Russian opera singer Olga Shanina to perform at Palmerston North's Globe

Russian opera singer Olga Shanina now lives in Mangaweka.

International opera singer Olga Shanina will perform in Palmerston North on Sunday.

The occasion is the first concert for 2021 in the Globe Sunday Matinee series and Shanina will be accompanied by pianist Guy Donaldson.

Shanina was born in Ulyanovsk, in western Russia, into the family of a military pilot.

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 more than 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 invited several times to perform by the St Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic Society.

From 2004 until 2008 she was a senior lecturer at the Herzen State University Vocal Department in St Petersburg, as well as presenting master classes in Kazakhstan.

Donaldson has accompanied a number of distinguished artists including Dame Malvina Major, Anna Leese and violinist Hannah Fang, and has been a concerto soloist with the Manawatu Sinfonia.

Shanina was to have performed early in the 2020 Globe Concert series following teaching in China, but Covid-19 prevented her from visiting New Zealand.

She now lives in Mangaweka and the Globe will be the first major concert she is doing in New Zealand.

Shanina's concert on February 28 will therefore be significant. The performance will feature music by Bach as well as arias from Italian, French and Russian opera.

The 80-minute concert at the Globe Theatre starts at 2.30pm. Admission is by donation, recommended from $5.