Top soprano returns after 3 years’ silence

The Ukrainian-Armenian soprano Maria Guleghina was one of the mainstays of the opera stage. She sang 160 times at the Metropolitan Opera and commanded 15 roles in major Italian houses.

And then, in 2021, it stopped.

Today, she explains why. Part of it is to do with being managed by her daughter.

But Guleghina is upbeat and ready for a comeback. She’s living in Luxembourg, 64 years old. Let the bookings roll in.

Here’s her account:

I haven’t sung for almost three years. First, there (was) COVID, then the attack on Artsakh and the 44-day war, then Russia’s Betrayal of Armenia, and pressure to sign a capitulation agreement. And then the terrible attack on Ukraine, and again – on Artsakh. The exodus from our historical lands of more than 100,000 residents.

I didn’t want to live.

The news of the closure of the Impresario (sic) agency destroyed me, buried me alive… Frau Natalia Neumann, my general manager (and my daughter!), informed me about the closure of her agency after the fact! I am ashamed of all the wonderful artists who came to her agency and were similarly discarded… All of this drove me crazy. I’ve lost my footing.

And suddenly, a Japanese producer invited me to perform Tosca with the opera theatre in Bologna! I thought about it and decided to go for it. Over these three dreadful years, I only sang about five times. There were galas with orchestras in Yerevan, Belgrade, Sofia. At least to bid farewell in a humane way to those who especially loved and appreciated me, where I sang with all the most important theatres and separately in many cities and halls. To bid farewell to the audience, who never betrayed me. I gathered my strength and got myself in shape for Japan – I lost 15 kg.

After the success in Japan, I reflected on how I got to this point in my life.

For me, the stage is my temple, my service! The meaning of life! How did all this become possible? I’m reminded of Tosca in 2015 at the Mariinsky Theatre, where it was impossible not to encore “Vissi d’Arte.” The audience demanded it! And two weeks later, my heart failed! Emergency transportation to the cardiac center in Munich and open-heart surgery. Even lying there with tubes, I tried to test my voice… it was as important to me as life. Exactly three months later, a contract at the Metropolitan Opera for Tosca! How could I cancel it? So what if there was a surgery! But I’m alive! I didn’t even want to tell the theatre that l wasn’t entirely healthy, to put it mildly. The doctors, the surgeon who saw me in the corridor, still walking with a walker, scratched his head. «Impossible! Not earlier than 7-8 months at the earliest», – he said. I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me or offer discounts. I went and sang! No one noticed anything! I covered the terrible crimson scar with makeup and accessories.

Because I couldn’t live and breathe without the stage, I left my son and flew to the other side of the world. And then they buried me alive, and it was my own daughter! I joined my daughter’s agency Impresario, leaving behind all the most important agents in the opera world to give her the opportunity to work.
And such a betrayal.

Thank you to all of you, my friends and audience, who didn’t abandon me, who asked and supported me, who worried about me. Thank you to Olga Frolova, who introduced me to PR manager Maria Mitina, and Maria introduced me to Polina Di Grande, who became my manager. Thank you to Priscilla Baglioni for joining our team. I’ve known Priscilla since childhood, and now she’s the director of her own agency. The wonderful daughter of my colleague Bruna Baglioni. Our team also includes Nadia Praisler.

We are full of plans and ideas. Thank you to everyone who cared and supported! Thank you to everyone who asked when I would return to the stage.

Everything lies ahead! I’ve pulled myself together.
I’m alive.
Maria Guleghina