Irina Lungu (born 5 June 1980) is a Russian operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. She won the CulturArte Prize at the 2004

Operalia Plácido Domingo's Operalia, The World Opera Competition is an annual international competition for opera singers, founded by Plácido Domingo in 1993. Overview The competition's parent organization, Operalia Foundation, is a nonprofit organizat ...

competition and has since performed internationally.

Early life and career

Born in the

Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

and raised in Russia, Lungu obtained diplomas in choral conducting, piano and singing at the State Conservatory of

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

in Russia, where her voice teacher was Mikhail Podkopaev. She won several international competitions, including

in 2004, the

International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition The International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition is an annual competition for young opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken b ...

, and Voci Verdiane in

Busseto Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with about inhabitants. Its history is quite well documented back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundred years it was the ...

, before being accepted in 2003 by the Accademia del

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

, Milan.

International career

In that same year (2003)

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...

selected Lungu as Anaï in Rossini's ''

Moïse et Pharaon Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and Mo ...

'', the opening opera of the 2003/04 season of the Teatro alla Scala. That was the beginning of a collaboration between Lungu and La Scala, where she has performed Adina in ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

'', ''

Maria Stuarda ''Maria Stuarda'' (Mary Stuart) is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica''), in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play '' Maria Stuart''. The opera ...

'', Marguerite in ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'', Oksana in ''

Cherevichki ''Cherevichki'' ( , , ''Cherevichki'', ''Čerevički'', ''The Slippers'' (alternative renderings are ''The Little Shoes'', ''The Tsarina's Slippers'', ''The Empress's Slippers'', ''The Golden Slippers'', ''The Little Slippers'', ''Les caprices d'O ...

'', Nannetta in ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'' and the title role of ''

Sancta Susanna ''Sancta Susanna'' is an early opera by Paul Hindemith in one act, with a German libretto by August Stramm. Composed over a two-week period in January/February 1921, its premiere was on 26 March 1922, at the Oper Frankfurt. The work is his t ...

''. It was at La Scala that in 2007 she debuted the role of Violetta in '' La traviata'' under the musical direction of

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (; March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in t ...

Liliana Cavani Liliana Cavani (born 12 January 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Cavani became internationally known after the success of her 1974 feature film ''Il portiere di notte'' ('' The Night Porter''). Her films have historical concerns ...

's production, returning to sing the role in the same staging in 2008, and in 2013 in Dmitri Tcherniakov's new production conducted by

Daniele Gatti Daniele Gatti (born 6 November 1961) is an Italian conductor. He is currently chief conductor of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, artistic advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, music director of the Orchestra Mozart and chief conductor of the Staa ...

. Violetta is her most performed role (over 130 times). In 2013 Lungu made her

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

debut as Gilda in Verdi's ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'' opposite her fellow countryman baritone

Dmitri Hvorostovsky Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky (, ; 16 October 1962 – 22 November 2017) was a Russian operatic baritone. Early life and education Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia during a time when the city was mostly closed to foreigner ...

Anthony Tommasini Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief c ...

praised her performance in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', describing her as "a first class Gilda" with "bloom and warmth" in her voice. She returned to the Met later in January 2014 for five performances as Musetta in Puccini's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

''. Other highlights of her career include: Gilda in ''Rigoletto'' at the

Opéra National de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

and at the Teatro dell'Opera of Rome, Liù in ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

'' at the

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

, Musetta in ''La bohème'' at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

in London, Donna Anna in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' at Arena of Verona and at the La Quincena Festival of San Sebastian, Micaëla in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' at the Teatro Regio in Turin and the Arena of Verona, Marguerite in ''Faust'' at

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

of Brussels and in Turin, Juliette in ''Roméo et Juliette'' at the Arena of Verona, Mimì in ''La bohème'' at the Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre in Moscow, as well as her debut at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

of Moscow in a gala concert in memory of Russian mezzo-soprano

Elena Obraztsova Elena Vasilyevna Obraztsova ( rus, Еле́на Васи́льевна Образцо́ва, , ɪ̯ɪˈlʲenə vɐˈsʲilʲɪ̯ɪvnə ɐbrɐˈstsovə; 7 July 1939 – 12 January 2015) was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano. She was awarded the Pe ...

. On 12 October 2016, Lungu inaugurated the 2016/17 season of the Teatro Regio Turin as Mimì in a new production of ''La bohème''. In the 2017/18 season she made her debut as Corinna in Rossini's ''

Il viaggio a Reims ''Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L'albergo del giglio d'oro'' (''The Journey to Reims, or The Hotel of the Golden Fleur-de-lis'') is an operatic dramma giocoso, originally performed in three acts,Janet Johnson: ''A Lost Masterpiece Recovered'', pp. 37 ...

'' in a new production at the

Gran Teatre del Liceu Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...

in Barcelona, reprised the title role of ''La traviata'' at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, at the

New National Theatre Tokyo The is Japan's first and foremost national centre for the performing arts, including opera, ballet, contemporary dance and drama. It is located in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. Since 1997 more than 650 productions were staged. There are about 300 p ...

, in Seoul and at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

, where she als performed Donna Anna in ''Don Giovanni''. In Prague she interpreted the role of Donna Anna at the

Estates Theatre The Estates Theatre (in Czech: ''Stavovské divadlo'') is a historic theatre in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, w ...

, where the opera was first performed exactly 230 years before, celebrating the 230th anniversary of Mozart's masterpiece, conducted by

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

. The performances were recorded and published on DVD/Blu-ray by CMajor Entertainment. Other performances in 2017/18 include her role debut as

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

(Massenet) in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

and her Australian debut as Gilda in ''Rigoletto'' at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. Engagements in 2018/19 include her return to the Royal Opera House, London, as Marguerite in ''Faust'', her role debut as Elettra in ''

Idomeneo (Italian for ''Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', Köchel catalogue, K. 366) is an Italian-language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Vares ...

'' at the Vienna State Opera where she also sang Norina in ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Pavesi's oper ...

'', ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' in

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, Marguerite in ''Faust'' at the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...

in Madrid and ''La traviata'' in Hamburg.

Recordings

*2013: Giuseppe Verdi: ''

Il corsaro ''Il corsaro'' (''The Corsair'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on Lord Byron's 1814 poem '' The Corsair''. The first performance was given at the Teatro Grande in Trieste on 25 Oct ...

''; Teatro Regio di Parma, Blu-Ray, Unitel Classica e King Records (original release year: 2008) *2014: Georges Bizet: ''

''; Macerata Opera, DVD,

Dynamic Dynamics (from Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power") or dynamic may refer to: Physics and engineering * Dynamics (mechanics), the study of forces and their effect on motion Brands and enter ...

*2015: Georges Bizet: ''Carmen'';

Arena di Verona Festival Arena di Verona Festival (Verona Arena Festival) is a summer festival of opera, located in the city of Verona, Italy. Since 1936, it has been organized under the auspices of an official body, first the Ente Autonomo Spettacoli Lirici Arena di Ver ...

, DVD, Bel Air Classiques *2015: Charles Gounod: ''

'';

Teatro Regio di Torino The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each. Several b ...

, DVD/Blu-Ray, Unitel Classica *2018: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: ''

'';

, DVD/Blu-Ray, CMajor Entertainment

References

External links

"Performances"

Operabase Operabase is an online global database for audiences and professionals. It lists details on opera performances, opera houses and companies, and performers as well as their agents. It was founded in 1996 by English software engineer and opera love ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lungu, Irina Russian operatic sopranos 1980 births Living people 21st-century Russian women opera singers