Russian-American soprano Dina Kuznetsova (Toliver) joined the Cleveland Institute of Music faculty in the fall of 2018 after an international career spanning two decades as a leading lyric soprano. She has garnered significant and consistent praise for her vocalism, musical interpretation and acting skills. Describing her performance in Rusalka, The Guardian wrote, “Dina Kuznetsova is glorious in the title role, unleashing torrents of sound and emotion in ways that are breathtaking.”

Kuznetsova has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Vienna Staatsoper, Teatro di San Carlo, and many other major opera houses. As a soprano soloist, she has performed with the world’s major orchestras, including the National Symphony, Sydney Symphony and Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others.

A dedicated recitalist, Kuznetsova has been a frequent soloist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music@Menlo, New York Festival of Song and LaMusica Festival. As a recitalist, she has been praised as “a splendid soloist... [delivering] maximum impact without a hint of oversinging” (San Francisco Chronicle).

Kuznetsova is a long-standing member of New York Festival of Song Artist Council.

Since joining the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2018, Dina Kuznetsova’s students have entered many prestigious opera programs and placed in important competitions, including Gerda Lissner Foundation (NYC), Vanderlaan Prize, ACPC Marcella Kochańska Sembrich Vocal Competition, YoungArts and NATS, among others.

In her teaching, Kuznetsova emphasizes the technical principles of bel canto combined with detailed work on artistic interpretation and expression.