Lyric soprano Lubov Karetnikova, a First Prize winner of the Debut Competition 2024, is celebrated for her powerful and clear voice, captivating stage presence, and refined musicality. Born in the United States and raised across Switzerland, Latvia, and Ukraine, she channels her multicultural upbringing into a unique approach to her art.
Since the 2025/2026 season, Lubov has been a member of the ensemble at Staatstheater Meiningen, where she has embodied roles including Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème, Didone in Domenico Sarro’s Didone abbandonata, and Freia in Wagner’s Das Rheingold.
Highlights of the 2026/2027 season include her return to Oper Frankfurt as Emilia in Handel’s Flavio, Re de’ Longobardi, a role she also reprises in a second production at Staatstheater Meiningen. She further appears as Mimì in a new production of La Bohème at Landestheater Detmold, and makes her role debuts at Meiningen as Télaïre in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux, Vitellia in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, and Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff, alongside a return as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Previous highlights include her house debut at Oper Frankfurt as Rosalia in Doktor und Apotheker, Adina in L’elisir d’amore at the Latvian National Opera, Juliette Vermont in Der Graf von Luxemburg at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at Teatri di Pistoia, and Gilda in Rigoletto at Theater Hof.
A passionate chamber musician with a diverse repertoire, Lubov has collaborated with numerous festivals and cultural institutions, performing at venues including Wigmore Hall, Riga Guild Hall, Blackheads House, the Latvian National Theatre, Dzintari Concert Hall, and Flagey.
She trained at the Latvian Academy of Music, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and the Mozarteum University Salzburg, specializing in opera, art song, and oratorio. Her artistic development has been shaped by distinguished teachers including Barbara Bonney, Irena Milkevičiūtė, Wolfgang Holzmair, and Pauliina Tukiainen, and further enriched through masterclasses with Tamar Rachum, Thomas Hampson, Clarry Bartha, Marek Ržepka, Inga Kalna, and Liene Kinča.
Concerti.de / inSüdthüringen, 2025 – Roberto Becker
“Even at the beginning of her career, the young Lubov Karetnikova is a sensational Donna Anna who gives rise to the highest hopes.”
Neue Musikzeitung (NMZ), 2025 – Joachim Lange
“Combining beguiling youthful freshness with shocking emotional depth: Lubov Karetnikova’s Donna Anna.”
Diena, 2024 – Inese Lūsiņa
“The role of Adina fits Lubov Karetnikova’s lyric soprano like a glove, allowing her to showcase both the beautiful timbre and the rich variety of vocal colors, as well as nuanced articulation and vocal agility in the many instrumental-type passages and coloraturas with which Adina’s part is especially rich. Lubov Karetnikova’s performance also demonstrates an excellent sense of style. The singer’s double debut (both as Adina and at the Latvian National Opera) is truly brilliant.”
