[1] Early in her life she studied piano, then branched into choral conducting and enrolled at the Moscow Conservatory, graduating with honors in that field.
[5][8] In October 2004 she sang the minor role of Barbara in Walter Braunfels's Prinzessin Brambilla at the Wexford Festival Opera with Daniele Belardinelli conducting the Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra.
The production was recorded, and David Gutman, writing in Gramophone, gave "a muted cheer for dusting off an opera, all too justly neglected" and remarks "the lacklustre orchestral playing and the heroine's raw and unfocused singing are enough to destroy any atmosphere that might be generated.
[1][4] This became a signature role which she has performed all over the world, including in Baden-Baden, Rotterdam, Berlin, Tokyo, Saint Petersburg, Munich, Madrid, and Valencia.
[3] Gubanova has worked with many well-known conductors, including Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, James Levine, Kent Nagano, Simon Rattle, Mark Elder and Esa-Pekka Salonen.