Russian-born, she studied singing, piano and accordion.

Opera and oratorio singer, she developed her own artistic activity in Europe and, in particular, in Italy, becoming Italian by adoption. Her love for Italy led her to live in this nation where the artist carries out the promotional activity of opera music and culture in general.

She is the winner of numerous important international and national competitions, awards and recognitions: Giuseppe Sciacca International Prize (Italy, 2021); the prize “Giulietta” as the best female newcomer at the Festival dell’Arena di Verona (Italy, 2015); the 1st prize for the competition of AsLiCo for the role of Lucia di Lammermoor (Italy, 2012); the 2nd Prize at the Riccardo Zandonai Opera Competition in Riva del Garda (Italy, 2011); the Audience Award at the Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition in Vienna (Austria, 2011); the 3rd prize at the Maria Caniglia Competition, Sulmona (Italy, 2008); “The Triumph Award” (Russia, 2008); the 1st Prize at the Competition of Giuseppe di Stefano in ” Musical July in Trapani “(Italy, 2007). She was nominated as the best newcomer at the International Opera Awards in London (Italy, 2016) and she received a recognation on the side of NewsREMINDER and the European Parliament Italian Office as Ambassador of Italian Culture in the World (Italy, 2020); the Remind Award, International Good Practice Award (Italy, 2020) and the TAOBUK Prize of the International Literature Festival in Taormina for contribution to Art and Culture (Italy, 2020).

She is a regular guest of the major opera houses and collaborate with the most prestigious conductors: she has establish a successful collaboration with a National Symphony Orchestra of the RAI under the baton of Fabio Luisi, Steven Mercurio and Jurai Valcuha; with the Ensemble Matheus under the baton of Jean-Christophe Spinosi; with Plácido Domingo, Mung Whung Chung, Stefano Ranzani, Dan Ettinger. She has appeared in productions by famous directors such as Mario Martone, Franco Zeffirelli, Achim Freyer, Calixto Bieito, Robert Carsen, Henning Brockhaus, Richard Eyre, Hugo de Ana, Renoud Doucet, Andrea de Rosa.

After her debut at the Royal Opera House in London as Violetta Valery, Ekaterina Bakanova was praised by the press for her interpretative refinement and since then she has been called to the most prestigious stages, such as the Staatsoper of Dresden, the Arena of Verona, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Teatro Liceo in Barcelona, the Royal Opera in Versailles, the Israeli Opera in Tel-Aviv and the Opera in Zurich, the NCPA Performing Arts Center in Beijing and others.

Her performances are followed by the Italian media (press, TV, web), which give their particular appreciation for her talents as a soprano and as a public figure involved in various initiatives to promote culture.

Through her art and as a testimonial, she supports campaigns and events to raise awareness on important social issues (Shows 2021-2022 AISM - Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association, "En Musique pour plus d'Humanité" Grand Palais, Paris 2022 etc.) and is also involved in civil battles such as protecting victims of terrorism, violence against women, and support for the populations affected by the earthquake. She promotes brotherhood between peoples and the values of multiculturalism in every context, institutional and civil.

Her past engagements include: Carmen at La Fenice in Venice (under Myung Whun Chung); La Traviata in Venice, Florence, Trieste, Peralada, Lisbon, Dresden, Moscow; La Rondine (new production) in Florence; a concert version of Carmen in Versailles with Jean-Christophe Spinosi, with whom she also performed as Almirena in Handel's Rinaldo on tour in Brest, Lyon, Versailles, Moscow, Vienna and in Vivaldi's Gloria and Handel's Dixit Dominus in Paris (TCE); Don Giovanni (Donna Anna) in Tel Aviv and in Padua; Le Nozze di Figaro (Susanna) in Verona (Teatro Filarmonico); Il Bravo (Violetta) by Mercadante in Wexford; Les pêcheurs de perles at the Liceu in Barcelona and Dortmund; Turandot (Liù) and Les Contes d'Hoffmann in Beijing; Shostakovich's Symphony no.14 with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg; Maria Stuarda in Lisbon; La Traviata at the Teatro Real de Madrid, in Tokyo and in Cagliari; Mahler's Symphony no.4 with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Turin under Fabio Luisi; Les pêcheurs de perles in Oviedo; Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Antonia) in Zurich; L'Angelica (title role) by Porpora at the Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca under Federico Maria Sardelli; Fidelio (Marzelline) at La Fenice in Venice under Myung Whun Chung for the season's opening; her debut as Nedda in Pagliacci at the Opernhaus in Zurich.

Her recent engagements include: Il viaggio a Reims in Dresden; Die Fledermaus in St Gallen; Shostakovic's Symphony No. 14 at the Philharmonie in Paris; Moise et Pharaon in Lyon; La Traviata at the Volksoper in Vienna and Die Zauberfloete in Turin; Les pêcheurs de perles in Zurich; La Traviata in Beijing, Oviedo, Vienna (Volksoper) and Venice; Così fan tutte in Jesi; Roberto Devereux in Geneva; Manon at the Teatro Regio in Turin; Edgar in Nice; the traditional Christmas concert at the Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai and the New Year's Concert at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste.

She will soon be performing in Così fan tutte in Metz; Khovantchina in Geneva; Carmen in Rome; and Don Giovanni in Seville.

January 2025