Mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina was the youngest-ever participant in the Royal Opera House's Jette Parker Young Artists Programme in London. She appeared in many major international opera houses in her early twenties. Akhmetshina won the Belvedere Competition and made her debut at the Royal Opera house in the title role of Bizet's Carmen at the age of 21. Her voice, of the relatively rare coloratura mezzo-soprano type, made waves, and she was soon appearing at other major houses, including the Opéra de Paris, where she sang Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia.