Ildar Abdrazakov

Ildar Abdrazakov brings the great bass arias of the opera world to life; he possesses the vocal abilities, artistic expression, and captivating stage presence required to do so. Abdrazakov secured a place among the top ranks of his field at an age when, for most bassists, the maturation period is just beginning. The Russian singer, whom the New York Times called a "bassist with elegance and unforced vocal richness," is highly sought after by leading opera houses and concert halls. His core repertoire ranges from Mozart's Figaro and the buffo roles in Rossini and Donizetti to the extraordinarily complex Verdi characters Attila, Oberto, and Filippo II. "My starting point is always the composer," he explains. "I want to sing what the composer wrote. That comes first. Everything begins with the score." On October 10, 2017, Abdrazakov's signing of an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon was announced – a few weeks prior, the yellow label had released Duets, an album of French and Italian opera excerpts, recorded with Rolando Villazón. In its review of Duets, MusicWeb International praised Abdrazakov's voice as a "powerful, dark dramatic bass, excellent for Mefistofele and Fiesco." Exclusive interviews with Ildar Abdrazakov Watch on STAGE+ Ildar Abdrazakov has now recorded his first solo album for Deutsche Grammophon – a broad selection of Verdi arias, recorded with the Chœur Métropolitain and the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The album will be released on August 16, 2019. Deutsche Grammophon had already documented significant milestones in Abdrazakov's career: The yellow label released two productions from the Metropolitan Opera on Blu-ray and DVD, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, where the bass performed alongside Anna Netrebko (2009), and Borodin's Prince Igor with Abdrazakov in the title role (2014). Ildar Abdrazakov was born in Ufa, then the capital of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, now the Republic of Bashkortostan. His father, a film and television director, recognized young Ildar's musical talent and sent him to a local music school. At 14, he received his first singing lessons from M. G. Murtazina, who was already teaching his older brother, and two years later, he entered her class at the Ufa State Institute of Arts. "I was blessed with a great teacher, and I was ambitious," he reports. "Both contributed to me starting my career so young." Abdrazakov continued to study with Professor Murtazina after becoming a member of the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre. At 22, he made his debut at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and gained invaluable early experience on numerous tours with the ensemble, during which he attracted international attention with his first appearance at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2000. In the same year, he had his breakthrough when he won the Maria Callas – Nuove voci per Verdi international competition. A victory that led to his debut at La Scala in Milan in 2001 and further engagements at renowned houses. Abdrazakov made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2004 as Masetto in Don Giovanni. Since then, he has regularly performed there in roles ranging from Figaro and Don Giovanni to Escamillo, Attila, and Méphistophélès. He participated in the gala performance for the reopening of La Scala in 2004, and in 2010, he gave his first recital there with songs by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Ravel, and others. Further career highlights include: Don Basilio and Filippo II for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Attila, Figaro, Don Giovanni, and the four villains from Les Contes d’Hoffmann for the Mariinsky Theatre; Don Basilio for the Opéra de Paris and the Bavarian State Opera; Méphistophélès (Gounod's Faust) for the Opéra de Paris and the Salzburg Festival; Don Giovanni for the Vienna State Opera; Mustafà (L’italiana in Algeri) for the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival; Filippo II for the Bolshoi Theatre, in Lima and Turin, and in concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; Moses (Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon) for the Salzburg Festival and the Opéra de Marseille; Attila for the Opéra de Monte-Carlo; Silva (Verdi's Ernani) for the Rome Opera House; and the title role in Boito's Mefistofele for the San Francisco Opera. In addition to his work in the opera house, Ildar Abdrazakov is also a sought-after concert singer, having performed at Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, the Tokyo Spring Festival, the BBC Proms, and the Salzburg Festival, among others. The live recording of his performance of Verdi's Requiem with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti, released on the orchestra's own label, received two Grammys in 2011 for "Best Classical Album" and "Best Choral Performance." In 2015, Ildar Abdrazakov became Artistic Director of the Elena Obraztsova International Academy of Music in St. Petersburg. He stated: "For the first time in Russia, we are not only creating a system of classical, traditional education but also hoping to establish a lasting connection between generations, so that professional musicians working today can pass on their experience to young talents. I feel a great responsibility and am proud to share my own experiences with other musicians and singers." Since then, he has also founded the Ildar Abdrazakov Foundation, which supports and promotes talented young musicians. In March 2019, the foundation hosted the second Ildar Abdrazakov International Music Festival, which took place in four Russian cities – including Moscow and Ufa, the singer's hometown – and offered concerts and masterclasses. In August 2017, Ildar Abdrazakov made his acclaimed role debut as Don Alfonso in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia at the Salzburg Festival. At the beginning of the 2017/18 season, he sang Philippe II in Verdi's Don Carlos at the Opéra Bastille in Paris. In November and December 2017, he presented music from Duets on a seven-concert European tour with Rolando Villazón. This was followed by two roles at the Met: Figaro in December 2017/January 2018 and Assur in Semiramide in February/March 2018. He sang the title role in Verdi's Attila in concert performances at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in April 2018, before returning to the Opéra Bastille two months later to make his highly anticipated debut in the title role of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. Highlights of his 2018/19 season included appearances as Silva in Ernani at La Scala with "a wonderfully nuanced vocal and dramatic performance" (Operawire); his return to La Scala in December for the opening of the house's season as Attila in Davide Livermore's new production of the opera of the same name; Leporello in Don Giovanni at the Met, exactly 15 years after his debut there in the same work (January/February 2019); and performances of Verdi's Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic and Riccardo Muti in Baden-Baden. This season, Abdrazakov also received the Premio Abbiati for "Best Singer" and made his directorial debut in the first production of Attila at the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre (April/May 2019). After performing in Verdi's Requiem at the Salzburg Festival this summer, he begins his 2019/20 season as Banquo in Macbeth at the Met. He will then portray the title role in Don Giovanni at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 7/2019