About
Kristina Mkhitaryan is a graduate of the Galina Vishnevskaya Studio School Moscow. She went on to study with Ruzanna Lisician at Gnesinss Music College and upon completion continued her vocal education at the Gnessin Academy of Music. After finishing the academy, Kristina trained in the Bolshoi Theatre’s Youth Opera Program under the guidance of Dmitry Vdovin. This was an important step in her professional growth.
A wonderful competitor, Kristina has won multiple awards throughout her career, most notably Second Prize at the 2017 Operalia Competition. Earlier prizes include a diploma at the 24th Glinka International Vocal Competition (2011) and first prize at the Bella Voce, International Competition (2004). She took second prize at the 2012 Obukhova Singing Competition, Lipetsk, became a finalist at the Hans Gabor Belvedere International competition, Vienna, and tookthird place at the Francisco Vinas 49th International Singing Competition, Barcelona in the same year. She also won first prize at the Queen Sonja International Competition in Oslo (2013), 3rd prize at the Neue Stimmen Competition (2013) and first prize at the Viotti Competition in Vercelli (October 2014).
Kristina has worked with many established conductors including Bertrand de Billy, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Domingo Hindoyan, Placido Domingo, Yuri Bashmet, Lorenzo Viotti, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Fedor Beznosikov, Sasha Yankevych, Evelino Pidò, Marco Armiliato, Renato Palumbo, Fabio Biondi, Mikhail Granovsky, Maxim Emelyanychev, Philipp Chizhevsky, Dmitry Sinkovsky, Yves Abel, Konstantin Orbelyan, Leonardo García Alarcón, Jakub Hrůša, Anton Grishanin and Jan Latham-Koenig to name a few.
Career highlights have included her performance as Micaëla in Barrie Kosky’s Carmen at the Royal Opera House, La Traviata at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, Palm Beach Opera, ROH Muscat, Opera di Roma in Caracalla and Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. She has also performed Rigoletto(Gilda) with Opera Australia, Hamburgische Staatsoper and Opera Bastille, Eugene Onegin (Tatiana) at the Royal Opera and Ballet London, Liceu Barcelona and Teatro Real Madrid and Il Corsaro(Medora) at the Palau de les Arts Valencia. During her studies in the Bolshoi Theatre’s Youth Opera Program, Kristina performed several operas on the country’s main stage. These included La Traviata, Rigoletto, Don Pasquale, La Sonnambula, The Tsar’s Bride, The Story of Kay and Gerda and others. Kristina debuted with Dutch National Opera in Eliogabalo (Anicia Eritea), returning there in 2023 for her role debut in the title role of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda. She has also performed I Capuleti e I Montecchi (Giulietta) and La traviata at Bergen Opera, Les Indes Galantes and Il Giasone by Cavalli at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, as well as La Traviata and Rinaldo (Armida) at Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Kristina is also regularly engaged at the Wiener Staatsoper, with roles there including La Traviata, L’elisird’Amore (Adina) Carmen (Micaëla), Turandot (Liù), Massenet’s Manon and Les Pêcheurs de perles (Leila). She recently made her role debut as Mimi in La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera, having previously performed the role of Musetta there.
Kristina’s concert repertoire includes Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Gorecki’s Third Symphony, Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and the cantata Il Delirio Amoroso with the Radio France Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Alarcon. A couple of years ago, she performed concert versions of two one-act operas by Rachmaninoff Francesca da Rimini and Aleko – with the Munich Radio Orchestra, as well as a concert version of Donizetti’s Maria Padilla at the Teatro de la Maestranza. Not so long ago, Kristina performed a concert version of the opera La Bohème in Armenia, at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in Yerevan. In addition, Kristina gives chamber concerts, mostly of Russian romances, which she has performed, among other places, at London’s Wigmore Hall. From time to time, she also gives solo concerts featuring Russian, French and Italian music.
