VANITY FAIR features Ildar Abdrazakov

Ildar Abdrazakov (Photograph by Jason Bell)

It's been a good month for Ildar Abdrazakov, who is getting a lot of great press coverage for being the featured star in the opening of the Metropolitan Opera - an honor usually reserves for sopranos and tenors. He was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal and now this segment appeared in Vanity Fair with a stunning photo by Jason Bell:

It could almost be the plot of an opera: a dark, dashing descendant of both Genghis Khan and Tamerlane appears and sweeps all before him. But in the case of Russian-born bass Ildar Abdrazakov—“I’m one-fourth Tatar and three-fourths Bashkirian,” he says with a smile—it happens to be true. A native of Ufa, the capital of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan (also known as Bashkiria), Abdrazakov, 37, has emerged in the past few years as one of the most sought-after young basses in the operatic world. He was pitch-perfect as the brooding prince in the Metropolitan Opera’s production last season of Borodin’s Prince Igor. But what Abdrazakov actually likes best is Italian opera: “I only started singing the Russian roles when I came west,” he says. His supple, burnished bass shines in the lyrical Rossini-to-Verdi canon, along with his comedic flair.

This season he’ll star in a new Met production of Le Nozze di Figaro, directed by Richard Eyre, set in 1920s Seville. Abdrazakov made his debut as Figaro at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1998 and has since sung the part of Mozart’s beloved servant more than a hundred times. “There are many aspects of the role,” he says. “Comedy, drama, some lyric tones.” He keeps it fresh by always “finding something new, a small departure.” Abdrazakov loves working with the Met’s music director, James Levine, who will be conducting Figaro when it opens on September 22. “For him the acting is just as important as the music,” he says. “Even a hand gesture has to connect. It’s very organic—everything all together. He’s a genius.”

AVA's Mock "Vanity Fair" Photo Shoot

The Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia featured a wonderful mock version of Vanity Fair's photo of sexy opera singers that included barihunks Mariusz Kwiecien, Nathan Gunn and Erwin Schrott. AVA low voices include Scott Conner and Wes Mason, who has been a regular on this site.

From left to right: Mariusz Kwiecien, Polish baritone; Maija Kovalevska, Latvian soprano; Rolando Villazón, Mexican tenor; Nathan Gunn, American baritone; Danielle de Niese, Australian-born soprano; Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan bass; Anna Netrebko, Russian soprano. Photograph by Wayne Maser; styled by Sarajane Hoare.

Just a few of the exciting artists AVA audiences can look forward to hearing this year.  (l-r) Alexandra Maximova, Scott Conner, Maria Aleida, Nelson Ebo, Wes Mason, John Viscardi, and Chrystal Williams (Photo by Paul Sirochman)

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Hot Schrott Featured in Italian Vanity Fair

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Vanity Fair Features "HOT" Singers: Three Barihunks

[From left to right: Mariusz Kwiecien, Polish baritone; Maija Kovalevska, Latvian soprano; Rolando Villazón, Mexican tenor; Nathan Gunn, American baritone; Danielle de Niese, Australian-born soprano; Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan bass; Anna Netrebko, Russian soprano. Photograph by Wayne Maser; styled by Sarajane Hoare - CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE]

High C in High-Def

Meet seven international opera stars who are putting to rest the “fat lady sings” cliché, via live broadcasts to movie theaters.

by Damian Fowler, Vanity Fair, May 2009

Opera is ready for its close-up, Mr. DeMille. Or, rather, Mr. Gelb, for Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb is responsible for bringing this high art to the silver screen. Since 2006, when the Met first broadcast live in high definition to selected movie theaters—now up to about 850 screens in 36 countries—audiences have been able to feel on intimate terms with world-class singers. “It’s like seeing somebody eye to eye,” says the Australian-born soprano Danielle de Niese, whose performance this past January in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice was beamed out to far-flung aficionados. Given the new craze, it’s a pleasure to have artists who are as easy on the eye as on the ear. A clear leader is Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, whose vocal and physical charms will be staged and screened in the Met’s new production of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in December, opposite Rolando Villazón, the dashing Mexican tenor. Offstage, her fiancé is the Uruguayan bass Erwin Schrott, who this winter was seducing audiences and maidens alike as Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Another leading man fond of the unbuttoned shirt is American baritone Nathan Gunn, who will be flexing his voice in the upcoming Met season as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Joining him in the lower registers, Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien will portray the toreador Escamillo in the Met’s new production of Carmen, opening on New Year’s Eve. He’ll be teamed later with Maija Kovalevska, the Latvian soprano, whose high cheekbones and shimmering voice in the role of Micaëla will no doubt cause swooning in cineplexes around the world. Popcorn and Bizet? Why not?

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