Maria Maksakova (mezzo-soprano, born 1977)

Maria Petrovna Maksakova Jr. (Russian: Мария Петровна Максакова-младшая; born 24 July 1977) is a Russian opera singer, a guest soloist with Bolshoi Theater (since 2003), soloist with Moscow's Helikon-Opera (since 2006) and Mariinsky Opera Company (2011). She is the daughter of actress Lyudmila Maksakova and granddaughter of Maria Maksakova, a renowned Russian and Soviet opera singer. Maria is the laureate of several prestigious events (including the Moscow International Opera Festival in 2000 and the II Obraztsova International Competition in 2002). Her extensive chamber repertoire includes works by Schumann, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov. In October 2016, Maksakova relocated from Moscow to Kyiv, Ukraine, with her husband Denis Voronenkov and baby son, saying that they were fleeing the political persecution of Voronenkov in Russia. On 23 March 2017, Voronenkov was murdered in Kyiv.