In the past, portraits of Maria Karinskaya adorned the windows of music stores, and her photographs could be seen on the covers of vinyl records. She was one of the most outstanding singers of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. However, over time, her name has almost faded from memory. Little is known about her. Maria was born in 1882, graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and began her solo career in 1904.

At that time, the public was tired of foreign performers and longed to hear native Russian songs. The songs "The Weeping Willows Are Sleeping," "Cornflower," and "Burn, Burn, My Star" in her performance became incredibly popular. Just two years after her debut, Maria Alexandrovna was filling concert halls. The magazine "Nizhny Novgorod Musical News" wrote about her: "Clear diction and beautiful phrasing, delicate, lace-like embellishment, and complete understanding, moving performance of romances enchant and captivate listeners."

Karinskaya's most successful concert took place in 1911 at the Noble Assembly in Moscow. She performed alongside well-known artists Avertchenko, Svobodin, and Troyanovsky, but it was Maria Alexandrovna who left a lasting impression on the audience. She was called back for encores ten times! Later, she was invited to theaters, but due to joint rheumatism, she could not fully reveal her theatrical talent and decided not to tie her life to the theater.

Everything changed in 1918. After the revolution, Karinskaya left Russia. According to some reports, she emigrated to Harbin and then moved to the USA, where she died in complete oblivion at the age of 58.