This a list of opera singers from Russian Federation, Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

including both ethnic Russians

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 and people of other ethnicities. This list as well includes those, who were born in the  Russia/ Soviet Union/ Russian Empire but later emigrated, and those, who were born elsewhere but immigrated to the country and performed there for a long time.

Opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 came to Russia in the 18th century. At first there were mostly Italian language

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 operas presented by Italian opera

Italian opera

Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous operas in Italian were written by foreign composers,...

 troupes. Later some foreign composers serving to the Russian Imperial Court began to write Russian-language operas, while some Russian composers were involved into writing of the operas in Italian and French. Only at the beginning of 1770s the first modest attempts of the composers of Russian origin to compose operas to the Russian librettos were made. The 19th century was the golden age

Golden Age

The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...

 of Russian opera, with such prominent composers as Mikhail Glinka

Mikhail Glinka

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...

, Alexander Dargomyzhsky

Alexander Dargomyzhsky

Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky was a 19th century Russian composer. He bridged the gap in Russian opera composition between Mikhail Glinka and the later generation of The Five and Tchaikovsky....

, Modest Mussorgsky

Modest Mussorgsky

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...

, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Aleksandr Borodin and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Their traditions were carried on to the 20th century by Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

, Sergei Rachmaninov, Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...

 and Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....

. Bolshoi

Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...

 and Mariinsky

Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...

 theatres continue to be the main opera and ballet scenes of Russia and one of the most prominent in the world.

A number of Russian opera singers rose to fame already in the 18th century, but it was the late 19th and the 20th centuries that saw the appearance of many world-renown, well-remembered and still popular soloists, including Leonid Sobinov

Leonid Sobinov

Leonid Vitalyevich Sobinov , was an acclaimed Imperial Russian operatic tenor. His fame continued unabated into the Soviet era, and he was made a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1923...

, Galina Vishnevskaya

Galina Vishnevskaya

Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya is a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966.-Biography:...

 and, of course, Feodor Chaliapin

Feodor Chaliapin

Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase...

, the greatest bass

Bass (voice type)

A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...

 of all time. Nowadays Russia is represented at the world scene with such stars as Dmitry Hvorostovsky and Anna Netrebko

Anna Netrebko

Anna Yuryevna Netrebko is an Russian operatic soprano. She now holds dual Russian and Austrian citizenship and currently resides in Vienna. She has been nicknamed "La Bellissima" by fans.-Biography:...

.

For the full plain list of Russian opera singers in Wikipedia, see :Category:Russian opera singers.

See also: Alexandrov Ensemble soloists

Alexandrov Ensemble soloists

This is an alphabetical list of the basso profondo, bass, bass-baritone and tenor soloists who have performed with the Alexandrov Ensemble since its establishment in 1928. It is difficult to differentiate between regular and guest soloists, since many have alternated between the one category and...

, List of Russian ballet dancers, List of Russian composers, List of Russian language writers, List of Russian artists, List of Russian architects, List of Russian inventors, List of Russian explorers, Russian culture

Russian culture

Russian culture is associated with the country of Russia and, sometimes, specifically with ethnic Russians. It has a rich history and can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts, especially when it comes to literature and philosophy, classical music and ballet, architecture...

A

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Ğäziz Älmöxämmädev Gäziz Älmöxämmädev Ğäziz Salix ulı Älmöxämmädev was an ethnic Bashkir Tatar opera singer and composer. He was born in the village of Muraptal of Sterlitamaksky Uyezd of Ufa Governorate . He was the People's Singer in 1929...
	Irina Arkhipova
	Olga Averino Olga Averino Olga Averino was a Russian soprano and voice teacher. An émigré to the United States, she was prominent in the musical life of Boston for over 60 years, first as a singer and later as a distinguished voice teacher....
	Arnold Azrikan Arnold Azrikan Arnold Grigorevich Azrikan was a Ukrainian and Russian operatic dramatic tenor.-Biography and career:...

B

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Nikolay Baskov Nikolay Baskov Nikolay Victorovich Baskov is a popular Russian tenor singer. He's famous for performing both classical operatic arias and pop music songs.He is meritorious and people's artist of the Russian Federation. He is people's artist of Ukraine...
	Anna de Belocca Anna de Belocca Anna de Belocca , was a Russian-born operatic contralto.-Biography:She was born in St.Petersburg, where her father was an Imperial Russian Councilor of State. After studying in St...

C

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin was a Russian opera singer. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he enjoyed an important international career at major opera houses and is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form.During the first phase... (1873–1938)  Russian Empire  Early Modern France bass	The most famous Russian opera singer of the 20th century. The possessor of a large and expressive bass voice, he is often credited with establishing the tradition of naturalistic acting in his chosen art form. Mephistopholes in Gounod Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:... 's Faust Faust (opera) Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1... , Mussorgsky Mussorgsky Mussorgsky can refer to:*The Mussorgsky family of Russian nobility;*Modest Mussorgsky, a Russian composer belonging to that family.*Mussorgsky , a 1950 Soviet film about the composer... 's Boris Godunov Boris Godunov (opera) Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,... , Boito's Mefistofele Mefistofele Mefistofele is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito.-Composition history:... , Ivan the Terrible in Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César... 's The Maid of Pskov The Maid of Pskov The Maid of Pskov , is an opera in three acts and six scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by the composer, and is based on the drama of the same name by Lev Mei. The story concerns the Tsar Ivan the Terrible and his efforts to subject the cities of Pskov and Novgorod to his... , Massenet Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas... 's Don Quichotte Don Quichotte Don Quichotte is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn.Massenet's comédie-héroïque, like so many other dramatized versions of the story of Don Quixote, relates only indirectly to the great novel by Miguel de Cervantes... , Philip II Philip II of Spain Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....  in Verdi Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century... 's Don Carlos Don Carlos Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller... , Glinka Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music... 's Ivan Susanin, Khan Konchak in Borodin Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music... 's Prince Igor Prince Igor Prince Igor is an opera in four acts with a prologue. It was composed by Alexander Borodin. The composer adapted the libretto from the East Slavic epic The Lay of Igor's Host, which recounts the campaign of Russian prince Igor Svyatoslavich against the invading Polovtsian tribes in 1185...

F

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Nikolay and Medea Figner Nikolay and Medea Figner Nikolay Figner , lyric tenor, and Medea Figner , mezzo-soprano, later soprano, were a renowned husband-and-wife team of opera singers active in Russia between 1889 and 1904. Medea was Italian-born but she became competely Russianized after marrying Nikolay...

G

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Hibla Gerzmava Hibla Gerzmava Hibla Gerzmava , born January 6, 1970 in Pitsunda, Abkhazia, is an Abkhazian and Russian operatic soprano who currently resides in Moscow.-Education and career:...
	Yuri Aleksandrovich Gulyayev

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Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky , is a leading baritone opera singer from Russia.Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. He studied at the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts under Yekatherina Yofel and made his debut at Krasnoyarsk Opera House, in the role of Marullo in Rigoletto...

K

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Victoria Karasyova Victoria Karasyova Victoria Igorevna Karasyova is a former Russian actress, singer, radio presenter and television personality.- Biography :Victoria Igorevna Karasyova was born on June 23, 1979 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR to Igor Karasyov and his wife. Has younger brother.Victoria graduated from Moscow School #...	Ended her career in 2009 due to health problems
	Bogomir Korsov Bogomir Korsov Bogomir Bogomirovich Korsov, was a Russian baritone opera singer....
	Praskovia Kovalyova-Zhemchugova
	Ivan Kozlovsky Ivan Kozlovsky Ivan Semyonovitch Kozlovsky was a Soviet lyric tenor of Ukrainian ethnicity, one of the greatest stars of Soviet opera, as well a producer and director of his own opera company, and longtime teacher at the Moscow Conservatory.-Biography:...
	Maria Kuznetsova Maria Kuznetsova Maria Nikolayevna Kuznetsova , was a famous 20th century Russian opera singer and dancer.Prior to the Revolution, Kuznetsova was one of the most celebrated opera singers in Imperial Russia, having worked with Richard Strauss, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Jules Massenet. She was frequently paired...

L

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Sergej Larin
	Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya Yelizaveta Andreyevna Lavrovskaya was a Russian mezzo-soprano praised for her dramatic performances of operatic arias and her sensitive interpretations of lieder. An acquaintance of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, she suggesed that he compose an opera based on Alexander Pushkin's verse-play...
	Sergei Lemeshev Sergei Lemeshev Sergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev was one of the most well-known and beloved Russian operatic lyric tenors.-Early Life and Career:Lemeshev was born into a peasant family, and his father wanted him to become a cobbler. In 1914, he left a parish school and was sent to be trained to make shoes in St...
	Julia Lezhneva Julia Lezhneva Julia Lezhneva is a Russian soprano and coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer. She has studied with Elena Obraztsova, Dennis O'Neill CBE and Yvonne Kenny.-Early life, tuition and awards:...

M

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Gavrilo Martsenkovich Gavrilo Martsenkovich Gavrilo Martsenkovich known as "Gavrilushka" was a Russian opera actor and singer in the 18th century.He was a member of the group called the "pevchie" of Count Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky...
	Ivan Melnikov

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Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Anna Netrebko Anna Netrebko Anna Yuryevna Netrebko is an Russian operatic soprano. She now holds dual Russian and Austrian citizenship and currently resides in Vienna. She has been nicknamed "La Bellissima" by fans.-Biography:...
	Antonina Nezhdanova Antonina Nezhdanova Antonina Vasilievna Nezhdanova was a Russian lyric-coloratura soprano. An outstanding opera singer, she represented the Russian vocal school at its best....

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Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Osip Petrov Osip Petrov Osip Afanasievich Petrov was a Russian operatic bass-baritone of great range and renown whose career centred on St Petersburg.He started his career by singing in a church chorus...

R

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Mark Reizen Mark Reizen Mark Osipovich Reizen, also Reisen or Reyzen — died November 25, 1992 Moscow, Russia) was a leading Soviet opera singer with a beautiful and expansive bass voice.-Life and career:...
	Nadezhda Repina Nadezhda Repina Nadezhda Vasilyevna Repina was a Russian actress and singer .The daughter of a serf actor and musician, she was in the troupe of a landlord called Stolypin, from which she was redeemed in 1825 by the Directors of the Theatrical College...
	Vladimir Rosing Vladimir Rosing Vladimir Sergeyevich Rosing , aka Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in England and the United States...

S

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Sara Sadíqova Sara Sadíqova Sadíqova Sara Ğärif qızı Sara Sadíqova; Tatar Cyrillic: Садыйкова Сара Гариф кызы; ; 1 November 1906 - 7 June 1986) was a Tatar actress, singer , and composer. Honoured Artist of Tatar ASSR , People's Artist of Tatar ASSR , Honoured Worker of Culture of the Russian SFSR . In 1938-1948 she was a...
	Leonid Sobinov Leonid Sobinov Leonid Vitalyevich Sobinov , was an acclaimed Imperial Russian operatic tenor. His fame continued unabated into the Soviet era, and he was made a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1923...
	Pyotr Slovtsov Pyotr Slovtsov Pyotr Ivanovich Slovtsov was a famous Russian tenor.-Early years:Slovtsov was born in the village of Ustyanskoye in Yeniseysk Governorate of the Russian Empire, to the family of a deacon. His father died when the boy was five, and the mother re-located with Pyotr to Krasnoyarsk. According to...
	Fyodor Stravinsky Fyodor Stravinsky Fyodor Ignatievich Stravinsky ) was a Russian bass opera singer and actor. He was the father of Igor Stravinsky and the grandfather of Soulima Stravinsky....

V

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Georgi Pavlovich Vinogradov
	Galina Vishnevskaya Galina Vishnevskaya Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya is a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966.-Biography:...

Y

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Ivan Yershov Ivan Yershov Ivan Vasiliyevitch Yershov or Ershov , born November 8, 1867 - died November 21, 1943, was a Russian opera singer. He earned renown for his brilliant performances at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, performing some of the most demanding roles written for the dramatic tenor...

Z

Portrait	Person	Details	Stage image
	Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel Nadezhda Ivanovna Zabela-Vrubel was a Russian opera singer. Vocally, she is best described as a lyrical soprano, with a particularly high tessitura....
	Elena Zoubareva Elena Zoubareva Elena Zoubareva is a Russian American soprano specializing in opera and classical crossover. Zoubareva is also a voice expert and a creator of the FitVoice program...