Soprano Elena Stikhina will make her Salzburg Festival debut in the title role of Cherubini’s Médée. This new Simon Stone production will be conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock on 30 July and 4, 7, 10, 16 and 19 August at the Grosses Festspielhaus.
The gifted young Lirico-spinto soprano has earned a legion of admirers following her spectacular debuts at the Paris and Metropolitan Operas and triumphs at the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Berlin Staatsoper, the Semperoper, the Baden Baden Festspielhaus and in concert with the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Munich Philharmonic and at the Philharmonie Paris.
Elena has attracted press reviews describing her singing as both miraculous and luminous, her presence as magnetic and her technique as superlative. Jeremy Eichler in The Boston Globe writes that, “Stikhina’s voice has unusual allure, catching the ear with its combination of glow and penetration, lightness and strength,” with New York’s WQXR calling her “the next big star” in their “40 Under 40: A New Generation of Opera Singers” feature.
This spring she makes her Dutch debut singing Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly). Performances as Leonora (La Forza del Destino) follow at the Paris Opera, where she returns in the autumn to sing a new production of Prince Igor.
Additional highlights of her 2019/20 season include her debut in Geneva as Aida, her return to the Boston Lyric Opera as Norma and more returns to the Paris Opera for Adriana Lecouvreur and La Bohème. She is also a guest soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
Elena completed her studies at the Moscow State Conservatory in 2012 and quickly came to European attention when she won first prize at the Competizione dell’Opera Linz in 2014 and then in 2016 by winning the Audience and Culturarte Prizes at Placido Domingo’s Competition ‘Operalia’.
For more information and tickets, please visit www.salzburgerfestspiele.at.
