Yelizaveta Osipovna Belogradskaya (1739 – ca. 1764 was a Russian Imperial Court

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singer and composer for keyboard. She was born in St. Petersburg in 1739, the daughter of Osip Bilohradsky, a court singer and choral conductor, and niece of

Timofiy Bilohradsky Timofiy Bilohradsky (also Belogradsky, Pelogradsky; uk, Тимофій Білоградський; ca. 1710 — ca. 1782) was a lutenist, composer and kobzar-bandurist of Ukrainian ethnicity, active in St. Petersburg and Königsberg. Little is ...

, the court lute player. She was a kammermädchen at the court of the Empress

Elizaveta Petrovna Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

. In 1753 she performed the part of Procris in

Francesco Araja Francesco Domenico Araja (or Araia, Russian: Арайя) (June 25, 1709 in Naples, Kingdom of Sicily – between 1762 and 1770 in Bologna, States of the Church) was an Italian composer who spent 25 years in Russia and wrote at least 14 opera ...

's opera ''

Cephalus and Procris ''Cephalus and Procis'' is a 1580s painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Paolo Veronese. It is on display in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Strasbourg, France. Its inventory number is 634. The exact dating of the painting is uncertain, al ...

'', which was the first opera set in Russian,''Cephalus and Procris'' profile
accessed 11 December 2014. with the text by

Aleksandr Sumarokov Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Сумаро́ков; , Moscow – , Moscow) was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonos ...

. She sang in G.P. Raupach's "The Refuge of Virtue" and "Alcesta". She appeared at court concerts and festivities as a singer and harpsichord player. Extant are her "Variations on a theme by Starzer" for keyboard. She died around 1764 and was interred at the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Ale ...

References

Source (in Russian)

* Светлов С. Ф. Русская опера в XVIII столетии // Ежегодник императорских театров. Сезон 1897/1898 гг. СПб., 1899. Прил. Кн. 2. С. 94. 1739 births 1760s deaths 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century women opera singers from the Russian Empire Harpsichordists from the Russian Empire Russian operatic sopranos Sopranos from the Russian Empire Singers from Saint Petersburg Date of birth unknown Place of death missing Courtiers from the Russian Empire Court of Elizabeth of Russia {{Russia-opera-singer-stub