Career
Varvara Vasilyeva (her birth name) was born to the family of Gypsy horse traders, based in Moscow. She started singing at the age of 14, first in the Gypsy choir directed by Alexandra Panina, at the Strelna restaurant. In 1902 Varya Panina debuted on stage at the Saint St. Petersburg"s Dvoryanskoye Sobranye (The Gentry Assembly) and had her first success.
Since then she performed only on stage, giving solo concerts, performing Gypsy songs and Russian romances to rapturous response.
Panina has made numerous recordings of which more than 50 remained. She died of a heart attack on May 28, 1911, and was buried at the Vagankovo cemetery.