Russian-American Mezzo-Soprano Mariya Kaganskaya recently created the role of Teacher in the Santa Fe Opera’s world premiere production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, the recording of which earned the 2019 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. For Florida Grand Opera, she has performed Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Charlotte (cover)/Käthchen in Werther, Paula in Florencia en el Amazonas, Page in Salome, and Mrs. Rockefeller/Natalia in Frida. She recently performed Tisbe in La Cenerentola, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and Third Wood Sprite in Rusalka at Arizona Opera.
In the 2019-2020 Season, Ms. Kaganskaya makes virtual debuts with Baltimore Concert Opera, Bronx Opera, and PROJECT [BLANK], and is the the first US-based artist available for virtual gig booking on Lockdown Presents. Pre-lockdown performances included Malka in the premiere of Elijah's Violin.
Upcoming/postponed appearances include Ludmila in The Bartered Bride and a debut as the Mezzo soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, as well as a debut with Opera Ithaca.
Other recent roles include Olga in Eugene Onegin, Hostess in Boris Godunov, Marta in Iolanta, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea, the title role of Serse, La Nourrice in Milhaud's Médée, Mexican Woman in A Streetcar Named Desire, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, Julia Bertram in Mansfield Park, and Malka in the premiere of Elijah’s Violin. 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 Lois Alba Aria Competition, the St. Petersburg Opera Guild Competition, the Gershwin International Music Competition, the Pacific Musical Society Competition, and the Eastern Region 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. 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.
Ms. Kaganskaya is represented by Piper Artists Management.
"The Three Ladies who collectively act as saviors, facilitators, and provocateurs add a delightful touch with their prodding and probing humor... A real pleasure is the beautiful tight harmonies of the Three Ladies (Maria Brea, Melissa Bonetti Luna, and Mariya Kaganskaya)”
- Cordellreports, September 2024
"Maria Brea, Melissa Bonetti Luna and Mariya Kaganskaya cast a delicious spell in their trios.”
“Lexicon Classics has released Mariya Kaganskaya’s latest album, which is a heartfelt dedication to classical and folk lullabies from various cultures.”
- Francisco Salazar, OperaWire , May 2023
“Both Kaganskaya and Gladysheva perform the lullabies in a direct, unaffected manner, and with tonal beauty, all qualities that suit the repertoire in a most gratifying way. ”
- Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine, November/December 2023
“The Brahms Wiegenlied, so well known, is given a tender performance here. Kaganskaya has a lovely, rounded tone that suits the music well."
"Paolo Tosti's Ninna Nanna sits well here. The vocal range is placed nicely in the low to middle register, allowing Kaganskaya's rich voice to shine."
"If ever proof were needed of the strength of Clara Schumann's output, Die gute Nacht, die ich dir sage should offer conclusive evidence. It is a masterly composition: The harmonies are rich and beautifully laid out on the piano, and the melody is inspired (and offers a fine vehicle for Kaganskaya's legato)."
"It's lovely to see some Gretchaninov here, the Lullaby, op. 1/5, which some vocally oriented readers might know from Joan Sutherland's recording. Dame Joan is, of course, inimitable, but it does feel as if there is more authenticity to Kaganskaya and Gladysheva's account. Perhaps it has to do with familiarity with the Russian language, but the words have added depth in this new performance."
"Gladysheva's arrangement of a Ukrainian lullaby is similarly effective, especially given the way Kaganskaya sings with almost palpable longing."
"Liadov’s […] Op. 22 is just as attractive […] The harmonic sensitivity and linear awareness demonstrated by Gladysheva in this recording are exemplary, and Kaganskaya's words seem to drip with meaning."
"Finally, there comes the song written for this album for solo voice, Little Dreamer, charmingly delivered by Kaganskaya. [...] Ultimately, this is a lovely collection of lullabies, nicely varied and well performed.”
“Ms. Kaganskaya held my attention with every note she sang. Her mezzo-soprano solid strength was the perfect compliment to Butterfly’s emotional soprano.”
- Splash Magazines , October 2023
"Mezzo Mariya Kaganskaya plays a strong Suzuki — wise, mysterious, and always knowing more than she lets on. During the flower-strewing scene (in anticipation of Pinkerton's return), the unison passages between her and Palmertree are gorgeous.”
“Making fine impressions along the way is also mezzo-soprano [Mariya] Kaganskaya whose Polina [...] sings a sad ballad that features her clear, wonderfully deep tones followed by a merrier dance that offers wonderful contrast of style."
"Kaganskaya returns with Sarah Benzinger to draw one of the night’s biggest rounds of applause as they play Shepherd Milovzor and Shepherdess Prilepa, respectively, singing in robust melodies a playlet that [...] reflects the storyline of the greater opera.”
- Eddie Reynolds, Theatre Eddys , May 2022
“Mezzo Mariya Kaganskaya was an engaging Madam Larina [...] she seemed to relish her part.”
“Mariya Kaganskaya [...] brought a rich mezzo to Beppe’s soulful interventions.”
- David Shengold, OPERA Magazine (London), February 2022
“In the trouser role of the gypsy violinist Beppe, Mariya Kaganskaya pleased with her vivacity and her plummy mezzo.”
- Eric Myers, Opera News, December 2021
"I wish 'L’Amico Fritz' had more Beppe. Mascagni gave some of the most interesting music to the fun and amusingly melodramatic gypsy who mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya brought to life."
- Chris Ruel, OperaWire, November 2021
“As Beppe, Russian-born mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya revealed a striking earthy timbre [...] Kaganskaya has potential for more dramatic mezzo repertory.”
- Eli Jacobson, Parterre box, November 2021
“Mariya Kaganskaya did a lovely job with her aria.”
"Sandman Mariya Kaganskaya and Dew Fairy Megnot Toggia are lovely in their roles"
- Barbara Adams, Ithaca Times, December 2021
"This performance is likely to convert all non-opera fans to opera fans, with the energy, personality and musical expression given throughout her four pieces! Mariya took us through the ages, with Handel’s “Ombra Mai Fu” from Serse, Mozart’s “Voi Che Sapete” from Le Nozze di Figaro, Bizet’s “Habanera” from Carmen and then ending with Strauss’s “Sein wir wieder gut” from Ariadne auf Naxos."
- Fiona Veitch. musicstories.co, April 2021
"Mariya Kaganskaya was perfectly cast as Auntie Malka, with her rich mezzo-soprano voice and portrayal of mature wisdom."
- Deon Neilsen Price, Journal of the International Alliance for Woman in Music, November 2019
"Mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya excelled in the dual roles of haughty Mrs. Rockefeller and fed-up Natalia Trotsky."
- Carly Gordon, Schmopera, March 2019
"Mariya Kaganskaya se ganó sus aplausos como Mrs. Rockefeller y Natalia Trotsky."
"Mezzo soprano Mariya Kaganskaya does a wonderful job as Cherubino with her impish smile and on stage athleticism."
- Jack Gardner, Outclique Magazine, February 2019
"[The Count's] frustration at never getting the better of Cherubino is hilarious, as is Mariya Kaganskaya’s portrayal in the pants-role of the sex-crazed page, her breathless ‘Non so più’ and the lyrical ‘Voi che sapete’ both excellent."
"As the quarreling married couple, Paula and Álvaro, the mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya and baritone William Lee Bryan, brought out the pathos, pain and disillusionment that their harsh words represented. Late in the opera, when Paula thinks Álvaro has died in a storm, Kaganskaya’s [sic.] sang with solemn passion and luminous tones over eerie orchestral dissonances."
- David Fleshler, South Florida Classical Review, April 2018
“The Herodias (Elizabeth Bishop), Page (Mariya Kaganskaya), Jews and Nazarenes were all excellent.”
- Jean-François Lejeune, Opera News, April 2018
“... mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya enacted competently the Page in love with Narraboth.”
- Palm Beach Arts Paper, February 2018
“Mariya Kaganskaya showed a sizable mezzo as Herodias's Page.”- Lawrence Budmen, South Florida Classical Review, January 2018
“Mariya Kaganskaya […] showcased her luscious tone as a Teacher lecturing on the importance of the ensō during Jobs’ brief stint at the Reed College.”- Arya Roshanian, OperaWire, August 2017
“Smaller roles were admirably conveyed by […] mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya (as a calligraphy teacher)…”
“Mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya was an ambivalent but willing Dorabella, succumbing to the seductive blandishments of a very persuasive Joseph Lattanzi. Both have voices we would describe as creamy-dreamy.”
- Meche Kroop, Voce di meche, April 2017
“[T]he soloists didn’t hold back, launching full throttle into the performance, pouring the emotion of each song out through their posture, expressions, and voices.”
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“Katrina Galka and Mariya Kaganskaya as Clorinda and Tisbe, Angelina’s stepsisters, as well as Stefano de Peppo as their father, Don Magnifico, dove wholeheartedly into the comedy of their characters.”
“Galka’s Clorinda and Mariya Kaganskaya’s Tisbe kept the laughs coming.”
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“Her warm mezzo tones definitely captured the rhetoric of the English text, and I must confess an inability to say whether she was equally attentive to the Russian portion. (I have every reason to believe she was!)”
- Stephen Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio, October 2016
“Mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya made a fine Innkeeper with a lovely voice and stage presence.”
- Meche Kroop, Voce di meche, August 2016
“… Kaganskaya was focused as Iolanta’s caretaker, Marta.”
- Steven Winn, San Francisco Classical Voice, April 2016
“… Mariya Kaganskaya […] delighted the crowd with a pathos-filled delivery of “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” from Bizet’s Carmen.”
- Yoshi Kato, downbeat.com, April 2016
“A gala concert featured impressive, mature performances by […] mezzo Mariya Kaganskaya, top winner in the ages 19-25 category…”- Janos Gereben, San Francisco Examiner, December 2014
“The singing from Crystal Kim, Mariya Kaganskaya, and Andres Ramirez was exquisite, the complex nature of their characters’ situations made all the more palpable by the very youth of the singers themselves.”
“Mezzo Mariya Kaganskaya’s lordly Mme. Pernelle fluted away like some magnificently plumed bird.”
“Several longer numbers were especially effective. Kaganskaya shone in her sometimes fatuous, sometimes scolding praise of Tartuffe.”
- Steven Winn, San Francisco Classical Voice, December 2013
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