Elena was born in Baku. In 1984 graduated from the Hajibeyov Baku Academy of Music, previously known as the Hajibeyov Azerbaijan State Conservatoire, class by prof. K. Karimov.
In 1987-1991 she was a soloist of the The Akhundov Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. In 1991-1996 she was a soloist of the Moscow Novaya Opera Theater under the direction of Yevgeny Kolobov, where she performed the parts of Gorislava (Glinka, Ruslan and Lyudmila), Tamara (Rubinstein, The Demon), Leonora (Verdi, La forza del destino), Kupava (Rimsky-Korsakov, The Snow Maiden). She is the first performer in Russia of the part of Queen Elizabeth (Donizetti, Maria Stuarda) and Wally (Catalani, La Wally).
In 1994 she debuted at the Bolshoi Theatre as Floria Tosca. Since 1996 she’s been a soloist of the opera troupe of the Bolshoi Theatre, where she has performed the major parts of soprano repertoire:
Tatyana (Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin), Yaroslavna (Borodin, Prince Igor), Lisa (Tchaikovsky, The Queen of Spades), Natasha (Dargomyzhsky, Rusalka), Abigail (Verdi, Nabucco), Natalia (Tchaikovsky, Oprichnik), Amelia (Verdi, Un Ballo in Maschera), Turandot (Puccini, Turandot), Katerina Lvovna (Shostakovich, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk), Senta (Wagner, Der fliegende Holländer), Renata (Prokofiev, The Fiery Angel), Eboli (Verdi, Don Carlo).
She performed at the Bolshoi Theater premieres, such as La forza del destino, Aida, Macbeth by Verdi, Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart, Oprichnik by Tchaikovsky, Rusalka by Dargomyzhsky, The Snow Maiden by Rimsky-Korsakov.
In 1992-1996 she was a guest soloist of the Vienna Opera, where she performed the parts of the Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Anna, Donna Elvira (Mozart, Don Giovanni).
She has worked with such outstanding conductors as Lorin Maazel, Antonio Pappano, Marco Armigliato, James Levine, Daniele Callegari, Asher Fisch, Daniel Oren, Maurizio Barbacini, Marcello Viotti, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Mikhail Yurovsky, Georg Solti, James Conlon.
Elena Zelenskaya has performed at the best world opera venues: Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Minneapolis Opera, San Diego Opera, Opera Garnier, Opera Bastille, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Berlin State Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Danish Royal Opera, Melbourne Opera, Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, Edinburgh Opera Festival, Wexford International Opera Festival (Ireland), Savonlinna International Opera Festival (Finland), and many others.
Elena also has an impressive discography.
She holds a Prize of the Moscow Government in the field of literature and art, International Joseph Brodsky Award in the field of music art, 2nd award of the All-Union Glinka Competition for Vocalists (1991), 1st award and grand prix of the International Rimsky-Korsakov Competition for Young Opera Singers (1994), an award of the Ferenc Erkel International Singers Competition (Hungary), Gold prize of the International Opera Festival in Korea.
Since 2011 she’s been an Associate professor of the Solo academic singing department at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music.