Irina Dolzhenko |

Irina Dolzhenko

Irina Dolzhenko (mezzo-soprano) – People’s Artist of Russia, soloist of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia. Born in Tashkent. In 1983, after graduating from the Tashkent State Conservatory (teacher R. Yusupova), she was invited to Moscow, to the troupe of the Moscow State Academic Children’s Musical Theater named after N. I. Sats. Participated in performances of the Moscow Academic Musical Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. Her performance at the Belvedere International Vocal Competition brought her a prize – an internship in Rome with Mietta Siegele and Giorgio Luchetti. She completed an internship in acting at the University of Albany in New York, took lessons from Regine Crespin (France).

In 1995, she made her debut at the Bolshoi Theater as Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro by W. A. ​​Mozart). In 1996 she became a member of the Bolshoi Opera Company, on the stage of which she performs leading roles in operas by W. A. ​​Mozart, G. Bizet, V. Bellini, G. Puccini, G. Verdi, M. Mussorgsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov , P. Tchaikovsky, R. Strauss, S. Prokofiev, A. Berg and other composers. The singer’s repertoire also includes solo parts in cantata-oratorio works by Russian and foreign composers.

Irina Dolzhenko became the first performer at the Bolshoi Theater of the role of Preziosilla in G. Verdi’s opera The Force of Destiny (2001, staged by the Neapolitan San Carlo Theater – conductor Alexander Vilyumanis, director Carlo Maestrini, production designer Antonio Mastromattei, renewal of Pier- Francesco Maestrini) and the part of the Princess of Bouillon in Adrienne Lecouvrere by F. Cilea (2002, staged by La Scala Theater in Milan, conductor Alexander Vedernikov, stage director Lamberto Pugelli, set designer Paolo Bregni).

In April 2003, the singer sang the role of Naina at the premiere of Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila, which was recorded by the Dutch company PentaTone and released on three CDs a year later.

Irina Dolzhenko performs at the best musical theaters in the world: the Vienna Chamber Opera, the Swedish Royal Opera (Stockholm), the German Opera (Berlin), the Colon Theater (Buenos Aires), where she first appeared as Amneris, the New Israel Opera in Tel Aviv, the Opera theater of Cagliari, Bordeaux Opera, Opera Bastille and others. The singer collaborates with the Latvian National Opera and the Estonian National Opera. Irina Dolzhenko is a frequent guest at international festivals in Trakai (Lithuania), Schönnbrun (Austria), Savonlinna (Finland), the Mozart Festival in France, the Jerusalem Festival, the Wexford Festival (Ireland). festival dedicated to Igor Stravinsky, took part in a concert performance of the opera Mavra.

The artist has performed with outstanding conductors – Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Vladimir Fedoseev, Valery Gergiev, Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Yurovsky.

The singer’s discography includes recordings of G. Verdi’s Requiem (conductor M. Ermler, 2001), the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila by M. Glinka (conductor A. Vedernikov, PentaTone Classic, 2004) and Oprichnik by P. Tchaikovsky (conductor G. Rozhdestvensky, Dynamic, 2004).

About the life and work of Irina Dolzhenko, a video film “Stars close-up. Irina Dolzhenko (2002, Arts Media Center, director N. Tikhonov).