The singer from the Ural Mountains who became an opera star
Aigul Akhmetshina sang traditional folk songs growing up in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan. Today she's hailed as the 'Carmen of our time' on opera stages around the world.
Aigul Akhmetshina was surrounded by traditional folk music growing up in the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan. She loved to sing and earned the nickname 'Aigul the singer' in the small rural village she lived in with her mother. After hearing opera for the first time knew she wanted to become a professional on the world's great stages. And at just 21 years old Aigul debuted as Carmen in Bizet's masterpiece at the Royal Opera House in London.
Marciana Santander is from Paraguay and cleans other people's houses for a living. Like many domestic workers around the world she wasn't getting paid much – not even the minimum wage. She spoke to Outlook's Grace Livingstone about leading her underpaid colleagues in the fightback for better pay.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producers: May Cameron and Harry Graham
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Aigul Akhmetshina. Credit: Lera Nurgalieva)
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