Mujer Fatal (2026)

Aigul Akhmetshina's second album for Decca Classics, Mujer Fatal, reimagines the idea of the femme fatale as a woman in constant transformation, complex, emotional, strong and vulnerable in turn. Recorded with Sir Antonio Pappano at the piano, the album is built around the title track, a new work written especially for Akhmetshina by composer Elena Roussanova with lyrics by Sheila del Bosque Fuentes, inspired by the Spanish dancer and Belle Époque icon La Belle Otero.

The repertoire moves fluidly across French, Spanish, Russian and English song, taking in Bizet, Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov alongside Weill, Bernstein, Gershwin and Britten, and a sensual arrangement of Bésame Mucho by Jonathan Palmer Lakeland. On release, Mujer Fatal debuted at number 3 on the UK Official Classical Chart and was named Recording of the Week by Presto Music.