Ekaterina Gubanova

Biography

Ekaterina Gubanova is one of the finest mezzosopranos of the last generations. Her past and future appearances include performances in Opera Houses like the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lyric Opera Chicago, Teatro Real in Madrid, Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona. Gubanova was born in Moscow and began her musical studies as a pianist. Honorary graduate in choir conducting, Ekaterina studied opera singing at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire and Sibelius Academy (Helsinki), then she was a member of The Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, London.

In 2005 she sang Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde at Opera National de Paris with immense critical success. Since then she has reprised the role in Baden-Baden, Rotterdam, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, St.Petersburg and Munich, collaborating with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Semion Bychkov and Kent Nagano. She sang Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre with Daniel Barenboim both at Staatsoper Berlin and Teatro alla Scala.

Her Japanese debut was marked by her performance in Verdi’s Requim, conducted by Riccardo Muti in Tokyo. Since then she has sung with Maestro Muti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra on many other occasions.

In Russia she sang Principessa Eboli in Don Carlo at Stars of the White Nights Festival in Saint Petersburg, where she later returned as Lyubasha in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride and as Marguerite in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust.

In 2007 she sung Olga at the Salzburg Festival in a new production of Eugene Onegin conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

After her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Prokofiev’s War and Peace, she started a strong collaboration with the Company singing Giulietta in the new production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann, conducted by M. James Levine, Eboli in Don Carlo during the Japan Tour 2011 and Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena, the opening production of season 2011/2012.

In  2009 she debuted Amneris in Aida at the Bayerische Staatsoper with Daniele Gatti. She reprised this role again with Daniel Barenboim for Teatro alla Scala Tour in Japan and Israel. Ekaterina also sung Amneris to a great success at Choregies d'Orange, in St.Petersburg and Vienna.

In concert, she has sung the role of Jocasta in Oedipus Rex in London and Stockholm under Esa-Pekka Salonen. Elsewhere, Gubanova has been invited to perform Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in Paris, Moscow, Seoul and Dublin; she also sang the Rückert Lieder in Wiesbaden. She returned to Rotterdam to sing Das Lied von der Erde to open their 2008 festival, and at the 2009 festival she presented songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. This work she also performed in Sydney Opera and at the BBC PROMs under Mark Elder. She sang Verdi’s Requim under the baton of Daniel Barenboim both with Teatro alla Scala and StaatsOper Berlin, with Gustavo Dudamel in Los Angeles and with Riccardo Muti in Vienna.

In 2012 she sang the role of Marina Mnishek (Boris Godunov) at the Bolshoi Theatre.

Her recent engagements include Anna Bolena at the Metropolitan; Die Walkure and Das Rheingold in Staatsoper Berlin, in Scala and at the PROMs; Don Carlo in Teatro alla Scala, Münich, St.Petersburg, Toulouse, New York and Dresden; Verdi`s Requiem in Florence, Naples and St.Petersburg; Tristan und Isolde in Munich, Valencia, Tokyo, Salzburg and Madrid, Rusalka in Chicago, Werther in Berlin, Norma in Barcelona, Bluebeard`s Castle in Toronto and Paris, Norma in Munich and Istanbul, Aida in Vienna, Romeo et Juliette in Chicago with Riccardo Muti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the great success with Tristan und Isolde and Aida at Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Ekaterina Gubanova recorded Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Fricka) with Maestro Gergiev for Mariinsky Label to a great critical acclaim.