Yelizaveta Lavrovskaya

Yelizaveta Andreyevna Lavrovskaya (Russian: Елизавета Андреевна Лавровская; October 13 [O.S. October 1] 1845 – February 4, 1919) was a Russian mezzo-soprano praised for her dramatic performances of operatic arias and her sensitive interpretations of lieder.

An acquaintance of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, she suggested that he compose an opera based on Alexander Pushkin's verse-play Eugene Onegin. Tchaikovsky followed her suggestion; the result was the composer's finest opera.

Born in Kashin, Lavrovskaya studied first at the Elizabeth Institute in Moscow under Fenzi, then at the St. Petersburg Conservatory under Henriette Nissen-Saloman. The Grand Duchess Yelena Pavlovna, the German-born aunt of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and royal sponsor of both the Russian Musical Society and the St. Petersburg Conservatory, was impressed by Lavrovskaya's performance in a student presentation of Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice. She sent Lavroskaya to Paris in 1867 to study with French mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot. Upon her return in 1868, Lavroskaya was engaged by the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera, making her professional debut as Vanya in Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar. Lavrovskaya later sang Ratmir in Ruslan and Lyudmila, along with many other mezzo-soprano roles, including Carmen and Mignon. She stayed with the company four years, after which she went to Paris for further studies with Viardot and to further develop her concert career. After a series of European tours, she was re-engaged by the St. Petersburg Imperial Opera, singing there from 1878 to 1902. She also appeared at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow during the 1890 season.

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