Marina Poplavskaya

Marina Poplavskaya (; born September 1977) is a Russian operatic soprano. Her repertoire includes leading roles in operas of the Romantic era; she is particularly known for her performances in the operas of Verdi.

Early life and training Born in Moscow and educated at the Ippolitov-Ivanov State Music Institute there with professor Peter Tarasov, She became a soloist at Moscow's Novaya Opera Theatre, where she performed during 1996–98,

In December 2007 after a successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Natasha in Prokofiev's War and Peace. In 2009 she also sang Violetta with great success at the Los Angeles Opera.

She secured the role of Violetta at the Met in 2010 after Anna Netrebko dropped out. In the 2011–2012 season Poplavskaya performed Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, including in the Met's HD simulcast on 10 December 2011, and in the fall of 2013 she sang five performances as Tatiana in the Met's new production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Vivian Schweitzer, reviewing the performance for The New York Times, wrote that "Poplavskaya lacks the voluptuous sound of Anna Netrebko, who sang the role of Tatiana on opening night, but offered a more arresting portrayal dramatically."

In October 2014, Poplavskaya withdrew from the Met's productions of The Marriage of Figaro and La traviata. The Met's general manager, Peter Gelb, stated that Poplavskaya "is a wonderful performer, but I know she’s been having some vocal difficulties in recent months." Operabase shows no engagements for her after 2014.

According to a 2020 portrait in Operawire, Poplavskaya was struggling with her voice after her pregnancy in 2014, but has returned to performing and recording, now as a mezzo-soprano, since 2019.

Videos 2008: Verdi's Don Carlo (Rolando Villazón as Don Carlo, Marina Poplavskaya as Elizabeth, Simon Keenlyside as Rodrigo, Sonia Ganassi as Eboli, Ferruccio Furlanetto as Philip II, Eric Halfvarson as the Grand Inquisitor), conducted by Antonio Pappano, performed at the Royal Opera House on 14 and 17 June and 3 July 2008 2008: Verdi's Otello (Aleksandrs Antonenko as Otello, Marina Poplavskaya as Desdemona, Carlos Álvarez as Iago), Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Riccardo Muti, performed at the Salzburg Festival on 5–10 August 2008 2009: Puccini's Turandot (Maria Guleghina as Turandot, Marcello Giordani as Calàf, Marina Poplavskaya as Liù, Samuel Ramey as Timur), conducted by Andris Nelsons, performed at the Metropolitan Opera on 7 November 2009 2010: Verdi's Simon Boccanegra (Plácido Domingo as Simon Boccanegra, Marina Poplavskaya as Amelia, Ferruccio Furlanetto as Fiesco, Joseph Calleja as Gabriele Adorno), conducted by Antonio Pappano, performed at the Royal Opera House on 2, 5 and 13 July 2010 2010: Bizet's Carmen (Béatrice Uria-Monzon as Carmen, Roberto Alagna as Don José, Marina Poplavskaya as Micaëla, Erwin Schrott as Escamillo), conducted by Marc Piollet, performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in October 2010 2010: Verdi's Don Carlo (Roberto Alagna as Don Carlo, Marina Poplavskaya as Elizabeth, Simon Keenlyside as Rodrigo, Anna Smirnova as Eboli, Ferruccio Furlanetto as Philipp II, Eric Halfvarson as the Grand Inquisitor), conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, performed at the Metropolitan Opera on 11 December 2010 2011: Gounod's Faust (Jonas Kaufmann as Faust, Marina Poplavskaya as Maguerite, René Pape as Méphistophélès), conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, performed at the Metropolitan Opera on 10 December 2011 2012: Verdi's Il Trovatore (Marina Poplavskaya as Leonora, Misha Didyk as Manrico, Scott Hendricks as Count di Luna, Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo as Azucena), conducted by Marc Minkowski, performed at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in June 2012 2012: Meyerbeer's Robert le diable (Bryan Hymel as Robert, Marina Poplovskaya as Alice, Patrizia Ciofi as Isabelle, John Relyea as Bertram, Jean-François Borras as Raimbaut), conducted by Daniel Oren, performed at the Royal Opera House on 15 December 2012