Lubov Karetnikova
soprano
© Olga Kuligina
Born in the USA, with Ulkainian roots, Lubov Karetnikova grew up in Latvia, where she studied at the Latvian Music Academy and the Lithuanian Academy for Music and Theatre and then the Mozartzeum in Salzburg. Her teachers inclulded Irena Milkevičiūtė, Barbara Bonney, Wolfgang Holzmair, Tamar Rachum and Liene Kinča. She also attended masterclasses held by Thomas Hampson and Clarry Bartha. During her studies she established a niche for herself as a versatile concert and opera singer. Roles have included Gilda (Rigoletto, Theater Hof), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte, Trentino) and Nannetta (Falstaff, Lithuanian National Philharmonic). Other recent engagements have included appearances at the Tirol Festival in Erl, as Juliette Vermont in Lehár's Der Graf von Luxemburg, the Teatri di Pistoia where she sang Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and again, for Latvian National Opera, where she sang Adina in Sven-Eric Bechtolf's production ofL’elisir d’amore. A sought-after Lieder and concert singer, she has appeared at venues including the Wigmore Hall, the Riga Guild Hall, Latvian National Theatre, the Dzintari concert hall and the Flagey in Brussels. She won the 2024 Debut Competition and sings roles for the first time and makes debuts at leading houses during the 2024/25 season including: Adina (L’elisir d’amore), for which she returns to Latvian National Opera. After these performances of Dittersdorf's Doctor and Pharmacist in Frankfurt she sings her first Donna Annas in Don Giovanni at Theater Meiningen, where she joins the Ensemble in 2025/26, singing, amongst others, the title role in Sarro's Didone and Mimì in Puccini's La bohème.