Charles Rice to make role debut as Eugene Onegin

Charles Rice and Gelena Gaskarova in Eugene Onegin

British barihunk will be making his role debut as Eugene Onegin in Tchaikovsky's operatic masterpiece in Nantes and Angers. He previously performed the role of Zaretsky in the opera at the Iford Festival Opera. He'll be part of an all-star cast that includes Gelena Gaskarova as Tatiana, Diana Montague as Madame Larina, Oleg Tsibulko as Prince Gremin and Suren Maksutov as Lensky.

The opera will run from May 19-28 at the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes and then be performed at the Grand Théâtre in Angers on June 14 and 16.

Charles Rice in 2012 singing Eugene Onegin in recital:

Recent engagements have included Sid in Britten's Albert Herring with the English Touring Opera, Ned Keene in Britten's Peter Grimes at the Aldeburgh Festival, Morales in Bizet's Carmen at theRoyal Albert Hall and Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca for Grange Park Opera. Rice studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio. He was a finalist at Les Azuriales Young Artists Competition 2009 in France and winner of the Garsington Prize 2009.

In December, he heads to the Stasttheater Klagenfurt to sing Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen.