Maria Kotova

 Nafset Chenib is an award-winning opera/crossover soprano from Adygea, Russia who rose to the top of her field in spite of being born blind. She has won a number of international voice competitions, and performed solo with Russia’s most renowned orchestras such as Vladimir Spivakov’s Moscow Virtuosi, Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Bolshoi’s Chamber Orchestra. 

Her notable achievements include headlining, along with José Carreras, the closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics held in Sochi, Russia in 2014. She has also performed as an actress in Chekhov Moscow Art Theater. As a child prodigy, she was a member of the elite UNESCO choir performing with international stars such Montserrat Caballé, Angela Gheorghiu, and Roberto Alagna in front of elite audiences and dignitaries including Pope John Paul II.  

Nafset has graduated with highest honors from the Moscow Academy of Choral Arts, and  completed a Professional Studies program at the Manhattan School of Music training with Prof. Maitland Peters, the Vocal Department Chair and one of the most prominent voice teachers in New York City. She is an Honoured Artist of Adygea, and the recipient of the MSM’s Pablo Casals Award for Musical Accomplishment and Human Endeavor.

Nafset’s voice is praised for its wide range and unique warm timbre. Her diverse repertoire ranges from classical opera arias and cantatas to Broadway hits and jazz standards to popular songs and Russian romances.