Svetlana Nikitenko

Voice & Piano

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Svetlana Nikitenko

About Svetlana Nikitenko

Ukrainian-born American soprano Svetlana Nikitenko began her professional career as an opera singer while still a conservatory student with the Mikhaylovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she spent four seasons appearing as the Queen of Shemakhan in Le Coq d’Or by N.Rimsky-Korsakov, Violetta in La Traviata by G. Verdi, Gilda in Rigoletto by G. Verdi, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia by G.Rossini, Marfa in The Tsar’s Bride by Rimsky-Korsakov, Chlöe in The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky and Emma in Khovanshchina by M. Mussorgsky. She also sang Gilda in Rigoletto and in the premiere of Die Zauberflöte by Mozart (Königin der Nacht) at Mariinsky Opera (St. Petersburg, Russia). She toured Italy, Greece, France, Germany and the United States. Svetlana’s American credits include recitals at New York’s Alice Tully Hall and appearances as Gilda with the Natchez Opera Festival. She has performed with Pocket Opera of San Francisco as Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina and Angelica in Handel’s Orlando. For Berkeley Opera, she performed the role of Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio, the title role of Serpentina in the world premiere of the opera, and appeared as Dew Fairy and Sandman (Hansel and Gretel). At the San Francisco Opera Center she sang the role of Maria in Manoury’s 60th parallel (with the Berkeley Symphony under Kent Nagano). She also portrayed “a memorable Mimi that rises to star caliber” (La bohème), Antonia (Tales of Hoffmann), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin) and Lucia di Lammermoor (Lucia di Lammermoor).

Ms. Nikitenko was a Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Finalist, received an Encouragement Award given by the Licia Albanese Puccini International Voice Competition, and is a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, where she participated in master classes with Dame Joan Sutherland and Carol Vaness and performed the role of Queen of the Night at Stern Grove Festival (San Francisco) and Meadowood (Napa, CA).

In 2003 she made her highly acclaimed San Francisco Opera debut as the Queen of the Night replacing an ailing singer. Her “Der Hölle Rache” stopped the show, as wild applause followed the aria’s first stanza. “Even if she hadn’t stepped in on short notice, the Russian coloratura’s technique and lovely voice more than earned the ovation she received”. She repeated the role of the Queen of the Night at San Francisco Opera in 2008.

Svetlana Nikitenko worked for a few seasons in the highly acclaimed show “Teatro ZinZanni” (San Francisco) in the role of the Diva.

Svetlana attended the National Academy of Music in Kiev, Ukraine where she earned her Masters Degree in Vocal Performance and Teaching.

Ms. Nikitenko is an experienced private voice teacher. She has been teaching for more than 15 years. In her lessons she focuses on the fundamentals of proper techniques which can be applied to any style of singing (opera, pop, musical theater). Ms. Nikitenko is also available to help with solos and audition preparation.

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