Biography

Elena Zaremba (born July 10, 1957) is a Russian-born mezzo-soprano long active in the United States. Zaremba was born in Moscow into a family of singers, and studied at the Gnessin State Musical College, joining the Bolshoi Opera in 1984 upon graduation. On the company's 1989 tour to La Scala she made her Western debut as Vanya in A Life for the Tsar. At this stage in her career she sang mainly Russian roles, such as Laura in The Stone Guest, the Innkeeper in Boris Godunov, Olga in Eugene Onegin, and Amelfa in The Golden Cockerel; other roles included Cherubino and Lola in Cavalleria rusticana. In 1990 Zaremba was engaged as Konchakovna for Prince Igor at the Royal Opera House, a performance which has been preserved on video.