Maria Guleghina has released a statement regarding the last three years of her career.

The soprano took to social media and said, “Hi Friends! Everyone who has been worried and asking where I am and how I am doing. Thank you for your support. It’s time to tell you what happened and why I kept silent for so long. Life is a very interesting thing! Unexpectedly, it presents surprises. I haven’t sung for almost three years. First, there were COVID, then the attack on Artsakh and the 44-day war, the betrayal towards Armenia, and pressure to sign a capitulation agreement. And then the terrible attack on Ukraine, and again – on Artsakh. The exodus from our historical lands of more than 100,000 residents. I didn’t want to live.”

She continued, “The news of the closure of the IMPRESSARIO agency destroyed me, buried me alive… Frau Natalia Neumann, my general manager (and my daughter!), informed me about the closure of her agency after the fact! I am ashamed of all the wonderful artists who came to her agency and were similarly discarded. All of this drove me crazy. I’ve lost my footing.”

“And suddenly, a Japanese producer invited me to perform Tosca with the opera theate in Bologna! I thought about it and decided to go for it. Over these three dreadful years, I only sang about five times. There were galas with orchestras in Yerevan, Belgrade, Sofia. At least to bid farewell in a humane way to those who especially loved and appreciated me, where I sang with all the most important theatres and separately in many cities and halls. To bid farewell to the audience, who never betrayed me. I gathered my strength and got myself in shape for Japan – I lost 15 kg. After the success in Japan, I reflected on how I got to this point in my life. For me, the stage is my temple, my service! The meaning of life! How did all this become possible?”

She concluded, “I’m reminded of ‘Tosca’ in 2015 at the Marlinsky Theatre, where it was impossible not to encore ‘Vissi d’Arte.’ The audience demanded it! And two weeks later, my heart failed! Emergency transportation to the cardiac center in Munich and open-heart surgery. Even lying there with tubes, I tried to test my voice… it was as important to me as life. Exactly three months later, a contract at the Metropolitan Opera for Tosca! How could I cancel it? So what if there was a surgery! But I’m alive! I didn’t even want to tell the theate that l wasn’t entirely healthy, to put it mildly. The doctors, the surgeon who saw me in the corridor, still walking with a walker, scratched his head. «Impossible! Not earlier than 7-8 months at the earliest», – he said. I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me or offer discounts. I went and sang! No one noticed anything! I covered the terrible crimson scar with makeup and accessories. Because I couldn’t live and breathe without the stage, I left my son and flew to the other side of the world. And then they buried me alive, and it was my own daughter! I joined my daughter’s agency IMPRESSARIO, leaving behind all the most important agents in the opera world to give her the opportunity to work. And such a betrayal.”

Guleghina noted that she is now working with Priscilla Baglioni and that they have new plans and ideas for the next stage of her career.

The soprano recently performed in Japan with the Tatro Comunale di Bologna in Tosca and also gave a recital in Napoli following masterclasses.