Zara Dolukhanova is often cited as the greatest Soviet mezzo-soprano of her time. Her powerful, flexible voice was usually categorized as a coloratura mezzo, but her vocal range also allowed her to sing convincingly as an alto. Dolukhanova was as much a star in the Soviet Union in the mid-20th century as Callas and Tebaldi were in the West. She commanded a huge repertory inclusive of works ranging from J.S. Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi to Mozart, Rossini and Tchaikovsky and on to Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Khachaturian. She sang folk and traditional songs as well, and was best known on the operatic stage for her Rossini, particularly as Angelina in La cenerentola and Isabella in L'italiana in Algeri. But Dolukhanova is also remembered as a recitalist, earning herself the reputation as one of the world's greatest interpreters of art songs, becoming a sort of female counterpart to Fischer-Dieskau. Dolukhanova, who retired in 1970, made many recordings and some are still available on reissue from Gala, Guild, Preiser, and Myto. Zara Dolukhanova was born Zara Makaryan on March 5, 1918, in Moscow. Her parents were Armenian; her father was a flutist, clarinetist, and trumpeter and her mother a good amateur singer. Dolukhanova first studied piano and violin, and at the relatively late age of 16 enrolled at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow for vocal studies. She debuted in 1938 as Siébel in Gounod's Faust at the Yerevan Opera in Armenia. After spending three years at the Yerevan Opera, Dolukhanova married composer Alexander Dolukhanian and thereafter performed under her married name. From 1944, she sang as a soloist for Moscow Radio. In the postwar years she gradually built her career in opera, concert, and recital fare. In 1959 she became a regular soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. She toured Europe and the Americas, making her U.S. debut in 1959 at Carnegie Hall, drawing scores of rave reviews. Dolukhanova was extremely active throughout the 1960s, but shortly after a return tour to the U.S. in 1970, she retired from singing. She spent most of the remainder of her career as a teacher at the Gnessin Institute, counting among her students mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina. Dolukhanova died in Moscow on December 5, 2007. Among her more important recordings is the 2005 Guild album, The Russian Legacy - Zara Dolukhanova, a four-CD collection of songs and arias by 31 different composers, from Carissimi to Medtner.