Russian soprano Marina Mescheriakova has established herself as one of the most exciting new voices in the opera and concert world.
A recent performance of Verdi’s Luisa Miller led one critic to write, "[t]he soft, pure tones Mescheriakova floated in the Act l finale were ravishing to behold. Throughout the Opera she sang with an ease, accuracy and musical intelligence many a citizen of Italy might envy." (Toronto Star).
Marina Mescheriakova began the 2004-2005 season at the Canadian Opera Company with her debut performances of the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor. She returns to Dresden's Semperoper to reprise her portrayal of the Prima Donna in Donizetti's Viva la Mamma! She next takes on the role of Leonora in Il trovatore for the Paris Opera. Ms. Mescheriakova moves to the Russian repertoire with performances of Shostakovich's Symphony no. 14 at Paris's Cité de la Musique. At Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu she sings the role of Medora in Verdi's Il corsaro. She sings her signature piece, the Verdi Requiem, with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, and then again with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev. In summer 2005 she sings further performances of the Verdi Requiem with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta.
The 2003-2004 season began for Ms. Mescheriakova with performances of Alice Ford in Falstaff with Seiji Ozawa at the Saito Kinen Festival. She continued with Shostakovich's Symphony no. 14 with the Orchestre de Radio France. She appeared as soloist in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, and with Frankfurt Opera she sang the title role in concert performances of Giovanna d'Arco. She then made her debut with the Dresden Semperoper in the title role of Madama Butterfly. In the spring she returned to the Paris Opera to sing Leonora in Il trovatore, and to the Bolshoi Theater to sing Antonida in Ivan Susanin. She was soloist in the Dvorak Requiem with the Vienna Symphony, and reprised the title role of Norma with the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin. In summer 2004 she returned to the Bayerische Staatsoper to sing Elisabetta in Don Carlo, and sings a gala performance of Mahler's Symphony no. 8 at the Ravinia Festival under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach.
Marina Mescheriakova is well-known to audiences throughout North America and Europe. Her debut with the Metropolitan Opera was as Elisabetta in Don Carlo. Her success there led to her immediate reengagement as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, opposite Placido Domingo, and in three new productions of Verdi's operas. San Francisco Opera audiences first heard her as Elisabetta. Her debut in North America was in the title role of Luisa Miller with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, and she has since returned there for the title roles in Madama Butterfly and Norma.
Marina Mescheriakova has maintained a close relationship with the Vienna Staatsoper since her de but there as Verdi's Elisabetta. She has since returned for performances of Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Mozart's Countess, Helene, and Cio-Cio-San. Marina Mescheriakova has appeared regularly with the Salzburger Festspiele since her debut there in 1997 as Elisabetta in Don Carlo. She has returned to revive this role and for appearances as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni under the direction of Valery Gergiev.
Marina Mescheriakova made her debut with the Opera de Paris as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, and she appeared at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Mimi in La Boheme and with the Deutsche Staatsoper as Alice in a new production of Robert le diable. She made her debut in Italy in the title role in Norma with the Teatro San Carlo in Naples followed by performances there in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, under the direction of Lorin Maazel. Marina Mescheriakova made her debut at the Wexford Festival as Tamara in Rubinstein's Demon, a role which she later recorded in performances at the Bregenz Festival. Her debut with Royal Opera Stockholm was in the title role in Norma, and she first appeared in with Opera de Monte-Carlo as Amelia Grimaldi in Simon Boccanegra, a production dedicated to the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi Family. The soprano made her debut in Munich at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Amelia Grimaldi.
Marina Mescheriakova has made a number of recording including Verdi's Jerusalem and Alzira for Philips Classics; Glinka's Life for the Tsar for the National Video Corporation; Dvorak's Te Deum for Chandos; Rubinstein´s Demon, recorded live at the Wexford and Bregenz Festivals; Rachmaninov´s The Bells with the Moscow State Chamber Choir and Russian National Orchestras for Deutsche Grammophon.
Marina Mescheriakova was born in Volgograd, Russia and studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. She continued her vocal studies with Licia Albanese in New York. After her debut at the Bolshoi in Moscow she won several prestigious competitions including the Belvedere Competition in Vienna as well as I Cestelli in Berlin and Hamburg. Ms.Mescheriakova currently resides in Vienna, Austria.
