“Abdrazakov could fill Yankee stadium if he wanted to, but Carnegie is just right to honor this special bass,” exclaimed Berkshire Fine Arts of Ildar’s North American solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium on January 29. “He has a complete and satisfying voice to dress his dashing image.
“Handsome as all get out, he sings with a dramatic and dynamic range that is perfection. …His body is restrained in performance, but his eyes are very expressive, sometimes glinting like an impish elf, sometimes in mournful repose and at others, wide open to anything. His hands are not aflutter, but an occasional gesture is used to punctuate a phrase or express a change of mood. He is totally committed to conveying emotion to his audience. They received his message with delight and heartfelt applause.”
During the program of works by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Fauré, Liszt, and Ravel with accompanist Mzia Bakhtouridze, “the charismatic singer showed off the many facets of his art—from producing a rich sound with a range of colors to conveying the meaning of each piece, from songs of love to the horrors of war,” wrote the Epoch Times. Proclaimed The Upcoming, “the Bashkirian bass’s smiles are for real, so is his voice.”
Ildar presents his next solo recital at a gala evening benefiting the Palm Bach Opera on Florida, “Seduction of the Senses” on Thursday, February 5.