Tatiana Shmyga

Born Dec. 31, 1928, in Moscow. Soviet Russian operetta performer. People’s Artist of the USSR (1978).

In 1953, Shmyga graduated from the A. V. Lunacharskii State Institute of Theatrical Arts, where she studied voice under D. B. Beliavskaia and acting under I. M. Tumanov. She became a soloist at the Moscow Operetta Theater the same year. Shmyga masterfully combines the skills of a singer, actress, and dancer. Her roles include Violette and Ninon in Kálmán’s The Violet of Montmartre, Chanita and Gloria Rosetti in Miliutin’s Chanita’s Kiss and The Circus Show Is Up, Tonia in Dunaevskii’s White Acacia, Eliza Doolittle in Loewe’s My Fair Lady, Verochka in Eshpai’s There’s Nobody Happier Than I, and Liubov’ Iarovaia in V. Il’in’s Comrade Liubov’.

Shmyga has toured abroad. A recipient of the M. I. Glinka State Prize of the RSFSR in 1974, she has been awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor and several medals.