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About
From an early age Aida Garifullina was surrounded by music. Born in 1987 in Kazan, her choirmaster mother gave Aida her first music lesson, influencing her musical development from early childhood and inspiring her to pursue opera. At the age of 18, Aida attended the Nuremberg University of Music where she was taught by Siegfried Jerusalem. She joined the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts in 2007 under the tuition of Claudia Visca.
In 2013, Aida was invited by conductor and company director Valery Gergiev to join the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. There, she made her first appearance as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and later performed as Gilda in Rigoletto and Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore. In 2014, she took part in opening nights of operas such as War and Peace as Natasha Rostova and as the Queen of Shemakha in The Golden Cockerel. Staged by British director Graham Vick, the War and Peace performance was screened in cinemas across Europe, exposing thousands to the young soprano’s magnificent voice for the first time.
The same year she first graced the stage of Mariinsky Theatre, Aida won first place in Plácido Domingo’s world-renowned, prestigious International Opera Singers Competition Operalia in Verona. Following her success at Operalia, Aida received an invitation to join the Vienna State Opera and was offered a contract with legendary British record label, Decca Classics.
Today, Aida Garifullina is the voice of the Vienna State Opera. She regularly has recitals in Vienna and London, and participates in joint concerts with masters like Plácido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky both in Russia and abroad.
Depth, warmth, and tenderness make Aida Garifullina’s voice unmistakable. Its execution is one of taste, style, restraint, and severity in its emotionality. These qualities, combined with her natural beauty, youth, and charm cast her as one of the most enchanting figures in opera today.