KristinaMkhitaryan

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  • Soprano

About Kristina

Kristina Mkhitaryan is a graduate of the Galina Vishnevskaya Theatre Studio, Moscow. She has won first prize at the Queen Sonja International Competition in Oslo (2013), third prize at the Neue Stimmen Competition (2013) and the Viotti Competition in Vercelli (2014). Kristina won 2nd Prize at the 2017 Operalia Competition.

Career highlights include La traviata at the Royal Opera House, a role which she now sings to acclaim in major opera houses worldwide, Gilda in Rigoletto with Opera Australia and Hamburgische Staatsoper, as well as the title role in Alcina at Opéra National de Lorraine, and Armida in Rinaldo under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev at the Glyndebourne Festival. She has also sung at the Grand Théâtre de Genève as Leila in Les pêcheurs de perles, the Wiener Staatsoper in productions including La Traviata, L'elisir d'amore and Turandot and the Metropolitan Opera in their productions of Gianni Schicchi and La bohème (Musetta).

Kristina's ongoing success has recently seen her make two major role debuts - one in Dutch National Opera's acclaimed production of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, and then Tatiana in Eugene Onegin at Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona.

An exciting 2024-25 season will see Kristina return to the role of Tatiana in Eugene Onegin at the Royal Opera House, London (new production by Ted Huffman) and Teatro Real Madrid. She will also make her role debut as Mimi in La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera and will also feature in productions of La Traviata at Teatro Perez Galdos, Massenet’s Manon at Weiner Staatsoper and as the title role in a concert performance of Maria Padilla at the Teatro de la Maestranza.

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Contact

Kate Robson

Kate Robson

Assistant Artist Manager

Representation

Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt

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Season Highlights

Sep 2024 - Oct 2024
Royal Opera House, London
Eugene Onegin (role of Tatyana) Henrik Nánási (Conductor) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Nov 2024
Weiner Staatsoper, Austria
Manon (role of Manon Lescaut)
Jan 2025 - Feb 2025
Teatro Real Madrid
Eugene Onegin (role of Tatiana) Gustavo Gimeno (Conductor) Christof Loy (Director) Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real
Jan 2025
Mar 2025
Metropolitan Opera, New York
La Boheme (role of Mimi) Alexander Soddy (Conductor) Franco Zeffirelli (Director)
May 2025
Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville
Maria Padilla (role of Maria) (Concert Version) Riccardo Frizza (Conductor) Iñigo Sampil (Director) Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville
May 2025
Teatro Pérez Galdós, Spain
Performance in La Traviata

Video

Audio

  • Kristina Mkhitaryan sings Il Delirio Amoroso ("Ma fermati pensier" and "Per te lasciai la luce")
    Credit: Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
  • Kristina Mkhitaryan sings Il Delirio Amoroso ('Un pensiero voli in ciel')
    Credit: Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Photos

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Selected Repertoire

Bellini

I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Giulietta)   •   I Puritani (Elvira)   •   La Sonnambula (Amina)   •   

Bizet

Carmen (Michaëla)

Cavalli

Il giasone (Isifile)   •   Eliogabalo

Donizetti

L'elisir d'Amore (Adina)   •   Don Pasquale (Norina)   •   Lucia di Lammermoor   •   Maria Stuarda

Glinka

Ruslan y Lyudmila

Gluck

Orfeo ed Euridice (Euridice)

Gounod

Roméo et Juliette

Handel

Alcina   •   Rodelinda   •   Giulio Cesare (Cleopatra)   •   Ariodante (Ginevra)   •   Trionfo del Tempo e della Verita' (Bellezza)

Massenet

Manon

Monteverdi

L'incoronazione di Poppea (Poppea)

Mozart

Le nozze di Figaro (Contessa)   •   Don Giovanni (Donna Anna)

Offenbach

Tales of Hoffmann (Antonia)

Puccini

La Boheme (Musetta, Mimi)

Ravel

L'enfants et les sortilèges (Une pastourelle, La chouette, La chauve-souris)

Rimsky-Korsakov

Snowmaiden   •   The Tsar's Bride

Verdi

Il Corsaro (Medora)   •   I masnadieri *in preparation   •   La traviata (Violetta)   •   Luisa Miller *in preparation   •   Otello (Desdemona) *in preparation   •   Rigoletto (Gilda)   •   Simon Boccanegra (Amelia) *in preparation

News

Press

  • La boheme

    The Metropolitan Opera
    Mar 2025

    • Her soprano made a fine pairing with Calleja, her darker color set against the shine of his...In the latter duets she sang with an easy power and the fullness of her sound throughout her range was marvelous.

    • His beau, Mimì, was sung here by Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan. She possesses an instrument of some beauty, capable of gorgeous, soft, sweet, caressing lines and explosive escalations of voluminous color. Her “Si. Mi chiamano Mimì” was enchanting and her interactions with Rodolfo were convincing at all times. Her Act one duet was superb. Her “Donde lieta usci,” her farewell lament to Rodolfo was most evocative and deserving of far greater applause than it received and her final act was most moving where she managed to imbue her utterances with exquisiteness, yet almost tangible frailty.

  • Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)

    Teatro Real Madrid
    Jan 2025

    • Por color y por caudal el instrumento de Kristina Mkhitaryan es ideal para componer, como hizo ayer, una Tatiana de manual. Impecable en su escena de la carta, no hubo nota que se le resistiera y su manera de manejar el texto y el fraseo no pudo ser más convincente. Cálido e igual en toda la tesitura, su timbre es grato y la emisión es fácil y desenvuelta, sin tensiones. Mkhitaryan compone un personaje creíble, centro emotivo de la representación y con el que cabe empatizar en todo momento. [translated] Kristina Mkhitaryan 's instrument is ideal for creating, as she did yesterday, a textbook Tatiana. She was impeccable in her letter scene, there was no note that she could not handle, and her way of handling the text and phrasing could not have been more convincing. Warm and equal throughout the range, her tone is pleasant and her delivery is easy and relaxed, without tension. Mkhitaryan creates a credible character, the emotional centre of the performance and with whom one can empathise at all times.

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan cantó una deslumbrante escena de la carta, con una voz cálida, fantásticamente bien emitida, con hermosísimos cambios de color [translated] Kristina Mkhitaryan sang a dazzling scene from the letter, with a warm voice, fantastically well enunciated, with beautiful changes of colour

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan, voz poderosa, de hermoso timbre e insospechados graves, parece una soprano ideal para este cometido en que hay todo un aprendizaje, [translated] Kristina Mkhitaryan, a powerful voice with a beautiful timbre and unexpected low notes, seems to be an ideal soprano for this role

    • Mkhitaryan’s expressive soprano and emotive acting bring depth to Tatiana’s character, making her internal struggles palpable. Her performance is so compelling that one might consider renaming the opera “Tatiana Larina” to reflect her central role. A standout moment is the letter-writing scene, which captures the audience’s heart; as Tatiana composes her fateful love letter, the applause that followed in the Teatro Real de Madrid was both spontaneous and prolonged—a testament to the scene’s emotional resonance and her great performance.

  • Manon (Massenet)

    Wiener Staatsoper
    Nov 2024

    • Im Flüsterton besticht diese Stimme jedoch durch Delikatesse und im Forte durch eine gepfefferte Eindringlichkeit und schlanke Kontur. Zudem: Dass Mkhitaryan darstellerisch zwischen Vamp und putzigem Herzbinkerl changiert, hebt ihre Manon-Eignung zusätzlich [translated] In a whisper, this voice impresses with its delicacy and in a forte with a peppery intensity and slim contour. In addition, the fact that Mkhitaryan alternates between a vamp and a cute little sweetheart further enhances her suitability for Manon.

    • Ein kraftvoll leuchtender Sopran mit leicht nachgedunkelter Mittellage und Höhe. Routiniert gestaltet sie die Wandlung des naiven, lebenshungrigen Mädchens zur mondänen Kurtisane. Ihr Kampf um den Geliebten Des Grieux in der Kirche Saint-Sulpice beeindruckt, Verhaftung, Elend, Tod berühren. [Translated] A powerfully luminous soprano with a slightly darkened middle range and treble. She expertly shapes the transformation of the naive, life-hungry girl into a sophisticated courtesan. Her fight for her lover Des Grieux in the church of Saint-Sulpice impresses, touching arrest, misery, death.

    • Adieu, notre petite table": Jene bekannte Arie, bei der Manon Lescaut vom winzigen Tischchen ihres Liebesnests in der kleinenvPariser Garconniere Abschied nimmt, gelingt Kristina Mkhytaryan sehr zartund berührend. Auch sonst kann sie an der Wiener Staatsoper bei der Wiederaufnahme von Jules Massenets Manon mit flexiblem und sauberem Sopran überzeugen und mit tadellosen Spitzentönen beeindrucken. [Translated] Kristina Mkhitaryan performs the well-known aria in which Manon Lescaut bids farewell to the tiny table of her small Parisian studio very tenderly and touchingly. She also impresses with her flexible and clean soprano voice and flawless top notes at the Wiener Staatsoper in the revival of Jules Massenet's Manon.

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan, deren gesangliche Leistung mit ausgezeichnet aufblühenden Höhen mehr als lobenswert war [translated] Kristina Mkhitaryan, who performed with excellent, blossoming high notes, was more than praiseworthy

  • Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky)

    Royal Opera House
    Sep 2024

    • Mkhitaryan is vocally stunning, with a full, fearless and luminous upper register

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan’s Tatyana credibly plays the naïve teenager at the start and grows with elegance into the Prince’s wife in the closing scenes...more than anybody else she fills this bare stage with feeling. The hushed intensity she brings to the heart of the letter scene is the high point of the performance.

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan is the Tatyana of one’s dreams, displaying a gloriously lyrical soprano, but with a Slavic glint to the tone where required. Her ‘Letter Scene’ was an outpouring of unbridled passion, holding the audience enthralled, and she chartered the character’s development, from a dreamy girl deeply in love with Onegin to a mature woman who knew her own mind, faultlessly

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan’s outstanding Tatyana sung with passion, touching sincerity and a burnished soprano. Her Letter Scene was gloriously sung, particularly the hushed lines 'Who are you? My guardian angel or a wily tempter?', in duet with solo French horn.

    • As Tatyana, Kristina Mkhitaryan...kept power in reserve and finished strongly, but didn’t impose herself in the letter scene. She sang it beautifully, with heartfelt phrasing, creamy timbre and top notes of great clarity

    • Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan is a completely charming Tatyana, growing through the role from tender teenager to gracious princess

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan also brings an attractive tonal quality and impressive line to the role of Tatyana...when she raised the emotional intensity later, turning the tables on Onegin while evincing the bitter pain of her own regret, she gave notice of a superior Tatyana in the making.

    • Mkhitaryan’s Tatyana, meanwhile, captures her character development perfectly. Both the introverted, shy Tatyana from the opera and the later incarnation who sacrificed desire for stability are represented stupendously well with some cunning acting and a beautiful voice that melts the heart, specifically during the letter scene.

    • Some of the key passages are sung right up next to the proscenium, which allows for some daringly quiet singing from Mkhitaryan’s gleaming, expressive Tatyana and Liparit Avetisyan’s forthright yet nuanced Lensky, the two standout performers in a strong cast.

  • Song Series (Rachmaninov)

    Wigmore Hall
    Jan 2024

    • Mkhitaryan’s voice is gorgeously rich and creamy throughout her range from the throbbing chest notes in Ippolitov-Ivanov’s ‘Do not leave me without saying farewell’ to the floated notes above the stave (Rachmaninov’s ‘They answered’ and ‘Here it’s so fine’).

  • La Boheme (Puccini)

    Metropolitan Opera, New York
    Jan 2024

    • Mkhitaryan has a voice as fiery and attention-grabbing as the character she embodied. All attention was on her Musetta as she flirted outrageously to recapture Marcello’s heart at the Café Momus. Her glamour and theatrics, however, were just secondary to the captivating beauty of her voice.

  • Turandot (Puccini)

    Wiener Staatsoper
    Dec 2023 - Dec 2023

    • Im Reigen der vielen Rollendebütanten ist die Russin Kristina Mkhitaryan eine berührende Liù. [translated] Among the many role debutants, the Russian Kristina Mkhitaryan is a touching Liù.

    • Ebenfalls meisterhaft: Kristina Mikhitaryan als Liù mit glänzenden Höhen und hingebungsvoll leidendem Charisma. [translated] Also masterful: Kristina Mikhitaryan as Liù with brilliant highs and devotedly suffering charisma.

    • Vokal starke Umgebung: Besonders Kristina Mkhitaryan (als Liù) überzeugt durch Klarheit und Präsenz. [translated] Vocally strong environment: Kristina Mkhitaryan (as Liù) in particular impresses with her clarity and presence.

  • La Traviata (Verdi)

    Royal Opera House, London
    Jul 2023

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan handled Violetta’s drama and vulnerability with tremendous amounts of care, from the very first moment we see her... 'Sempre libera' showed off every sumptuous corner of her voice and she didn’t let the complexity of the coloratura overshadow her expressiveness and depth of tone... 'Addio del passato' was spun like silk yet had a knife-like clarity in some daring pianissimo moments.

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan is stunning as Violetta, whether using her powerful but warm voice to convey the joy of the party-girl when we first meet her or the misery of losing her love and then her life. Her ability to convey such a wide range of emotions so convincingly, especially in the final scene, shows that her glorious voice is matched by outstanding acting ability.

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan, who takes the role of the heroine in this revival, makes clear that it is more than merely winsome charm. While presenting an appealing and graceful character, she displays plenty of spirit, with flashes of ironic humour and even anger. By the final act – essentially an extended and eventful death scene – her acting achieves an expressionistic intensity. Her voice, always flexible and nuanced in this long and demanding role, is characterised more by rich, mellow colours than steeliness or glitter, even in the coloratura of the famous showpiece that closes the first act.

  • Maria Stuarda (Donizetti)

    Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam
    May 2023

    • Kristina Mkhitaryan was phenomenal in the title role. Her voice soared and swooped through melodies in a way that transported one almost to an out-of-body experience.

    • Les rôles des deux rivales sont formidablement défendus par Kristina Mkhitaryan (Maria Stuarda) et Aigul Akhmetshina (Elisabetta). La première émeut d’emblée dans son air d’entrée, Oh, nube! che lieve per l’aria ti aggiri, où elle se remémore ses jeunes et heureuses années, avant de monter en fureur vers la fameuse conclusion de l’Acte I et les paroles insultantes à l’encontre d’Elisabetta, « Figlia impura di Bolena, parli tu di disonore ?... Profanato è il soglio inglese, vil bastarda, dal tuo piè! ». Le timbre est riche et la musicalité assurée, menant à la longue scène finale, Deh! tu di un umile preghiera, pleine d’émotion[...]. [Translated] The roles of the two rivals are formidably defended by Kristina Mkhitaryan (Maria Stuarda) and Aigul Akhmetshina (Elisabetta). The first is immediately moving in its opening aria, Oh, nube! che lieve per l'aria ti aggiri , where she reminisces about her young and happy years, before rising in fury towards the famous conclusion of Act I and the insulting words against Elisabetta, "Figlia impura di Bolena , parli tu di disonore?... Profanato è il soglio inglese, vil bastarda, dal tuo piè! ". The timbre is rich and the musicality assured, leading to the long final scene, Deh! you di un umile preghiera , full of emotion[...].

  • Les Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet)

    Grand Théâtre de Genève
    Dec 2021

    • Triomphe surtout la Leïla de la Russe Kristina Mkhitaryan, soprano au médium charnu et souriant, dont les vocalises grimpent avec grâce jusqu’à la stratosphère, n’esquivant pas quelques accents de rage lors de ses affrontements avec le baryton. [Translated] Above all, the Leïla of the Russian Kristina Mkhitaryan triumphs, a soprano with a fleshy and smiling medium, whose vocals climb gracefully to the stratosphere, not avoiding a few accents of rage during her clashes with the baritone.

  • Les Indes galantes (Rameau)

    Grand Théâtre de Genève
    Dec 2019

    • La Hébé séduisante de Kristina Mkhitaryan a une voix bien contrôlée et homogène, une diction impeccable et particulièrement apte à colorer. C’est elle qui peut-être a la partie la plus flatteuse et elle s’en sort avec les honneurs. [Translated] Kristina Mkhitaryan's Hebe has a well-controlled and consistent voice, particularly apt for embellishment, and impeccable diction. It is she who has perhaps the most flattering role and she comes out with all due honours.

    • Bel engagement aussi pour Kristina Mkhitaryan qui apporte à ses rôles, Hébé / Zima, une nouvelle profondeur émotionnelle, délectable. [Translated] A lovely engagement too for Kristina Mkhitaryan who brings to her roles, Hebe/Zima, a new emotional depth - delectable.

    • La distribution est également excellente, avec une mention toute spéciale pour la soprano russe Kristina Mkhitaryan (Hébé, Emilie, Zima), omniprésente sur scène, qui déploie une voix charnue et fruitée à la fois, doublée d’une énergie scénique communicative. [Translated] The cast is equally excellent, with a special mention for Russian soprano Kristina Mkhitaryan (Hebe, Emilie, Zima), omnipresent on stage, who projects a voice that is both fleshy and fruity, with a communicative scenic energy to boot.