Karina Flores

Karina Flores
Born
Shakhty, Russia
Other namesKarina Grigoryan
Education
OccupationOpera singer (soprano)
Years active1999–present
Websitewww.karinaflores-belcanto.com

Karina Flores, also known as Karina Grigoryan, is a Russian opera singer who has sung leading soprano roles with companies in her native Russia as well as in other European countries. For eight seasons she was a soloist with Helikon Opera in Moscow and has gone on to sing at the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, amongst others. She made her American debut in 2018 as the soprano soloist in a performance of the War Requiem at the Kennedy Center conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. On disc Flores appears as Lisa in Israeli Opera's 2012 recording of Pique Dame conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

Life and career

Flores was born in the Russian city of Shakhty to parents of Armenian descent. She began her musical education at the conservatory in Shakhty and went on to study at the Rostov State Conservatory from 1999 to 2005. It was there that she made her stage debut in the title role of Madama Butterfly.[1] In 2006 she continued her vocal studies in Moscow under Ruben Lisitsian [ru] and from 2008 to 2011 in Rome at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Renata Scotto.[2][3] During this time, she placed third in the 2008 Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition,[4] and she continued her professional career singing with Helikon Opera in Moscow and on tour.

Flores was engaged as a soloist with Helikon Opera in 2006 and remained with the company for eight years.[1] Her numerous roles with Helikon included Rosina in The Barber of Seville,[5] Amelia in Un ballo in maschera,[6] the title roles of Aida and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District,[7][8] and Stephana in Gordano's rarely performed Siberia.[9] In 2012 she also made her debut with Israeli Opera as Lisa in Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame. The production, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, was later released on CD and DVD.[10][11] It was a role she would later reprise at the Heidenheim Opera Festival in 2019.[1]

Between 2014 and 2019, Flores made a number of European house debuts, including Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana at the Teatro San Carlo in 2014,[12] Desdemona in Otello at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona in 2018,[13] and Leonora in Il trovatore at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 2018.[14] She made her first appearance at the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck in 2015 in the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur for which she was nominated for the Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis [de] (Austrian Music Theatre Prize) in the "Best Female Lead" category.[15] In later seasons she returned to the theatre as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera (2016) and as Angelica in Suor Angelica (2019).

Flores made her American debut in 2018 as the soprano soloist in a performance of Britten's War Requiem at the Kennedy Center conducted by Gianandrea Noseda.[16][17] Her other concert appearances have included the soprano soloist in Brahms's German Requiem at the Teatro Regio in Turin conducted by Pinchas Steinberg in 2018 and the Mozart Requiem performed in Spain's Palma Cathedral in 2019.[18][19]

Repertory

Role Opera Composer
Lisa Pique Dame Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Santuzza Cavalleria Rusticana Pietro Mascagni
Stephana Siberia Umberto Giordano
Cio Cio San Madama Butterfly Giacomo Puccini
Soprano Soloist War Requiem Benjamin Britten
Soprano Soloist Requiem Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Suor Angelica Suor Angelica Giacomo Puccini
Floria Tosca Tosca Giacomo Puccini
Katerina Ismajlova Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District Dmitri Shostakovich
Amelia Un ballo in maschera Giuseppe Verdi
Elisabetta Don Carlos Giuseppe Verdi
Leonora La forza del destino Giuseppe Verdi
Desdemona Otello Giuseppe Verdi
Soprano Soloist Requiem Giuseppe Verdi
Aida Aida Giuseppe Verdi
Norma Norma Vincenzo Bellini
Tatyana Eugen Onegin Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Adriana Lecouvreur Adriana Lecouvreur Francesco Cilea
Leonora Trovatore Giuseppe Verdi
Contessa Le Nozze di Figaro Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Rosina Barbiere di Siviglia Gioacchino Rossini

References

  1. ^ a b c Kubiak, Manfred F. (19 July 2019)."Karina Flores singt Lisa in Tschaikowskys „Pique Dame“". Heidenheimer Zeitung. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in German).
  2. ^ s.n. (8 October 2006). "«Students to teachers» concert took place in Helikon-Opera". Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  3. ^ s.n. (27 October 2018). I concerti 2018–2019: Pinchas Steinberg (programme), p. 11. Teatro Regio di Torino. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in Italian).
  4. ^ Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition. Winners. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  5. ^ s.n. (12 May 2008). "Helikon-Opera tour to Khanty-Mansiysk". Helikon Opera. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  6. ^ s.n. (5 September 2013). "The premiere of "Un ballo in maschera" in Helikon-Opera". Helikon Opera. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  7. ^ Humbert, Jean-Marcel (10 April 2008). "Review: Aïda Massynova. Forum Opéra. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in French).
  8. ^ Eppstein, Ury (14 December 2006). "An influential opera that gets lost in the dark". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  9. ^ Williams, Glyn (22 October 2010)."Siberia in Moscow". The Opera Critic. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  10. ^ Pullinger, Mark (June 2018). "Tchaikovsky Pique Dame (Jurowski)". Gramophone. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  11. ^ Nice David (25 June 2020). "Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  12. ^ Basile, Mario (10 July 2014). "Il progetto del San Carlo l'opera nei weekend d'estate". La Repubblica. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in Italian).
  13. ^ Bosetto, Angela (8 February 2018). "«Otello», luci e ombre sul secondo cast". L'Arena. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in Italian).
  14. ^ Giordano, Daniele (5 October 2018). "L'opera che passione… “Il Trovatore” al Teatro Regio di Torino". Corriere dello Spettacolo. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in Italian).
  15. ^ Burianek, Stephan (2016). "Tiroler Landestheater: Eine überzeugende Vorstellung". Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis Das Magazin, p. 12. Verlag Kulturbüro. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in German).
  16. ^ Rucker, Patrick (30 November 2018). "NSO brilliant in performance of Britten’s ‘War Requiem’". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  17. ^ Jepson, Barbara (30 November 2018). "Benjamin Britten’s ‘War Requiem’ Review: Mixing Sacred and Secular". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (subscription required).
  18. ^ Gallarati, Paolo (28 October 2018). "La “Messa da Requiem” e il “Requiem tedesco” aprono la stagione del Regio tra le proteste". La Stampa. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in Italian).
  19. ^ Aguiló, Josep María (16 April 2019). "Doña Sofía preside en la Catedral de Palma un concierto solidario en favor de Proyecto Hombre". ABC. Retrieved 22 March 2021 (in Spanish).