Natalia Akulova (1 April 1940 – 23 July 2023) was a Soviet and Russian teacher, associate professor, Candidate of Arts, and theatre professional. She was an honorary professor in the Department of Directing and Musical-Theatre Acting at GITIS.
Born in Moscow, she was the daughter of the Soviet conductor and teacher Yevgeny Akulov. She graduated in piano from the music college affiliated with the Moscow Conservatory.
From 1960, Akulova taught Analysis of Musical Dramaturgy with her father in GITIS's Department of Directing and Musical-Theatre Acting. Her teaching included the analysis of operatic dramaturgy and prepared musical-theatre directors to understand the profession and respect the composer's conception.
In 1968 she graduated from the theatre-studies faculty of GITIS. She received the degree of Candidate of Arts in 1982 and became an associate professor in 1997.
Her students included Dmitry Bertman, artistic director of the Helikon Opera Theatre; Georgy Isaakyan, artistic director of the Natalia Sats Moscow State Academic Children's Musical Theatre; and directors Dmitry Chernyakov, Vasily Barkhatov, Dmitry Belyanushkin, Filipp Razenkov, and Pavel Sorokin.
Akulova published an article on a production of Boris Godunov at the Estonia Theatre in 1981, and in 1982 published an abstract of her dissertation on Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko's understanding of the fundamental laws of musical-theatre directing. She died in Moscow in July 2023 and was buried at Troyekurovskoye Cemetery.