Popova Liudmila Mikhailovna (Russian: Попова (Елесина) Людмила Михайловна) was a singer, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, associate Professor of the Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Music and Theater (since 2018 - Dmitry Hvorostovsky Siberian State Institute of Arts).
She was born in 1937 in the village of Zhigalovo, Irkutsk region. In her youth, when the Yelesin family moved to Krasnoyarsk, Lyudmila began to study vocals in the choir of the Palace of Pioneers with a professional teacher Evgenia Markovna Sadovskaya, a student of M.N. Rioli-Slovtsova. It was Sadovskaya who entrusted young Lyudmila, an "urban celebrity", as Popova herself later recalled this page of her creative biography, with her first serious work – the main role in M. Koval's children's opera The Wolf and the Seven Goats.
Good vocal training allowed the aspiring singer to enter the Krasnoyarsk Regional Music School. During her studies, she actively participated in concerts held at the Krasnoyarsk Regional Philharmonic not only as a soloist, but also as a presenter of concert programs.
In 1959, after graduating from college, Lyudmila Mikhailovna was invited to work in the Krasnoyarsk Dance Ensemble of Siberia under the direction of Mikhail Godenko as a soloist of a vocal trio consisting of L. Yelesina, T. Sergienko, L. Belyaeva. The members of the vocal trio toured in the cities of the USSR, as well as around the world. They participated in competitions held in the country; in the concert program "Details at a meeting", organized at the Moscow State Variety Theater with songs about the Krasnoyarsk Territory; in the recording of the TV program "Television Village Club" (1969); in the New Year's musical film "Two hours earlier" (1967). The filming of the latter was carried out in 1967, in which they demonstrated their art: the jazz orchestra "VIO-66" under the direction of Yu.Saulsky, the Accord quartet, as well as Marcel Marceau, A. Raikin, E. Shavrin, V. Makarov and others.
In 1972, the Melodiya company recorded a concert of the orchestra of folk instruments of the Dance Ensemble of Siberia, in which Lyudmila Mikhailovna performed folk songs in a duet with L. Belyaeva. In the same collective (Siberian Dance Ensemble) Yelesina met her fate - soloist V. Popov, whom she soon married.
Since 1976, Lyudmila Popova worked as a soloist-vocalist at the Krasnoyarsk State Philharmonic and two years later, as a mature musician, having extensive creative experience, she entered the Krasnoyarsk State Institute of Arts (specialty "Singing") (now the Siberian State Institute of Arts named after Dmitry Hvorostovsky) in the class of Honored Artist, Professor Ekaterina Konstantinovna Iofel. After graduating from the university in 1983 with honors, L.M. Popova became a teacher of the institute and worked as an associate professor of the Department of Solo Singing and opera training until 2011. She has trained more than ten students, among them – soloists of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theater named after D.A. Hvorostovsky A. Kiselyov and E. Buzunov, soloist of the choral ensemble "I sing to You" S. Bedrinets. Popova's legacy includes articles about the world vocal culture, about the problems of interpretation of vocal works by Krasnoyarsk composers.
In addition to scientific and pedagogical work, L.M. Popova continued to engage in creative activities. She was the first interpreter and performer of many chamber compositions and vocal cycles written by Krasnoyarsk composers Ya. Rasin, O. Prostitov, V. Ponomarev, F. Veselkov. Lyudmila Mikhailovna's creative contribution to the cultural life of the city was awarded with a Certificate of Honor by the Head of Krasnoyarsk (1998). In 1991, she was awarded the title of "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation". In 2003, her work was marked by a Letter of Thanks from the Committee on Science and Higher Education of the Administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Popova died on November 4, 2017.