About:

Hailed for her "rich mezzo" (OPERA Magazine), Mezzo-Soprano Mariya Kaganskaya recently performed roles including Larina (Eugene Onegin) with Opera Omaha, Polina/Milovzor (Pique Dame) with West Bay Opera, Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Page (Salome), and Paula (Florencia en el Amazonas) at Florida Grand Opera, Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), and Third Wood Sprite (Rusalka) at Arizona Opera, and Teacher in the Santa Fe Opera’s world premiere production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, the recording of which earned the GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. In the 2022-2023 Season she joined the San Francisco Opera for their production of Dialogues of the Carmelites and released her first solo album on the Lexicon Classics label. Appearances this season include reprising the role of Suzuki with West Bay Opera, making her Opera Columbus debut as Larina, and returning to San Francisco Opera for their production of The Magic Flute.

Ms. Kaganskaya's other recent appearances include Beppe (L'amico Fritz) with Teatro Grattacielo and Rowan in the world premiere of We Wear the Sea Like a Coat with Opera Ithaca. Additional roles include Olga (Eugene Onegin), Hostess (Boris Godunov), Marta (Iolanta), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Ottavia (L’incoronazione di Poppea), the title role of Serse, La Nourrice (Milhaud's Médée), Mexican Woman (A Streetcar Named Desire), Dinah (Trouble in Tahiti), and Julia Bertram (Mansfield Park). Recent oratorio credits include performances as the Mezzo soloist in Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, and Handel’s Messiah.

Ms. Kaganskaya’s training includes residencies with the Santa Fe Opera, Arizona Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, and the iSing International Festival in China. She is an alumna of the OperaWorks Advanced Artist Program and the Russian Opera Workshop at the Academy of Vocal Arts, and earned her MM and PGD at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Catherine Cook.

Her recent awards include First Place in the Classical Singer Competition (Emerging Professional Division), the Lois Alba Aria Competition, the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, the St. Petersburg Opera Guild Competition, the Gershwin International Music Competition, the Pacific Musical Society Competition, and the Eastern, Southeastern, and At Large Regions of the NATS Artist Awards; Second Place in the Henry and Maria Holt Memorial Competition; Third Place in the Edward M. Murray International Competition of Voice, the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and the East Bay Opera League Competition, and Fifth Place/Special Encouragement Award from the Pasadena Vocal Competition. She is a Winner of the most recent Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Foundation Competition and the inaugural Butler Opera International Competition, as well as the Pasadena Opera Guild Competition and the San Francisco District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the recipient of Encouragement Awards from the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition and the Western Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council.