Opera Star Ildar Abdrazakov to Perform at Carnegie Hall

Opera Star Ildar Abdrazakov to Perform at Carnegie Hall
The great Russian bass will give a recital at Carnegie Hall
Barry Bassis
1/23/2015
Updated:
1/23/2015

Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov’s international career took off after he won the Maria Callas International Television Competition in Italy during 2000. He made his debut in “La Sonambula” at La Scala the following year when he was only 25 years old and quickly established himself as one of the world’s leading basses.

He is married to the outstanding Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina and they frequently perform together. They co-starred at the Metropolitan Opera in “Damnation of Faust” and “Khovanshchina.” The husband and wife won Grammy’s for “The Best Classical Album” and “The Best Choral Performance” for their recording of Verdi’s Requiem, conducted by Riccardo Muti. Mussorgsky’s “Khovanshchina” marked the first time Abdrazakov had appeared in a Russian opera outside his native country. Since then, he played the title role in Borodin’s “Prince Igor” at the Met, a performance that made the New York Times list of the year’s 10-best classical musical events. He also starred in this season’s opening night performance of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” (“The Marriage of Figaro”) at the Met and performed at the Richard Tucker Gala, which is being broadcast on PBS.

Abdrazakov’s first solo album was the excellent “Power Plays: Russian Arias for Bass” (on Delos).

On January 29th at 8 p.m., Abdrazakov will give a solo recital at Carnegie Hall of works by Fauré, Liszt, and Ravel, as well as highlights of the Russian opera repertoire by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky. Mzia Bakhtouridze will accompany on piano. For tickets, go to http://www.carnegiehall.org or call CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

 

Barry has been a music, theater, and travel writer for over a decade for various publications, including Epoch Times. He is a voting member of the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle, two organizations of theater critics that give awards at the end of each season. He has also been a member of NATJA (North American Travel Journalists Association)
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