Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina is a voice you're probably about to hear quite a lot of, as she's currently on stage at the Metropolitan Opera taking on the title role of Bizet's Carmen. At just 27 years old, she's the youngest artist to play the role at the Met – and is about to repeat the feat again across the pond in April as she returns to the role at the Royal Opera House in London.
This, paired with the fact that she's just signed a deal with Decca Classics, means she's probably not going to be a 'rising star' for much longer.
Her musical journey began in a village in the Ural Mountains in Russia's Bashkortostan, and at 18 she enrolled on the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House.
To tie in with her signing on Decca, Aigul Akhmetshina has just released her first single 'Habanera'. Her debut album will include arias from Carmen, as well as a folk song from her region in the Ural Mountains.
