Olga Peretyatko


Olga Alexandrovna Peretyatko is a Russian operatic soprano. She has been known for coloratura soprano roles particularly in operas by Rossini and Mozart. In recent years, she further explores heavier roles in bel canto repertoire and more lyrical roles. She was noticed internationally after performing the title role in Stravinsky's The Nightingale in 2009.

Early life and studies

Peretyatko was born in Leningrad, to Russian mother and Ukrainian father, a baritone singer in the choir of the Mariinsky Theatre. After her parents' divorce when she was 7, she moved to Visaginas, in the Lithuanian SSR, to live with her mother. In 1995 she returned to her native city to live with her father. She then joined the Mariinsky Children's Choir, singing second alto, meanwhile studying choral conducting at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. As opposed to initial perception as a mezzo-soprano, she transitioned to soprano when starting private studies with Larisa Gogolevskaya in 2000.
Peretyatko first arrived to Berlin as a tourist in 2001. Impressed, she moved in the following year and began studies at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" with Brenda Mitchell, living in a student booth in Prenzlauer Berg. She remained in the city after graduation, residing in an apartment on Nollendorfplatz.
She has won the International Belcanto Prize at Rossini in Wildbad, second prize and Mozart prize at DEBUT Competition in Bad Mergentheim. In 2007, she won second prize at Operalia.
She started taking occasional private lessons with soprano Mariella Devia, whom she admires, since 2013.

Career

Parallel to her studies, Peretyatko participated in the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg, where she made her opera debut, as Theofane in Harry Kupfer's production of Handel's Ottone. She also performed Tamiri in Meyerbeer's Semiramide at 2005 Rossini in Wildbad, which was recorded and later released on CD. From 2005 to 2007, she participated in the Young Artists' Program of the Hamburg State Opera. A participant of Alberto Zedda's Accademia Rossiniana, in 2006, she performed in Il viaggio a Reims as Contessa di Folleville and Corinna at the Rossini Opera Festival. She returned to the following editions, singing Desdemona, Giulia, Aldamira, and the title role in Matilde di Shabran.
In 2007, she debuted at the Berlin State Opera as a flowermaiden in Wagner's Parsifal and performed Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann at the Komische Oper Berlin. In November, she debuted in Paris in as Anne Trulove in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. She then performed the Voice from Heaven in Verdi's Don Carlo conducted by Lorin Maazel at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, where she later returned as the Forest Bird in Wagner's Siegfried conducted by Zubin Mehta. In 2008, she debuted as Gilda in Rigoletto at the Teatro Rojas in Toledo, later at the Theater Lübeck and Teatro Comunale di Bologna. She also performed Adele in Die Fledermaus at the Opéra National de Lyon.
Peretyatko gained international attention when she performed the title role in Robert Lepage's production of Stravinsky's The Nightingale which premiered at the Canadian Opera Company in 2009 and later reprised at the 2010 Aix-en-Provence Festival and in subsequent seasons at the Opéra National de Lyon, the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York and De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam. In 2010, she debuted at the Lausanne Opera in Rossini's Otello. She was also praised as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Gilda. She performed at the 2010 edition of La Folle Journée in Nantes in a concert with Sinfonia Varsovia, and Strauss' Four Last Songs in the following edition.
In 2011, she debuted as Adina in L'elisir d'amore at the Opéra de Lille, then the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, and Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi. She went on performing Adina at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Lausanne Opera, and Hamburg State Opera. In 2012, she debuted as the title role in Alcina at the Lausanne Opera, Fiorilla in Il turco in Italia at De Nederlandse Opera, and Elvira in I puritani at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. She reprised Lucia at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and performed in Carmina Burana under Paavo Järvi at the Rheingau Musik Festival and a concert performance of The Nightingale with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit.
In 2013, she participated in a run of Lucio Silla conducted by Marc Minkowski as Giunia presented at the Mozartwoche, Salzburg Festival, and Musikfest Bremen. In September she sang Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Hamburg State Opera. She primarily performed roles such as Gilda, Marfa in The Tsar's Bride, Adina, and Fiorilla. On 26 November 2013, she made her first performance at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow in a solo concert with the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev. Originally signed as Fiakermilli in Arabella, she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in I puritani in 2014. She was featured in the 2014 Concert de Paris, an annual event celebrating Bastille Day, in Bruckner's Te Deum at the Salzburg Festival, and Tancredi in concert form conducted by Alberto Zedda, as well as concert tours of Munich Symphony Orchestra and Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
In 2015, she debuted to rave reviews as Violetta in La traviata at the Lausanne Opera, followed by a new production of the same title at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. She returned to the Vienna State Opera for I puritani, and then debuted at the Teatro Regio in Turin in the same opera. Besides returning to La Scala for Rossini's Otello, she debuted at the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen and La Monnaie in Bruxelles in L'elisir d'amore. She returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Rigoletto, which was followed by engagements in the same opera through the season, including revivals at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and a new production at the Opéra Bastille.
In 2017, she sang the main role of Leïla in Wim Wenders's take on Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

Personal life

Peretyatko met conductor Michele Mariotti while working on Rossini's Sigismondo in 2010. They married in August 2012. They lived between Berlin, Pesaro, their respective homes, and Bologna, where they jointly owned a residence.
On 29 June 2018 she announced on Facebook the filing of divorce and withdrawal from the upcoming production of Don Giovanni at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna which was conducted by her ex-husband. In the same year she took up residence in Lucerne.
Being a karate red-belt, which she practiced in her childhood, she also does yoga and jogging for relaxation and fitness and enjoys electronic music.
Besides native Russian, she is also fluent in German, Italian, English in addition to slightly limited French.

Awards