She graduated from the Rachmaninov State Conservatory in Rostov with a degree in choral conducting (2000) and later in solo signing (2005, Prof. Khudoverdova's class). In 2005, Agunda graduated from the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Center, where she sang Zibel in the production of Gounod's Faust, Lubasha in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride, Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto and took part in the Center’s concerts.
Since 2005, she has been a soloist of the Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow.
In 2005, she made her debut at the Bolshoi Theatre as Sonya in Prokofiev’s War and Peace, conducted by Alexander Vedernikov. Since 2014, she has been a soloist at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, where she sings Princess Eboli (Verdi’s Don Carlos),Carmen (Bizet's Carmen),Marguerita (Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust),the Snow Queen (Banevich’s The Story of Kai and Gerda),Lyubasha (Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar's Bride),Spring (Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden),Pauline (Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades),Marina Mnishek (Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov),Konchakovna (Borodin's Prince Igor),Laura (Dargomyzhsky’s The Stone Guest),Lyubov (Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa in concert).
In 2009 to 2013, the singer was a guest soloist of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, where she performed the following parts: Konchakovna in Borodin's Prince Igor, Carmen in Bizet's Carmen, Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Pauline in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, and Lyubasha in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride.
Agunda Kulaeva has participated in numerous concerts and opera productions across Russia and abroad. In 2012, the singer appeared as Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen and as Eboli in Verdi’s Don Carlo at the Varna Summer Festival. The same year she performed Amneris in Verdi’s Aida at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Bulgaria. The highlights of 2013 include Dvorak’s Stabat Mater with Fedoseyev’s Big Symphony Orchestra, Taneyev’s cantata At the Reading of a Psalm with the Minin Academic Choir and the Pletnyov Russian National Orchestra, participation in the 5th Mussorgsky International Festival in Tver and the 4th Stars Parade at the Krasnoyarsk Opera. In 2016, she sang Pauline in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades in concert at the Chaliapin International Opera Festival in Kazan, and Carmen in Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Arena di Verona Festival.
In 2017, she performed as Konchakovna (Prince Igor) in the Dutch National Opera and Ballet (Amsterdam). In 2019, she sang Ulrica (Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera) in the Israeli Opera (Tel Aviv) and Preziosilla (Verdi’s La forza del destino) in Deutsche Oper Berlin, and also participated in the Bolshoi’s tour in Germany and France. In October 2019 to January 2020, she sang Carmen in the Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theatre (Japan).
The singer’s repertoire also includes Zhenya Komelkova (Molchanov's Dawns Are Quiet Here),Dunyasha (Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride),Arsace in Rossini's Semiramida,, Delilah (Saint-Saens's Samson and Delilah),Sorceress (Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas),Adalgisa (Bellini’s Norma); and the mezzo-soprano part in Verdi's Requiem.
Awards and Honours:
- Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation
- Honoured Artist of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania
- Prize-winner of the 14th Boris Christoff International Competition for Young Opera Singers (3rd prize, Bulgaria, 2009)
Roles performed at the Novaya Opera:
Carmen in Bizet's Carmen
Konchakovna in Borodin's Prince Igor
Lel in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden
Lyubasha in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride
Olga in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
Countess, Milovzor in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades
Ratmir in Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila
Zita in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi
Cenerentola in Rossini's La Cenerentola
Lola in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana
Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto
Fenena in Verdi's Nabucco
Flora in Verdi's La Traviata
Page in Wagner's Lohengrin
Amneris in Verdi's Aida (in concert)
Marfa in Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina (in concert)
Myrtale in Massenet's Thais (in concert)
Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana (in concert)
Romeo in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi (in concert)
Mezzo-soprano parts:
Viva Verdi! (concert)
Vincenzo Bellini (concert)
Ten Sopranos (gala concert)
Tribute to Evgeny Kolobov (concert)
Romances by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergey Rachmaninov (concert)
Bravissimo! (opera mix)
Rossini (musical divertissement)
This is Opera! (dramatized performance)
Opera&Jazz (New Year's Eve Show)
