Background
Ermolenko-Yuzhina was born, and received her first lessons, in Kiev.
Ermolenko-Yuzhina was born, and received her first lessons, in Kiev.
She continued her studies in Saint St. Petersburg, then in Paris and Italy. Ermolenko-Yuzhina made her debut in Kiev as Lisa in The Queen of Spades in 1900. She then joined Aleksey Tsereteli"s opera company in Saint St. Petersburg, before becoming a soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1901.
She remained at the Mariinsky until 1905, when she joined the Bolshoi Theatre, performing there until 1906.
In 1910, Ermolenko-Yuzhina returned to the Mariinsky, where she performed from 1910 to 1913, and again, from 1915 to 1920. She performed at the Bolshoi in 1913, 1916, and 1919, and she also with Sergei Diaghilev’s enterprise, and in various European opera houses, before the First World War.
Ermolenko-Yuzhina was considered to be the leading Russian lyric-dramatic soprano of her day, with a repertoire of more than thirty roles, including Brunnhilde, Norma, Violette and Carmen. Her husband, David Yuzhin, died on December 28, 1923, after a lengthy illness.
A few months later, in early 1924, Ermolenko-Yuzhina fled the Soviet Union and settled in Paris.
During t working troupe of Russian opera of Aleksey Tsereteli. She appeared for a time with Aleksey Tsereteli"s opera company and at the Opéra national de Paris. She also gave private concerts.
She faded from the public eye and little is known about her final years in exile.
There is some dispute over the date of her death. Some sources claim that Ermolenko-Yuzhina died in Paris in 1937.
Other sources claim that she died in Paris in 1948.