Aida Garifullina Has Taken Opera by Storm — So Why Don’t You Know Her Name?
Who is Aida Garifullina? From her childhood and musical development to her rise in the world of opera, here’s all you need to know about the stunning Russian soprano.
Garifullina was born in 1987 in Kazan, Tatarstan. With a choirmaster mother, she was surrounded by all types of music from a very young age. Thankfully, her mother recognized her love and passion for music early on, and Garifullina gave her first performance in a televised children’s competition in Moscow at just 5 years old. Yes, she’s that talented!
From her childhood and through her teenage years, Garifullina continued studying music and singing. Her dedication to her own musical growth paid off when she received a grant to study abroad at the Nuremberg University of Music. After two years studying with the renowned tenor Siegfried Jerusalem at Nuremberg, Garifullina travelled to Vienna, where she got into the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts and studied with American soprano Claudia Visca.
Garifullina made her operatic debut in 2013 when she was invited by conductor and company director Valery Gergiev to join the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. It was in the Mariinsky Theatre that Garifullina made her first appearance as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. She later went on to perform as Gilda in Rigoletto, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Natasha Rotova in War and Peace, and the Queen of Shemakha in The Golden Cockerel. Her performance as Rotova in War and Peace was displayed in cinemas across Europe, allowing her exquisite voice to be shared with thousands.
Following her debut in St. Petersburg, Garifullina had her greatest breakthrough when she won first place in Plácido Domingo’s esteemed International Opera Singers Competition Operalia in Verona, Italy. The massive achievement led to an invitation to perform at the prestigious Vienna State Opera, and a contract offer with the legendary British record label, Decca Classics.
Today, Aida Garifullina continues to travel the world, sharing her stunning voice and passion for music with those lucky enough to hear it. As a young, talented and beautiful opera star, it is no wonder Garifullina has gained over 760k followers on Instagram, with 20,000 of those following her historic performance at the FIFA World Cup in Moscow in 2018.
With all of these accomplishments, why isn’t Garifullina a household name? Garifullina’s busy performance schedule rarely consists of US stages. She made her US television debut in December of 2018 on Good Morning America and shortly after, she made her Met debut in January 2019.
If you're lucky, you may know her from the wildly popular film Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. In the 2016 film, she sings ‘The Bell Song’ from Lakmé by Delibes. According to Garifullina, singing the piece had been one of her dreams. If you saw Andrea Bocceli live in 2016, you got the chance to hear Garifullina on his US tour.
With New York having one of the most iconic opera houses in the center of a vibrant musical culture, Garifullina’s return to the Met would only enhance the audience experience. We hope that Garifullina makes time for US audiences in her jam-packed schedule so that we can get to know her even better!
