Olga Cheremnykh Soprano, Russia “I fall in love and plunge fully into each new role. I think my dream role should always be the one I'm working on at the given moment in time.” What inspired you to become a singer? As a child I liked to sing and improvise melodies, and in music school I played the piano and sang in a choir. I also remember seeing the recording of the musical Notre-Dame de Paris where I saw how theatrical art and vocal united fantastically, and I felt that that was the synthesis I wanted. At that point I hadn't even heard live opera. What’s your dream role and why? I fall in love and plunge fully into each new role. I think my dream role should always be the one I'm working on at the given moment in time. Who is your favourite singer and why? Actually, I have no idol. I think that being open to new musical impressions is very important for the growth of a singer, because you can learn something from every artist. What do you hope to achieve by participating in The Queen Sonja International Music Competition? I hope to get a chance to work around the world, on projects together with real masters of stage. Tell us something surprising or unexpected about yourself! Until graduation (gymnasium and music school), I lived in a small town in Eastern Siberia, the Irkutsk Region - Ust-Ilimsk. Also, I didn’t say the Russian letter “r” until I was 13, but thanks to singing I managed to fix it. What kind of demands do you believe the future’s opera singers must fulfill to make a career? Improve your technique and extend your knowledge of genres and languages. And, of course, to be more than a singer – to strive to embody the actor’s character.