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The prima donna of the Lithuanian National Opera, a lyrico-spinto soprano Irena Milkevičiūtė (b. 1947), was a soloist of the Theatre since 1976. In 1978-79, during her traineeship in La Scala, she prepared the roles of Cio-Cio-San, Mimi and Violetta, sang in the concerts with “Piccolo Scala” in Milano, Rome and elsewhere. Milkevičiūtė is a winner and laureate of many international singing contests, including the Glinka vocal contest (1977) and the international Cio-Cio-San competition in Tokyo in 1986. There are more than 20 diverse roles in her operatic record. Milkevičiūtė was equally succesful with lyrical parts such as Mimi, Cio-cio-San, Dezdemona, and Micaëla, spinto parts such as Aida, Amelia and Floria Tosca, soprano dramatico di coloratura parts such as Norma and Violetta as well as dramatic-passionate parts such as Abigaille and Turandot. She sang with Irina Archipova, Dolora Zajick, Fiorenza Cossotto, Leo Nucci and many others. Milkevičiūtė has performed at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, Bolshoi Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre, Latvian National Opera, Accademia Nationale di Santa Cecilia, La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Savolinna Opera Festival in Finland, Split Festival in Croatia and others, as well as in numerous countries in Europe, North and South Americas. Prof. Irena Milkevičiūtė has been teaching singing at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre since 1988. In 2002 and 2003, she was awarded the Best Lithuanian Opera Soloist of the Year titles. Milkevičiūtė was married to the renowned tenor Gegam Grigorian, their daughter Asmik Grigorian is also an illustrious soprano. We can enjoy this video thanks to the 'Gegam Grigorian' playlist.
