Yulia Vakula

Mezzo-soprano

Yulia Vakula graduated with honours from the Galina Vishnevskaya College of Musical and Theatrical Arts (Moscow, 2019) and the Russian State Specialized Academy of Arts (Moscow, 2024).

She is the laureate of international competitions, including the XI St Petersburg International Opera Singers Competition (2024, First Prize), the II Hibla Gerzmava International Competition for Vocalists and Accompanists(Moscow, 2025, First Prize). Yulia participated in the Elena Obraztsova Foundation’s Opera Class project (2023), the Opera Institute Educational Project (2023), the Ildar Abdrazakov Summer School (2024), the Teatralny Bulvar Festival (Moscow, 2024) and the VII Ildar Abdrazakov Music Festival (2024).

In the 2023/2024 season, she performed solo parts in Mozart’s Requiem, Nelson Mass and Haydn’s Theresia Mass at the Moscow International House of Music. Her repertoire includes the titular role in Bizet’s Carmen, the roles of Rosina (Rossini’s El Barbero de Sevilla), Dorabella (Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte), Cherubino (Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro), Madame Flora (Menotti’s The Medium), Maddalena (Verdi’s Rigoletto), the Child (Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges), Tancred (Rossini’s Tancredi). 

She made her debut with musicAeterna in 2025, performing the mezzo part in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in the concerts of the orchestra and choir’s Anniversary Tour of Russia (Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Perm, Moscow, and St Petersburg).

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A MUSICIAN?

I started singing before I could talk. My mother has a wonderful voice, from the very first days she sang me lullabies — beautiful Soviet songs. And at some point, I started repeating musical sounds after her. My parents immediately realized the potential and had me first admitted to a music kindergarten, and later to the Galina Vishnevskaya College of Musical and Theatrical Arts where I received both comprehensive school and music education.

HOW HAVE YOU BECOME A MEMBER OF MUSICAETERNA?

I learned about musicAeterna when I was in college. Mom sent me an interview by Teodor Currentzis with a comment, 'You should go to him to Perm when you graduate from college. The future belongs to him.' My mom has a very powerful intuition. The next time I came across musicAeterna was many years later, at the Yuri Bashmet Festival in Sochi. On stage, the orchestra was breathing like a single pulsating cell, and it was the best thing I've ever heard. As the festival participant, I managed to get backstage and wait for Teodor, but I was so excited that I could only utter a few confused phrases. And for the third time we met at an audition for musicAeterna projects. I sang Mozart and the alto solo from Mahler's Symphony No. 2 — the orchestra was preparing to go on the 20th Anniversary tour with this particular composition at that time. Teodor was conducting, it was absolutely clear to me how to sing, and in the end he said, 'Now you're with us.'

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE IN THE WORLD?

Although I am a Muscovite, the city of my soul is Saint Petersburg. When I first came here at a conscious age, I just fell in love. I dreamed of living here, and now I always look forward to the train home from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. People warned me that it was cold and dreary here, but who said I didn't like this kind of weather? Teodor says that creativity is something that we procure from the very depths of our souls. True art is born out of pain and vulnerability. Is this really possible if you live in a sunny and joyful place?

HOW DO YOU RECOVER FROM HARD WORK?

I can endlessly listen to the crackle of wood in the fireplace or candles with a wooden wick — it's as if all worries are burned out in the fire. I also like the sound of big water when waves roll the pebbles on the shore. You feel small and light in the water, and you realize how boundless the ocean is. Then unnecessary thoughts go away, and any responsibility seems insignificant.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?

When I was little, I used to build huts every summer and take care of my garden of irises. And now I love painting and knitting. I also like to embroider, but I don't always have enough patience to finish the work. I'm embroidering a picture for Mom, and there's only a small piece ready. I look at it and wonder: how many years will it take me to complete this? But I enjoy the process anyway. Needlework inspires and helps to ground yourself.

HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN CREATIVE WORK?

Determination is essential for success in creativity—you need inner strength to abandon the comforts of an alternative life. Do you feel like you belong here? Or is it merely a pursuit of achievement, a pointless struggle? My journey hasn't been smooth; I was often told painful things. However, when I met Teodor and musicAeterna, I realized that it was love and crystal purity—the qualities I expected from the world of music. Life has a way of putting everything in its place.