Мария Каринская

Russian mezzo-soprano (born on March 6, 1886 in Orenburg, Russia - died on January 14, 1942 in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada) Maria Karinskaya studied voice at the conservatory in her hometown Orenburg and later graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1904, Karinskaya made her debut in operetta in the troupe of V. A. Kazansky. Severe rheumatism prevented her from performing in the opera. Instead, she became known as a singer of romances, praised for her strong mezzo-soprano voice that came almost close to a contralto. During the war, she performed "Evenings of Russian Antiquity," singing Russian folk songs in traditional Russian costume and raising huge sums for the treatment of wounded soldiers. After the October Revolution 1917, however, her wealth was seized and she, her son and her daughter fled to Harbin, China, where she converted to Protestantism and became a missionary. In 1924, she made her way to the United States via Canada. Later, she and her daughter lived on a farm in Canada.