KRISTINE OPOLAIS

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Kristīne Opolais (born 12 November 1979)is a Latvian operatic soprano. Her particular passion is for the operas of Puccini, and she has sung title roles in his work to widespread acclaim at the world's leading opera houses.

Opolais was born in Rēzekne, Latvia and studied at the Latvian Academy of Music.

She started her career as a member of the chorus with Latvian National Opera in 2001, and in 2003 became a soloist. It was there that she met her future husband, the conductor Andris Nelsons.

She first achieved wider recognition in 2006, when she made her debut at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, followed by debuts at 2008 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan and the Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna in 2008 and in October 2010 the Bavarian State Opera in the title role of Dvořák’s Rusalka in a new production directed by Martin Kušej.

In 2011, Opolais made her debut with London's Royal Opera, singing the title role in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, conducted by Nelsons. In 2013, she made her debut at The Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall, singing Verdi and Tchaikovsky arias, with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

On 5 April 2014, with just five and a half hours' notice, Opolais substituted as Mimi in the Metropolitan Opera's matinee performance of Puccini's La Bohème. The substitution was necessitated by the scheduled Anita Hartig being too ill to perform. Although Opolais had performed the role several times in the past, including at the Vienna State Opera, she was currently in the title role of another opera, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and had sung that there for the first time the previous evening. She hadn't fallen asleep until about 5am, when she was woken by a 7:30am phone call asking her to sing again at the 1pm matinee. Opolais is scheduled to perform in the same role in the Metropolitan Opera's 2014/15 season production of La Bohème.

Opolais' singing of Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly) with the Met has received positive reviews. The New York Observer noted her "soaring voice and penetrating theatrical presence", and that "she is the most compelling Met Cio-Cio-San since Diana Soviero last sang the role here nearly 20 years ago."

Her Mimi in La Bohème at the Met has also been praised. CDN noted that she "instantly meshed with the existing cast" and "found instant chemistry on stage" and has a "lovely, youthful, effortlessly nuanced voice".

Opolais is scheduled to perform the title role in Puccini's Manon Lescaut at Covent Garden in the 2013/14 season.

Opolais married her fellow Latvian, conductor Andris Nelsons in 2011.He was the Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2008–2015, and was appointed music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from the start of the 2014–2015 season.

Their daughter, Adriana Anna, was born in December 2011.