She became a member of the Metropolitan Opera Young Artists Development Program, working her way up from singing small roles to being offered leading roles with the MET and many of the world's great opera houses.

NPR: Soprano Dawn Upshaw Awarded MacArthur Grant

Three years ago, the Russian bank decided to fund a program for young opera artists similar to what the Metropolitan Opera in New York does with the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

FORBES: For VTB Capital, Russia's Got Talent