Marina Shakhdinarova

Selected for the twenty-fourth of Raina Kabaivanska's international master classes, Marina Shakhdinarova sang in the gala concert that closed it, at the Sofia Opera in October 2024. Born in Tbilisi, she began her musical training at six as a pianist and turned to singing at sixteen, graduating from the Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire in 2021; beside Kabaivanska she has worked in masterclasses with Barbara Frittoli, Orlin Anastassov, Paolo Arrivabeni and Giacomo Prestia. She took the Mirella Freni prize at the Vox Mutinae 'Nicolai Ghiaurov' competition in 2022, a special prize at the Magda Olivero competition in Milan in 2023, second prize at Voci Verdiane in Busseto in 2023 and second prize at the Ottavio Ziino competition in Rome in 2024. Her Mimì was heard at the Sofia Opera in 2023, the Teatro Carcano in Milan in 2024 and the Armenian National Opera in 2025, and in that role she made her Mariinsky Theatre debut in 2025. Her repertoire also includes the Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.