Elena Nikulshina-Fray

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Elena Nikulshina-Fray, soprano, is a Russian-born performer and educator whose career spans opera, concert repertoire, and contemporary music. A native of Vladivostok, Russia, she made her operatic debut as Tosca and  appeared in countless performances as a soloist with the Peterburg-Concert in St. Petersburg, Russia, with additional engagements including Samara Opera, Nizhniy Novgorod Opera, Knoxville Opera Company, Asheville Lyric Opera, and more.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano from Cherepovets Music College and a Master’s degree in Voice from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory of Music in St. Petersburg. Her repertoire includes leading roles such as Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera), Leonora (Il Trovatore), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Lisa (The Queen of Spades), Iolanta (Iolanta), Yaroslavna (Prince Igor), Ghita (Der Zwerg), Colombina (Arlequin), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Nedda (I Pagliacci), Tosca (Tosca)

An accomplished concert artist, Ms. Nikulshina-Fray has collaborated with numerous contemporary composers such as S. Slonimsky, B. Tischenko, U. Kornakov, A. Popov, A. Radvilivich, G. Korchmar, and others, and is known for championing rarely performed works, including Hindemith’s Das Marienleben, Zemlinsky’s Songs, Op. 27, Medtner’s Sonata-Vocalise and Suite-Vocalise, and Denisov’s Italian Songs.

In addition Ms. Nikulshina-Fray is the founder of ElenaVoce Studio, where she teaches singers of all levels using her own method, Comprehensive Vocal Workout, focused on building healthy, balanced, and expressive voices through classical technique. Her students win countless awards in various vocal competitions, participate in Houston Grand Opera productions. She currently resides in Houston, TX, maintaining an active performing and teaching career.