Olga Shanina (Soprano) with Guy Donaldson (Piano)

When Russian opera singer Olga Shanina last sang in a Globe Sunday Matinee concert in 2021 one of the members in the capacity audience observed that it was the best concert he had attended in the history of the series. Sadly Covid 19 intervened, and it has not been possible until this year to have a return concert by this notable singer.

Olga Shanina was born in Ulyanovsk, Russia. As a graduating student in the Rimsky- Korsakov St Petersburg State Conservatory she performed the role of Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, and this was to become her signature role, having performed it over 100 times. She has also performed leading roles in Rigoletto, Un ballo in maschera, La Boheme, Die Fledermaus, and Carmen, as well as roles in a number of Russian operas less well known in the west. In addition to her opera roles she was several times invited by the St Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic Society to perform. Olga has been a soloist with the M.P. Mussorgsky- Mikhailovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre, and winner of numerous international competitions. Following operatic appearances in Shanghai in 2016 Olga has had a close connection with China giving various concerts and masterclasses in Beijing Conservatory and being a judge in the China-Russia International Music Competition in 2017. She received a government award for concert activities in Southern China and has continued to be involved as a teacher of singing in China as a professor. Her connection with New Zealand was initially by way of a social cultural exchange visit.

In her 2024 Globe Sunday Matinee concert Olga will sing a bracket of songs by Vivaldi, Handel and Caccini; Russian songs by Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov and Rubinstein; well-known Italian arias by Puccini and Verdi; and familiar songs by Grieg, Mascagni, Franck, and Johann Strauss.

She will be accompanied at the Steinway grand piano by well-known local pianist Guy Donaldson, who will also play piano solos by Grieg and Rachmaninov.

Admission is by koha, recommended from $5.