People’s Artist of Russia and soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.
Born in Baku, she graduated in 1984 from the Uzeyir Hajibeyli State Conservatory in the class of Professor K. G. Kerimov.
Her outstanding talent, a sumptuous, exceptionally powerful and brilliantly coloured voice, and her remarkable dramatic gifts enable her to present deeply convincing interpretations of works by composers of many countries and periods, always with a keen sense of style. The breadth and variety of her repertoire are truly striking, and she commands an extraordinary range of contrasting roles.
For her achievements in opera she was among the first recipients of the Bolshoi Theatre Board of Trustees Prize, and for her portrayal of Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s «Macbeth» she was nominated for the Golden Mask National Theatre Award for Best Female Role.
Competition awards include:
- Second Prize at the M. I. Glinka International Vocal Competition (1991);
- Grand Prix and First Prize at the N. A. Rimsky‑Korsakov International Opera Singers’ Competition (1994);
- laureate of the Erkel International Singing Competition (Hungary);
- Gold Prize at an International Festival in Korea (2007, 2011).
From 1991 to 1996 she was a leading soloist with the Novaya Opera Theatre in Moscow, singing roles such as Gorislava («Ruslan and Lyudmila»), Tamara («The Demon»), Leonora («La forza del destino»), and Kupava («The Snow Maiden»).
She was the first singer in Russia to perform the roles of Elisabetta in Donizetti’s «Maria Stuarda» and Wally in Catalani’s «La Wally».
She made her Bolshoi Theatre debut in 1994 as Floria Tosca in Puccini’s «Tosca».
Since 1996 she has been a leading soprano of the Bolshoi’s opera company, singing principal roles including:
- Tatyana («Eugene Onegin»);
- Yaroslavna («Prince Igor»);
- Liza («The Queen of Spades»);
- Abigaille («Nabucco»);
- Amelia («Un ballo in maschera»);
- Turandot («Turandot»);
- Ekaterina Lvovna («Katerina Izmaylova» / «Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk»);
- Senta («Der fliegende Holländer»);
- Renata («The Fiery Angel»);
- Eboli («Don Carlo»).
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At the Bolshoi’s first production of Verdi’s «La forza del destino», a co‑production with Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, she sang the role of Leonora (2001), and she has appeared in Bolshoi premieres of «Le nozze di Figaro», «Aida», «The Oprichnik», «Rusalka», «The Snow Maiden», and «Macbeth».
From 1992 to 1996 she was a regular guest soloist with the Vienna State Opera, singing the Countess in «Le nozze di Figaro» and Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in «Don Giovanni».
Today Elena Zelenskaya is one of Russia’s most sought‑after sopranos on the stages of major opera houses worldwide.
In 1997 she made her debut as Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s «Macbeth» in Lucerne (Switzerland).
In 1998 she sang Stefana in Giordano’s «Siberia» at the Wexford Festival Opera (Ireland), and from 1998 to 2001 appeared at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland as Leonora («La forza del destino») and Aida («Aida»).
She has also appeared in Düsseldorf and Berlin (Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper), Cologne, Seattle, Tel Aviv, Nice, the Royal Danish Opera (Copenhagen), San Diego Opera, the Metropolitan Opera (under Plácido Domingo), Malta, Théâtre des Champs‑Élysées and Opéra Bastille (Paris), Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona), Los Angeles Opera (under Antonio Pappano), San Francisco Opera, Palais Garnier (Paris), La Fenice (Venice, under Marcello Viotti), La Monnaie (Brussels), Frankfurt Opera, the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Carnegie Hall, the Edinburgh Festival, Athens, Teatro Comunale di Firenze, Opera Australia in Melbourne, Singapore, Nuremberg Opera, and Seoul.[5][6][2]
She has performed Rachmaninoff’s cantata «The Bells» in Madrid with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra under Alexander Vedernikov.[4]
In 2011 she gave a solo Shostakovich recital at the Opéra Garnier in Paris with the Bastille Opera Chamber Orchestra.
Her name is proudly included in the book «Golden Voices of the Bolshoi», published in 2011.
In 2015 she gave a solo recital in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory marking the institution’s 150th anniversary.
Elena Zelenskaya has worked with many eminent conductors, including Lorin Maazel, Antonio Pappano, Marco Armiliato, James Levine, Daniele Callegari, Asher Fisch, Daniel Woren, Maurizio Barbacini, Marcello Viotti, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Mikhail Jurowski, Sir Georg Solti, and James Conlon.
Since 2011 she has taught at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music as an Associate Professor in the Solo Academic Singing Department.
