Karina Flores

Karina Flores, also known as Karina Grigoryan, is a Russian opera singer who has sung leading soprano roles with companies in her native Russia as well as in other European countries. For eight seasons she was a soloist with Helikon Opera in Moscow and has gone on to sing at the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, amongst others. She made her American debut in 2018 as the soprano soloist in a performance of the War Requiem at the Kennedy Center conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. On disc Flores appears as Lisa in Israeli Opera's 2012 recording of Pique Dame conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

Life and career

Flores was born in the Russian city of Shakhty to parents of Armenian descent. She began her musical education at the conservatory in Shakhty and went on to study at the Rostov State Conservatory from 1999 to 2005. It was there that she made her stage debut in the title role of Madama Butterfly.

Flores was engaged as a soloist with Helikon Opera in 2006 and remained with the company for eight years. conducted by Christoph Campestrini and directed by Julian Roman Pölsler. In 2022, she performed in a symphonic concert featuring works by Shostakovich, Bizet, and Ernest Guiraud at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre conducted by Mihran Aghajanyan. The same season, she took on the title role in Aida at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe (2022–2023) conducted by Yura Yang and Johannes Willig and directed by Jasmina Hadziahmetovic. In 2023, she appeared as soprano soloist in Verdi's Requiem with the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra, Lithuania, conducted by Constantine Orbelian and Algimantas Liaučius. She returned to Oper Klosterneuburg in 2023 and 2024 as Elisabetta di Valois in Don Carlo, conducted by Christoph Campestrini and directed by Günther Groissböck , with Monica I. Rusu-Radman joining the production in its 2024 revival. In 2024, Flores performed the title role in Bellini's Norma at Oper Klosterneuburg, directed by Monica I. Rusu-Radman and conducted by Christoph Campestrini.

Repertory Role Opera ComposerLisaPique DamePyotr Ilyich TchaikovskySantuzzaCavalleria rusticanaPietro MascagniStephanaSiberiaUmberto GiordanoCio Cio SanMadama ButterflyGiacomo PucciniSoprano SoloistWar RequiemBenjamin BrittenSoprano SoloistRequiemWolfgang Amadeus MozartSuor AngelicaSuor AngelicaGiacomo PucciniFloria ToscaToscaGiacomo PucciniKaterina IsmajlovaLady Macbeth of MtsenskDmitri ShostakovichAmeliaUn ballo in mascheraGiuseppe VerdiElisabettaDon CarlosGiuseppe VerdiLeonoraLa forza del destinoGiuseppe VerdiDesdemonaOtelloGiuseppe VerdiSoprano SoloistRequiemGiuseppe VerdiAidaAidaGiuseppe VerdiNormaNormaVincenzo BelliniTatyanaEugen OneginPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyAdriana LecouvreurAdriana LecouvreurFrancesco CileaLeonoraIl trovatoreGiuseppe VerdiContessaThe Marriage of FigaroWolfgang Amadeus MozartRosinaThe Barber of SevilleGioachino Rossini