Ildar Abdrazakov’s performance as the title character in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Borodin’ Prince Igor will be transmitted to movie theaters worldwide on March 1 as part of the Met’s celebrated Live in HD series. Ildar has earned a chorus of praise for his “burnished, powerful” (The New York Times) performance as the eponymous character in Dmitri Tcherniakov’s production, which opened on February 6 and was last staged at the Met nearly 100 years ago. Ildar joins a cast that includes Oksana Dyka as Yaroslavna, Anita Rachvelishvili as Konchakovna, Sergey Semishkur as Vladimir Igorevich, Mikhail Petrenko as Prince Galitsky, and Stefan Kocán as Khan Konchak, with Gianandrea Noseda on the podium.

Following the broadcast, Prince Igor continues at the Met for two more performances on March 4 and 8.

Midway through his critically acclaimed run singing the title role of Borodin’s Prince Igor at the Metropolitan Opera, Ildar will sign copies of his debut solo recording, Power Players: Russian Arias for Bass, at the Met Opera Shop on Friday, February 28 at 5pm. The new disc finds Ildar returning to his Russian roots, celebrating the iconic bass roles that are the hallmark of his homeland’s operatic heritage with selections by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rachmaninov, and Prokofiev that include the famous Act II aria from Prince Igor. Purchase the album, which is currently available in the United States and will be released in Europe on February 25, via Amazon or iTunes. Find more information about the album signing here.

Ten years after making his Metropolitan Opera debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni, Ildar Abdrazakov will open the company’s 2014-15 season this September in a new production of Le Nozze di Figaro. Ildar stars as the soon-to-be-wed servant in Mozart and Da Ponte’s beloved classic, singing under the baton of James Levine.

This marks the second Met opening night for the Russian bass, who was heard as Henry VIII in 2011’s season-opening production of Anna Bolena. Directed by Richard Eyre, Le Nozze di Figaro opens on September 22 and its October 18 matinee will be beamed to cinemas worldwide as part of the Met’s 2014-15 series of Live in HD transmissions.

(Photo: Anne Deniau)

Following its February 6 opening, the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Prince Igor has earned Ildar Abdrazakov critical and audience acclaim for his portrayal of the title role.

“Solid and ruggedly handsome, Mr. Abdrazakov is a confident actor. Though his voice is firm and robust, he is not one of those formidable, gravelly Russian basses…and his Igor has moments of Italianate lyrical refinement,” writes The New York Times. “Mr. Abdrazakov does his most burnished, powerful singing in the prince’s despairing soliloquy”

“Abdrazakov hurled his dark bass-baritone into Igor’s soul-searching arias, the warm, lyrical tone suggesting the proud prince’s underlying vulnerability,” added the New York Observer. Likewise, Bloomberg News noted, “Ildar Abdrazakov, Russia’s great bass, was magnificent, especially in Igor’s grieving aria.”

Prince Igor continues at the Met through March 8; the March 1 performance will be transmitted to movie theaters worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series.

(Photo: Cory Weaver)