"Lena would have fascinated Rossini! Lena Belkina, mezzo-soprano: one of those beautiful dark feminine voices, mysterious and sensual, Rossini – luckily for us – was enchanted by ..." 

- Sandro Cappelletto, La Stampa

Ukrainian mezzo-soprano Olena Leser (formerly Lena Belkina) studied at the R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music and the Pyotr Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine with Prof. Yevheniya Miroshnychenko, before completing her vocal studies with distinction at the "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig under the guidance of Prof. Roland Schubert. After winning first prize at the international Boris Hmyria International Singers’ Competition, she started her career as an ensemble member of the Leipzig Opera and the Vienna State Opera.

Her international breakthrough came as Angelina in a production of Rossini's La Cenerentola directed by Carlo Verdone and under the baton of Gianluigi Gelmetti, broadcast live by Radiotelevisione Italiana and streamed worldwide on numerous TV channels, before being awarded Italy's leading television prize, the Prix Italia. In addition, Lena made her debut at the prestigious Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro as Arsace in a production of Aureliano in Palmira directed by Mario Martone, later released on DVD by Arthaus.

Since then, Olena Leser has been a regular guest on international stages, appearing among others, as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Vienna State Opera and the Teatro Real in Madrid, as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf, the New National Theatre in Tokyo and the Grand Théâtre de Genève, as Angelina in La Cenerentola at the Leipzig Opera and the National Theatre in Prague, as Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, the Malmö Opera and the Opéra de Limoges, and as Varvara in Janáček's Káťa Kabanová at the Teatro Regio in Turin and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

After her debut at the Kyiv National Opera in 2016 as Angelina, Lena further appeared as Adalgisa in Bellini's Norma and in the title role of Bizet's Carmen, a role she first sang at the Bregenz Festival.

Further engagements include Sonia in Prokofiev's War and Peace and Smeton in a new production of Donizetti's Anna Bolena at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Angelina in La Cenerentola at the Leipzig Opera and as Polina in Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. At the Theater an der Wien, Lena starred in the title role of Handel's Teseo and as Joan of Arc in a new production of Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans, under the musical direction of Oksana Lyniv and directed by Lotte de Beer. At the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden she took on both the title role of Carmen and Ruggiero in Handel's Alcina, and subsequently appeared as Isaura in Rossini's Tancredi at the Théâtre de la Monnaie, as Nicklausse in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann at the New National Theatre in Tokyo, and as Elena in Rossini's La donna del lago at the Opéra de Lausanne. As part of the Handel Festival Karlsruhe, Olena Leser will make her role debut as Gismonda in Handel's Ottone conducted by Carlo Ipata.

Olena Leser is an equally sought-after soloist on the concert stage, having appeared previously as a soloist at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Beethovenhalle in Bonn and the Herkulessaal in Munich, among others. As part of José Carreras' farewell tour, she appeared as a soloist at the Vienna Konzerthaus and performed the alto part in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra under Fréderic Chaslin. At the Charity Concert in support of Ukraine promoted by the Vienna Musikverein in March 2022, she touched the audience with songs by the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Most recently the mezzo-soprano has performed in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the SWR Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart, Vienna and Freiburg, conducted by Jean-Christophe Spinosi, while at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, she could be heard in Bach's St. Matthew Passion. On the recital stage, she has performed at the Schubertiade Wieden, the Festival dos Capuchos in Almada, Portugal, and in Sion, Switzerland. In addition, she performed together with the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna under Karina Canellakis in Janáček's Glagolitic Mass at the Vienna Musikverein.

Olena Leser’s devotion to the bel canto repertoire is clear from her solo album "Dolci Momenti", with arias by Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti (Münchner Rundfunkorchester/ Alessandro De Marchi) released by Sony Classical. On the same label she released "Classic Vienna", an album featuring arias by Mozart, Gluck and Haydn (ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien/Andrea Sanguineti). In 2021, the label Solo Musica released her first lied album "Spring Night" dedicated to works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, which received Opus Klassik nomination under the category "Solo Vocal Recording". Her most recent award-winning solo album entitled "Passion for Ukraine" was released with Solo Musica and is dedicated to Ukrainian art and folk songs.

2024 | 2025

https://lenabelkina.com/

This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.