Marina Poplavskaya Russian opera singer, soprano Country: Russia

Biography of Marina Poplavskaya

Marina Poplavskaya is a Russian opera singer, soprano. She was born in Moscow in 1977. Marina was a very restless child who always had a thousand interesting things to do. She had a hard time concentrating on one thing and even had trouble sleeping because she always wanted to create something. Her grandmother was her first teacher and taught her how to read, which became one of Marina's favorite activities in her childhood.

Marina attended the Ippolitov-Ivanov State Music Institute and completed her studies there in 2002. Among her mentors was Peter Tarassov. From the age of 9, Marina sang in the choir of the Bolshoi Theatre, and in 1997, she won the first prize at the All-Russian student competition "Bella Voce" in Moscow. In 1999, Marina became a laureate of the vocal competition in St. Petersburg, the International Competition of Young Opera Singers Elena Obraztsova.

In 2000, Marina received another award, a diploma from the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition of Belgium in Brussels. Marina has a specific opinion about international vocal competitions, stating that there is a lot of injustice, speculation, and corruption within this community.

Marina has worked in various theaters in Moscow, including the Novaya Opera, Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre, and the Bolshoi Theatre. Since 1996, Marina has been actively involved in opera and concert activities, performing works by Schumann, Richard Strauss, Manuel de Falla, Bela Bartok, Mussorgsky, Shostakovich, and others. Some of her notable opera roles include Donna Anna in "Don Giovanni," Desdemona in "Otello," Natasha Rostova in the opera "War and Peace," and Tatiana Larina in "Eugene Onegin."

In 2005, Marina was invited to perform at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. She considered this invitation to be a true recognition of her talent. However, Marina faced difficulties initially due to her lack of knowledge of the English language. She had to learn English to communicate effectively with fellow musicians.

Marina has also performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she debuted in the role of Natasha Rostova in "War and Peace" in December 2007. She has since appeared in operas such as "Turandot" and "Don Carlo" at the Metropolitan Opera. Marina has also performed at the Los Angeles Opera and De Nederlandse Opera in the Netherlands.

Today, Marina Poplavskaya is one of the most renowned Russian opera singers in the world, known for her exceptional performances of Verdi's roles.