BIO

Darina Gapitch, mezzo-soprano

Darina Gapitch is a Ukrainian-born Polish mezzo-soprano whose artistic career encompasses opera, concert performance, musical theatre and interdisciplinary projects. She studied Vocal and Acting at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz and began her professional collaboration with Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz while still a student. She became a soloist of the company in 2013 and has since performed extensively on its stage. Her career also includes guest and contract engagements with the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic in Białystok, Musical Theatre in Lublin and Musical Theatre in Gdynia, as well as performances in opera and concert productions in Poland and abroad.

Her operatic repertoire includes leading mezzo-soprano roles in works by Verdi, Dvořák, Berlioz, Mascagni, Ponchielli, Puccini, Moniuszko and other composers. Among her principal roles are Eboli in Don Carlo, Amneris in Aida, Ježibaba in Rusalka, Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust, Santuzza and Lola in Cavalleria rusticana, and Laura in La Gioconda. Her repertoire also includes Fenena in Nabucco, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Flora in La traviata, Meg Page in Falstaff, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Siebel in Faust, Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, Jadwiga and Cześnikowa in Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor, Mercedes in Carmen, and the Third Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. She currently prepares the role of Carmen for the upcoming production.

Her portrayal of Ježibaba in Rusalka inaugurated the 19th International Opera Festival in Bydgoszcz, and the production was subsequently released on DVD by the Polish record label DUX.

Alongside opera, Darina has an extensive background in musical theatre. Her roles include the Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, performed in Poland shortly after its Broadway premiere, and Izabela Łęcka in Lalka, based on Bolesław Prus’s classic Polish novel. She has also performed opera and concert programmes across Europe and the Middle East and collaborated with musicians from the classical, jazz and contemporary music scenes. Her artistic work extends to theatre and interdisciplinary performance, reflecting her background in both vocal and acting arts.

Darina is a laureate of numerous national and international vocal and performing arts competitions, including Grand Prix at the MTV Summer Festival in Kyiv and London, Grand Prix at the All-Polish Art Song Interpretation Festival in Bydgoszcz, and Grand Prix at the Festival of Polish Song in Zhytomyr.