ZHANNA ALKHAZOVA
SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Russian-American soprano Zhanna Alkhazova has most recently made her debut in the title role of TURANDOT with NJ Verismo Opera under the baton of Lucy Arner. Of this performance Opera News’ David Shengold wrote: “Zhanna Alkhazova wielded a bright, sword-flashing sound.” This season, Ms. Alkhazova is scheduled to make her Opera Connecticut house debut as NEDDA in I Pagliacci.
In the 2019-2020 season, Ms. Alkhazova was featured as LIZA in highlights from Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades with the Metropolitan Opera Guild at Lincoln Center. She also appeared as ELIZABETH in a concert performance of Verdi’s French version of Don Carlos. She then performed as the soprano soloist in Dvorak’s The Spectre’s Bride with Harvard University Chorus and Orchestra. Other appearances included her Jordan Hall debut in a joint recital of operatic highlights, same program with which she appeared at Carnegie Hall. Her spring performance with the Russian Chamber Art Society was praised by Leslie Weisman of the DCMetro calling her performance “masterful” and her voice “effortless…with an exquisite ease…”
Ms. Alkhazova made her Sarasota Opera debut in 2018 in the title role of MANON LESCAUT, when she stepped in for an ailing colleague. Of her performance in the title role as MANON LESCAUT with Regina Opera, James Jorden of the NY Observer wrote that she “flaunted a cool, silvery soprano with a high C whose poise Anna Netrebko might envy. What’s more, she made the unlikely “love at first sight” plot point in the first act utterly believable with the sort of beguiling flashing glances one reads about but seldom sees outside of an Ava Gardner film.” She made her Geneva Opera debut in the role of DONNA ELVIRA in Don Giovanni. Earlier in the season she debuted as TAMARA in Rubinstein’s The Demon with Commonwealth Lyric Opera.
Early professional engagements included the title role in TOSCA, LEONORA in Il Trovatore, the title role in IOLANTA and NEDDA in I Pagliacci. Ms. Alkhazova has sung with Des Moines Opera, Opera New Jersey, Opera Boston, New Rochelle Opera, Martha Cardona Opera Theater, Long Island Opera and others. Internationally, Ms. Alkhazova has performed in Italy, Ireland, Canada and Russia, where she headlined a critically acclaimed recital tour. She is a frequent featured soloist with the Refugee Orchestra Project and has been featured on the cover of a Russian-American magazine.
Ms. Alkhazova was awarded top prizes in the NJ Verismo Opera Competition, the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition, the Arkadi Foundation Competition and the Rhode Island NATS Competition. She was named finalist in the Career Bridges Competition, Kaliningrad International “Nightingale” Competition and a semi-finalist in The Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition and the Elizabeth Connell International Competition for Dramatic Sopranos.
Originally from Moscow, Russia, Ms. Alkhazova grew up in the New England area where she completed her studies, graduating with a Master of Music Degree from Boston University.