Alexia Mankovskaya Gandia - Soprano
Alexia Mankovskaya was born in Minsk, Belarus. She studied piano and choir conducting at Minsk Junior Music College and later singing in Academy of Dramatic Arts in Moscow. After receiving BA diploma, she was accepted to the Stanislavsky Opera House, where she preformed Marceline (Marriage of Figaro - Mozart) and Sonia (War and Peace - Prokofiev) as a part of Young Artist Program. For her performance in Marriage of Figaro she was nominated for Best Opera Debut Award in category ‘supporting actress’.
From 2006 to 2009 Alexia studied singing and performance at Trinity College of Music where she was awarded Butler Scholarship and Ofenheim Scholarship.
During her studies at Trinity College of Music she won first prize in both the English Song Competition and the Elisabeth Schumann Lieder Prize. She was also awarded the First Prize Diploma at the Padua International Music Competition. In 2008, she was a semi-finalist at the National Mozart Singing Competition and a finalist at the Stuart Burrows International Voice award and Ralph Wells Competition.
Her stage debut in London was performing the role of Mimi (La Boheme - Puccini) with the European Chamber Opera.
An accomplished concert performer, she sang Bachianas Brazileiras with the Trinity Cello Ensemble and performed the world premier of Song of Alcestis by Douglas Finch for Chipping Campden Annual Festival. Alexia appeared as a soloist in Tippett’s Crown of the Year at Spitalfields Summer Festival and Leeds Lieder Festival and was invited to perform in front of the Queen of Spain, Sofia, in the Royal Palace, Madrid and in front of Bavarian Government members in Munich (Kaiser Palace, Germany).
Alexia's future engagements include a solo recital at Chelsea Arts Club; an appearance at Blackheath Concert Hall with the Trinity Cello Ensemble; the role of Eleanora in Salieri’s Prima La Musica for Opera at Home Company; the role of Madame Herz in Mozart's The Impresario for Reform Club Summer Opera and she will perform with Grange Park Opera in their 2011 season.