Olesya Petrova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She graduated from the St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in 2008, class of Professor Irina Bogacheva. Olesya Petrova has been a soloist with the St.Petersburg Conservatory Opera Theatre since 2007.
Here her repertoire includes Marfa (Khovanshchina), Konchakovna (Prince Igor), Lel (The Snow Maiden), Lyubasha (The Tsar's Bride) on Perm Opera and Novosibirsk Opera, Amneris (Aida) in Bankok, Carmen (Carmen), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Polina, Countess (The Queen of Spades), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Ioanna (The Maid of Orleans) and Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera).
She is a very sought after concert singer with many Russian Orchestra’s and Chamber Ensembles and her concert repertoire includes cantatas and oratorio works by Bach, Pergolesi, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Berlioz, Wagner, Mahler and Prokofiev with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Leo Kremer, Fabio Mastrangelo and Vladimir Fedoseev.
Olesya Petrova has toured in Europe, the USA, South America, Korea, China and Japan and the 11/12 season marks her international breakthrough as Konschakowna in Borodin’s Prince Igor at Zürich Opera. This season she will also sing Ulrica/Ballo in Maschera at Greek National Opera in Athens.
In 2012/2013 she covered Maddalena/Rigoletto at The MET and sing Ulrica/Ballo in Maschera at Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf She is a prize winner at the XI International Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow, 2007, 2nd prize) and rat the I International Competition of Galina Vishnevskaya (Moscow, 2006, 2rd prize). In 2011 she reached the final in Cardiff Singer of the World.
In 2013/2014 she will perform Verdi Requiem at Concertgebouw under the baton of Maris Janssons, Verdi Gala concert at ROHM, Madelon/Andrea Chenier at MET, Ms Sideley at Staatsoper Hamburg among others. Further engagements include Fenena at Opera de Montreal and Carmen at Estonian National Opera.

"The velvet richness of Olesya Petrova's mezzo is a voice the operatic world needs more urgently, and both the authenticity of her Rimsky-Korsakov aria and intensely vivid Verdi showed her to be a great prospect."
Rian Evans, The Guardian, 20 Jun 2011
"...Russian mezzo Olesya Petrova sang a wide-ranging programme of Rimsky – Korsakov, Verdi, Mascagni and Bizet which displayed her often beautiful, rich mezzo to the best advantage."
- Bill Kenny, Seen and Heard, 20 Jun 2011