“Outstanding”
Novinky.cz
Prague State Opera: A Stage That Feels Like Home
There are few things more fulfilling than returning to a theatre where you feel both challenged and understood. The Prague State Opera has become such a place for me. This season, I’ll be singing Santuzza once again — a role that has lived in my heart for years — and diving into the wild, surreal world of Mescalina in Le Grand Macabre.
I’m also excited about stepping into the shoes of Goneril in Aribert Reimann’s Lear. It’s an intense, emotional, modern work — and to be part of a brand-new production directed by Barbora Horáková-Joly is a privilege. I feel this role will stretch me in every way, and that’s what I long for as an artist.
It was also in Prague where I had the chance to embody another larger-than-life woman: Helen of Troy in Boito’s Mefistofele in 2024.
My very first encounter with the Prague State Opera came in 2022, in Plameny (Die Flammen) by Schulhoff, in a haunting production by Calixto Bieto. It was bold, intense, and unlike anything I had done before. The experience didn’t just mark my debut at the Prague State Opera – it also opened my door for my debut at the Janáček Opera Festival in Brno.
It was the beginning of something. A city I had only visited suddenly became a central stage of my life.
Santuzza: A Role Close to My Heart
Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana has become a cornerstone of my journey. I first joined the production at Teatro Goldoni during the Mascagni Festival in Livorno, covering the role for Sonia Ganassi (Orchestra della Toscana) and later stepping into it fully.
I’ve since performed both the original and later version of the opera, returning to Teatro Goldoni, as well as singing it in Teatro Chiabrera Savona, Teatro Morlacchi Perugia and Teatro Comunale di Todi, each time discovering something new in Santuzza’s raw, emotional depth.
In 2023, I brought the role to the Prague State Opera, a production that felt deeply personal. It’s a part I carry with me — vocally, emotionally, and spiritually.
“Victoria Khoroshunova shines in her roles.”
Orpheus Magazin
Where The Journey Began
I was born in Odessa, a city with deep cultural roots and a proud operatic tradition. That’s where my voice first found its path, in a quiet corner of the conservatory, learning to shape sound with discipline and emotion. But it was in Athens that things truly opened up—I studied at the Conservatory and met Hara Savino, who became not only a mentor but a true guiding force in my development. She helped me understand how to connect vocal technique with genuine dramatic instinct.
Later, I was accepted into the Santa Cecilia Opera Studio in Rome, where I had the unique opportunity to be around one of the true icons of the operatic stage, Renata Scotto. Being in her presence and witnessing her fierce artistry up close was nonetheless inspiring — a reminder of the power and charisma that opera at its highest level can embody.
More recently, I’ve had the great privilege of working under the guidance of Marcelo Álvarez.
Each city—Odessa, Athens, Rome—was more than a destination. They were chapters. And every teacher helped turn the page with me.
