. In 2010, the diva combined her third marriage with a famous wrestler and coach of the Russian team.
Old resentment
In 1986, in Moscow, Gulegin took part in the Tchaikovsky Competition. Then she took only the third place, although she deserved a gold medal, which for quite certain reasons was not awarded to her. Such a result would probably suit many, but not Mary, a wrestler by nature. After such an “unsuccessful” performance in her opinion and an undeserved “condemnation” in Moscow, the opera diva left for Minsk, where for some time she played the leading roles in the Opera and Ballet Theater.
World recognition
Maria Agasovna regularly performs on world stages today. Among her partners are such famous singers as Placido Domingo and Leo Nucci, Samuel Reimi and Jose Cura, Renato Bruson and many others. She was accompanied at different times by orchestras led by conductors Gianandrea Gavazzeni and Zubin Meta, Mutti, Levine, as well as Valery Gergiev and Claudio Abbado.
Guleghina is the winner of numerous awards and prizes. The singer was awarded the Gold Medals of Maria Zamboni and the Osaka Festival. She does a lot of community work. For her work, Maria Agasovna was awarded the Order of St. Olga - this is the highest award awarded by the Russian Orthodox Church. The singer was handed over by Patriarch Alexy II. In addition, Guleghina is the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She is also an honorary member of the PKK.