Soprano? Mezzo? The Lithuanian diva Violeta Urmana is one of those who defy categories. Over her remarkable career, Urmana has triumphed as Verdi’s Ethiopian princess Aida, enslaved incognito, and also as the Egyptian princess Amneris, Aida’s mistress as well as her rival in love. She has shone as Wagner’s Isolde and as Isolde’s waiting woman Brangäne, who pours the fatal love potion. These days, Urmana’s focus is increasingly on the battle-axe repertoire: fierce, psychologically complex women who have clawed their way to power and mean to keep it. A prime example: the Kostelnička, or sextoness, in Janáček’s gripping Jenůfa, who drowns a baby in a freezing river to avoid a scandal. It’s a stunning role, demanding a singing actress’s all, including the blazing high notes of a real dramatic soprano. Asmik Grigorian, another Lithuanian soprano who dives deep into a character’s skin, takes the title role of the Kostelnička’s stepdaughter. —Matthew Gurewitsch