Full Biography
Ildar Abdrazakov has firmly established himself as one of opera’s most sought-after basses and one of his generation’s most celebrated and recognized artists. Since making his debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan at age 25, the Russian native has become a mainstay at leading houses worldwide, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Paris National Opera, the Vienna State Opera and Munich’s Bavarian State Opera. His powerful yet refined voice coupled with his compelling stage presence have prompted critics to hail him as a “sensational bass … who has just about everything – imposing sound, beautiful legato, oodles of finesse” (The Independent). An active concert artist, he has performed at London’s BBC Proms and at New York’s Carnegie Hall, as well as with leading international orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic.
In the 2023/2024 season, Ildar Abdrazakov returns to the Opéra Monte-Carlo as Filippo II (Don Carlo) in a new production by Massimo Zanetti and Davide Livermore. Continuing his time at the Opéra Monte-Carlo, he performs Verdi’s Requiem under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. Later in the season, he returns to the Zurich Opera in one of his signature roles, Mustafá in Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri. The Russian bass makes a reappearance at the Paris Opera in the title role of Don Quichotte and also sings the role of Zaccaria in Nabucco at the Vienna State Opera. On the concert stage, Ildar Abdrazakov can be heard at the Teatro Dante Alighieri in Ravenna presenting the Verdi Gala with maestro Riccardo Muti. Additionally, he performs Messa da Requiem with maestro Antonio Pappano at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
The highlights of Ildar Abdrazakov’s previous season was performing his signature role of Boris Godunov at the prestigious season opening at the Teatro alla Scala. Abdrazakov also appeared as Méphistophélès (La damnation de Faust) at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and as Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at Opéra Monte-Carlo. On the concert stage, the famous bass gave a solo recital at the Hungarian State Opera.
Ildar Abdrazakov has appeared with virtually every major opera company in the United States and Europe such as Madrid’s Teatro Real, the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, the Vienna State Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Washington National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera. Since his house debut in Don Giovanni (2004), Ildar Abdrazakov has become a mainstay at the Metropolitan Opera. He headlined the gala opening of the company’s 2015-16 season in the title role in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro by Sir Richard Eyre and sang the title role in a new Dmitry Tcherniakov’s staging of Borodin’s Prince Igor – a performance captured on DVD and Blu-ray by Deutsche Grammophon. Other notable Met productions include his role debut as Henry VIII opposite Anna Netrebko in Anna Bolena, Dosifey in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, Escamillo in two productions of Carmen, the title role of Attila under the baton of Riccardo Muti, the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, Assur in Rossini’s Semiramide, Leoporello in Don Giovanni and most recently, Banquo in Verdi’s Macbeth and Méphistophélès in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust.
Ildar Abdrazakov is a frequent guest at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where he joined Riccardo Muti in concert for the reopening of the theatre in 2004-05, and sang Moses in a production of Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon which was recorded and released on CD and DVD. In the 2018-19 season, he starred as Verdi’s Attila in a season opening new production, televised globally. He has also sung three solo recitals as well as Don Ruy da Silva in Verdi’s Ernani at the famous house. In 2021, he opened La Scala’s season as Banquo in Macbeth. His many triumphant performances on one of the most prestigious opera stages has resulted in the award of the Franco Abbiati in the category “Best Singer”.
The bass made his Salzburg Festival debut in 2009 in a new production of Rossini’s Moïse et Pharaon. Since then, he has returned regularly, singing the roles of Méphistophélès in a new production of Faust, Mustafà alongside Cecilia Bartoli in the Festival’s new production of Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri, performances of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem and concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti.
Additional career highlights include his first appearance at London’s Royal Opera House in 2009 was in Verdi’s Requiem in concert with Sir Antonio Pappano after which he returned to sing Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Filippo II in Don Carlo and, most recently, Attila in acclaimed concert performances. The title role in Le nozze di Figaro was the vehicle for Abdrazakov’s 1998 house debut at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre. Among his other signature roles are both the title role and Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Méphistophélès of Gounod and Berlioz, Oroveso in Norma, Selim in Il turco in Italia and Assur in his Semiramide. The Russian bass is noted for Verdi roles including Walter in Luisa Miller and the title character in Oberto and Attila, as well as Banquo in Macbeth and Filippo II in Don Carlo. The French version of this role took Ildar Abdrazakov to the Paris National Opera in 17-18, where he also made his triumphant debut in the title role of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, broadcast live in cinemas worldwide, and sang Prince Igor in a new production by Barrie Kosky.
In 2018-19, Ildar Abdrazakov made his debut as a stage director in a production of Attila for Bashkir State Opera in which he also performed the title role.
On the concert stage, he has given recitals in Russia, Italy, Japan and the United States, and has performed with orchestras including the Orchestre Metropolitain, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Deutsches Symphony Orchester, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala and Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Among the noted conductors with whom he has collaborated are Riccardo Muti, Valery Gergiev, Sir Antonio Pappano, James Levine, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Bertrand de Billy, Riccardo Frizza and Riccardo Chailly. In November and December 2017 Ildar Abdrazakov toured Europe with Rolando Villazón. The concerts in Prague, Berlin, Baden-Baden, Stuttgart, Munich, Paris and Vienna presented the repertoire of their first joint album “Duets”, featuring duets from Italian and French operas. The album was launched in September 2017 by Deutsche Grammophon.
Ildar Abdrazakov’s debut solo album Power Players, a celebration of the great Russian bass roles, was released in early 2014 on Delos, to great critical acclaim. His recording of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra won a Grammy Award. He also has recorded unpublished arias by Rossini with Riccardo Chailly and the Symphony Orchestra of Milan, as well as Giuseppe Verdi for Decca, and Cherubini’s Mass with Muti and the Bayerischer Rundfunk for EMI Classics. For Chandos he has recorded Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses of Michelangelo and Rachmaninoff’s The Miserly Knight, both with Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic. In early 2017 Abdrazakov signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His first solo album Verdi was released in summer 2019. The bass’s DVD releases include Moïse et Pharaon from La Scala, Oberto from Bilbao, Norma from Parma and Lucia di Lammermoor from the Metropolitan Opera. Marking the Verdi bicentennial, May 2013 saw Abdrazakov’s star turn in the title role of Attila immortalized on the Mariinsky label’s first DVD/Blu-ray release.
Abdrazakov was born in Ufa, the today’s capital of the republic of Bashkiria in Russia. Both of his parents were artists: his mother was a painter and his late father a director. At age four Abdrazakov began acting in his father’s stage and film productions, and these early experiences inspired him to pursue a career in the arts. Upon graduating from the Ufa State Institute of Arts, he joined the Bashkirian Opera and Ballet Theatre. In the late 1990s he won a string of prestigious vocal competitions: the Moscow Grand Prix named after Irina Arkhipova, the Glinka International Vocal Competition, the Rimsky-Korsakov International Competition, and the International Obraztsova competition. His 2000 win at the Maria Callas International Television Competition in Parma thrust him into the international spotlight and led to his debut at La Scala the following year.
Ildar Abdrazakov has his own foundation, created to support and promote young talented musicians. Since 2018 he is annually organizing festivals in Russia, inviting renowned singers to give concerts and masterclasses there. Since 2014, Ildar Abdrazakov is also Artistic Director of the Elena Obraztsova International Academy of Music.
© CSAM, August 2023
