 After a period, she became dissatisfied and asked to audition at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.Artistic director Valery Gergiev invited her to join the company as a guest artist and she sang "Il trovatore" and "Prince Igor".She was asked to learn the role of Renata in Prokofiev's "The Fiery Angel" for Sir Edward Downes who was auditioning singers for a joint production of the opera for Covent Garden and the Mariinsky.