Olga Schalaewa
Olga Schalaewa made her musical studies at the Academy of Moscow, under the guidance of Michael Jurowski and Boris Pokrowskij. She subsequently was engaged in a tour with the Kammeroper of Moscow to Europe, Asia and Japan; there, she had the chance to debut in the roles of Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She made her debut at the Wiener Kammeroper in Alfred Schnittke’s Leben mit einem Idioten, followed by the successful performances as Serpina in La serva padrona, Julia in Die seidene Leiter and in the title role of Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha.
From 1994 to 1996 Olga Schalaewa has taken part in the Summer editions of the Mozart Festival in Schönbrunn, singing, among others, the roles of Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. In 1995 she debuted at the Wiener Volksoper in the role of Ofelia in Hamlet. This gave her the chance to start a successful collaboration with the Wiener Volksoper and Wiener Staatsoper, where she performed, since 1996, in Die Fledermaus (Adele), Eine nacht in Venedig (Anina) and Falstaff (Nannetta). Since 1997, she has appeared at the Salzburger Festspielen in the roles of Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) and Diana (Iphigénie en Tauride). 1998 was marked by the performance in the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus at the Komische Oper in Berlin and in Japan. The following year she was invited by the Bolschoi Theatre to sing in Lucia di Lammermoor (Lucia) and in Sostakovic’s The Nose at the Oper Leipzig. During 2000 she travelled to Munich, where she performed Die Dreigroschenoper (Lucy Brown) with the Bayerische Rundfunkorchester. In 2001 Olga Schalaewa made her successful debut on the stage of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Pannochka in May night. This gave her the chance to be re-invited by the Teatro Comunale in a new production of Pique Dame (Mascia), subsequently toured to Modena and Teatro Comunale di Ferrara. During the last Spring, again in Bologna, she appeared again in Bologna in Prodana nevesta and Jolantha, Vladimir Jurowski conducting. In Paris, she sang in Les noces with the Ensemble Intercontemporain de Paris, while at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, she performed in Gianni Schicchi (Nella) and The Bartered Bride (Esmeralda).