Elena Manistina

Biography

Born in Saratov, into a family of singers. While still a l^st-year student at the Saratov Conservatory, she appeared with the Saratov Theatre of Opera and Ballet. At the age of 23, she sang Marfa in Khovanshchina.
She continued her vocal education at the Moscow Conservatory (Irina Arkhipova’s class). In 2000, she completed her studies at the Conservatory and in 2002 — her post-graduate work there.
In 1999, Elena Manistina joined Moscow’s Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre where she sang the following roles:

Duenna (Sergei Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery)
Prince Orlovsky (Die Fledermaus)
Babarikha (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tale of Tsar Saltan)
Ratmir (Mikhail Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila)
Marta (Iolanta)

Since 2000, Elena Manistina has also been appearing at the Bolshoi Theatre.

Repertoire

At the Bolshoi:

Governess (The Queen of Spades)
Ulrica (Un Ballo in maschera)
Nurse (Eugene Onegin)
Marta (Iolanta)
Amelfa (The Golden Cockerel)
Preziosilla ( La Forza del destino)
Mistress Quickly (Falstaff)
Marfa (Khovanshchina)
Helene Bezukhova (War and Peace)
Marina Mnishek, Innkeeper (Boris Godunov)
Lyubasha (The Tsar’s bride)
Alkonost (Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and of the Maiden Fevronia)
Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus)
Spring (The Snow Maiden)
Princess Evpraksia Romanovna (The Enchantress)
Epanchina (The Idiot by Weinberg)
Old Lady (Candide by Bernstein)
Vlasyevna (The Maid of Pskov by Rimski-Korsakov, concert version)
Ježibaba (Rusalka by Dvořák)
Madame Larina (Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky)
Mezzo-soprano solo in A Hero of Our Time ballet (Part Bela).
Old mother Babarikha (Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tale of Tsar Saltan)

In 2001, at the Bolshoi Theatre world premiere of the first version of Prokofiev’s The Gambler, Elena Manistina sang the role of Babulenka (conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky, director Alexander Titel, designer David Borovsky).

Tours

After winning 1^st prize at Placido Domingo’s Operalia Competition, in 2002, Elena Manistina has often appeared in the productions of companies of which Domingo is General Director. For instance, for Washington National Opera she has sung the roles of Governess and The Countess in The Queen of Spades and Ulrica in Un Ballo in maschera; and for Los Angeles Opera she has sung in Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’ Hoffmann (the voice of Antonia’s mother).
In 2002, at the Theatre du Chatelet she sang Amelfa in a Mariinsky Theatre production of The Golden Cockerel (director Ennosuke Ichikawa), with the Paris Orchestra (conductor Kent Nagano).
In 2003, she sang Lyubasha (The Tsar’s Bride) at the Theatre du Chatelet (a Theatre du Chatelet co-production with Opera Bordeaux, director Temur Chkheidze). She also sang this role for Opera Bordeaux. In the same year and also at Theatre du Chatelet she took part in a concert performance of Iolanta (Saint-Peterburg Philharmonia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yuri Temirkanov).
In September 2004, she sang Azucena (Il Trovatore) for Deutsche Opera (Berlin), and in October — for the Washington National Opera (co-production with Los Angeles Opera and Goteborg Opera, at the John F. Kennedy Center).
In December 2004, she made her Paris Opera debut in the role of Azucena (Il Trovatore — director Francesca Zambello).
In 2005 at Opera Bastille she sang the part of Marina Mnishek in a new production of Boris Godunov (conductor Alexander Vedernikov) and, at Covent Garden — the role of Sosostris in Sir Michael Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage (conductor Richard Hickox, director Graham Vick).
In 2006 she sang Amneris for Opera Bordeaux and Lyubasha for Frankfurt Opera (conductor Mikhail Yurovsky, director Stein Winge).
In 2007 she sang The Fortune-teller in The Fiery Angel at La Theatre de la Monnaie (Brussels, conductor Kazushi Ono, director Richard Jones), Preziosilla (La Forza del Destino) at Teatro Carlo Felice (Genoa), Ulrica at Paris Opera (conductor Semyon Bychkov, director Gilbert Deflo), Amneris at Arena di Verona.
In 2008 she sang Ulrica at Opera Bordeaux and Kashcheyevna (Rimsky-Korsakov’s Kashchey the Immortal) in a concert performance at the Royal Albert Hall (conductor Mikhail Yurovsky).
In 2009 she sang Ulrica at the Oviedo Opera (conductor Paolo Arrivabeni), Deutsche Opera Berlin (conductor Mikhail Jurowski), Paris National Opera (conductor Renato Palumbo) and Royal Opera House Covent Garden (conductor Maurizio Benini); Lyubov (Mazeppa) at the Opera Ireland; Azucena (Il Trovatore) at the Teatro Liceo (conductor Marco Armiliato).
In 2010 she sang Amneris at the Avignon Opera, Tigrana (Edgar) at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, Baba the Turk (The Rake's Progress) at the Glyndebourne Festival (conductor Vladimir Jurowski), Ulrica at the Washington National Opera (conductor Daniele Callegari).
In 2011 she appeared at the Opera Bordeaux as Azucena and at the Teatro Municipal Santiago-de-Chile as Amneris.
In 2012 performed the role of Lyubov (Mazeppa) at the Monte-Carlo Opera (conductor Dmitri Jurowski), Azucena at Opéra Municipal de Marseille, Canadian Opera Company, Metropolitan Opera.
In 2013 she sang Ulrica at the Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Azucena at the Teatro Municipal Santiago-de-Chile and Bavarian State Opera.
In 2014 – Ulrica with the Canadian Opera Company and Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Marfa (Khovanshchina) at the Opera Vlaanderen in Antwerpen and Gent.
In 2015 – Ulrica at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, Amneris at the Malmö Opera, Jezibaba (Rusalka) at the Teatro Municipal Santiago-de-Chile, the Fortune-teller (The Fiery Angel) at the Bavarian State Opera.
In 2016 – Nurse (The Demon) at the Theatre de la Monnaie, The Fortune-teller (The Fiery Angel) at the Munich Opera Festival.
In 2017, performed the roles of Spring Beauty in The Snow Maiden production (directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, conducted by Mikhail Tatarnikov) at the Opéra National de Paris and Azucena (Il trovatore) at the Athens – Epidaurus Festival.
In 2018 she appeared at the Opéra National de Paris as Innkeeper in Boris Godunov new production (conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, directed by Ivo van Hove).
In March 2019, she took part in concert performances of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Maid of Pskov and Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades (Bolshoi’s tour to France, conductor Tugan Sokhiev).