Russian soprano Elena Evseeva makes her LA Opera debut as Desdemona in Otello (February 16, 2008). A native of Moscow, she has been a member since 1994 of the Bolshoi Opera, where she has sung a number of roles including, most recently, Mimì in La Bohème and the title role in Tchaikovsky's Iolanta. She has also sung Musetta in La Bohème with Paris's Bastille Opera, Jaroslavna in Prince Igor in Strasbourg, and Lisa in The Queen of Spades at La Scala. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1999 as Desdemona, and has also appeared at the Met as Maria in Mazeppa, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin and Mimì in La Bohème. Early in her career she studied with Carlo Bergonzi and won vocal competitions in Russia, Austria, Poland, and Italy.