Biography – Dmitry Ulyanov

Dmitry Ulyanov, bass

Ranks

(2019) Honored Artist of the Russian Federation

Awards

(2021) Russian opera award “Casta Diva” - laureate in the category "Ensemble of the Year" for a concert performance of the opera "Mazeppa" by P. Tchaikovsky conducted by Kirill Petrenko, Berlin Philharmonic
(2015) Russian opera award “Casta Diva” - laureate in the nomination “Singer of the Year” for his performance of the role of Ivan Khovansky in M. Mussorgsky’s opera “Khovanshchina”

Nominations

(2013) Russian National Theater Award “Golden Mask” - nomination “Best male role in opera” for the role of Kutuzov in S. Prokofiev’s opera “War and Peace”
(2016) Russian National Theater Award “Golden Mask” - nomination “Best Actor in Opera” for the role of Ivan Khovansky in M. Mussorgsky’s opera “Khovanshchina”

Participation in contests

(2000) Grand Prix of the 1st international vocal competition under the auspices of UNESCO “Inspiration”

Dmitry Ulyanov Today he is one of the most sought-after Russian opera singers in the world. His luxurious bass combined with outstanding acting skills allows Dmitry Ulyanov to perform on the stages of the best theaters in the world in collaboration with the most recognized conductors, including Teodor Currentzis, Vladimir and Dmitry Yurovsky, Kirill Petrenko, Daniele Rustioni, Renato Palumbo, Philippe Jordan, Mark Minkowski etc. He is invited to their productions by such outstanding directors as Dmitry Chernyakov, Evgeny Pisarev, Barry Koski, Calixto Bieito, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Peter Sellars, David Pountney.

Dmitry Ulyanov is a guest soloist at the Paris National Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian National Opera, the National Opera of the Netherlands, the Royal Theater of Madrid, the Liceo Theater in Barcelona, the Maestranza Theater in Seville, the Grand Theater of Geneva, the Monte Carlo Opera, the Flemish Opera, famous opera festivals in Salzburg and Aix-en-Provence.

At the same time, Dmitry Ulyanov Since 2000 he has been a soloist of the Moscow Academic Musical Theater named after. K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, where he fruitfully collaborates with the theater’s chief conductor Felix Korobov and artistic director and chief director Alexander Titel.

Parts in the current repertoire: Prince Ivan Khovansky (“Khovanshchina” by M.P. Mussorgsky), Lindorff-Coppelius-Dapertutto-Miracle (“The Tales of Hoffmann” by J. Offenbach), Don Basilio (“The Barber of Seville” by G. Rossini), Gremin ( “Eugene Onegin” by P.I. Tchaikovsky), Ramfis (“Aida” by G. Verdi).
Parts performed in the theater: Kutuzov (War and Peace by S.S. Prokofiev), Don Juan (Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart), Herman (Tannhäuser by R. Wagner), Golova (May Night) N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov), Don Alfonso (“This is what all women do” by W.A. Mozart), Collen (“La Bohème” by G. Puccini).

He toured as part of a theater troupe in the USA (2002, 2004), South Korea (2003), Germany (2006), Italy (2009), Cyprus, Latvia and Estonia, as well as in many Russian cities (St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg , Samara, Saratov, Kirov, Rostov-on-Don, Cheboksary, etc.)

Permanent guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia since November 2009. The debut performance was the role of the Doctor in the premiere of A. Berg's opera "Wozzeck" (director - D. Chernyakov, conductor - T. Currentzis). Season 2017/18 Dmitry opened on the historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater with his debut in the role of Boris Godunov (“Boris Godunov” by M. Mussorgsky).
Among the roles performed are Boris Godunov (“Boris Godunov” by M. Mussorgsky), Philip II (“Don Carlos” by G. Verdi), Boris Timofeevich (“Katerina Izmailova” by D. Shostakovich, directed by Rimas Tuminas), Don Basilio ( “The Barber of Seville” by G. Rossini, directed by E. Pisarev), The Varangian Guest (“Sadko” by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, directed by D. Chernyakov), Kochubey (P. Tchaikovsky “Mazepa”, directed by E. Pisarev), Escamillo (Carmen by J. Bizet).

In 2000 he graduated from the Ural State Conservatory. M. Mussorgsky (teacher - Honored Artist of the RSFSR, Professor V. Yu. Pisarev), and in the same year received the Grand Prix in the category “Solo Singing” at the I International Competition “Shabyt” under the auspices of UNESCO in Astana (Kazakhstan).

In 1997, as a second-year student at the Conservatory, he was accepted by chief conductor E. Brazhnik as a trainee soloist into the troupe of the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theater, and already in 1998 he became a soloist at the Moscow Novaya Opera Theater under the direction of E. Kolobov, where he sang many different roles, including Loredano (The Two Foscari by G. Verdi), Varlaam (Boris Godunov by M.P. Mussorgsky), Stromminger (Valli by A. Catalani). He toured with the theater throughout Russia and Europe, participated in the Viva Verdi festival in Cyprus.

Collaborates with several Russian opera houses (St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Perm, Krasnoyarsk, Cheboksary).

He was twice nominated for the National Theater Award "Golden Mask" in the category "Best Actor in Opera" for the roles of Kutuzov (War and Peace by S. Prokofiev, 2013) and Ivan Khovansky (Khovanshchina by M. Mussorgsky, 2016).

Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2019)

Events of recent seasons

In May 2022, Dmitry resumed his long-standing collaboration with Teodor Currentzis, taking part in the tour of the Musicaeterna orchestra in many cities of Russia, and performing the bass part for the first time in D. Shostakovich’s 14th Symphony; and also in July 2022, at the opening of the famous opera festival in Salzburg, Dmitry made his debut as a soloist in another famous symphony of D. Shostakovich “Babi Yar” (Symphony No. 13), and again under the direction of Teodor Currentzis, and this work gained huge success at the festival .

On the eve of Catholic Christmas on December 23, Dmitry made his debut as Chub in a semi-stage production of N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Night Before Christmas” on the stage of the Berlin Philharmonic, under the musical direction of Vladimir Yurovsky. Immediately after the New Year holidays, Dmitry went to Munich, where he performed the role of Kutuzov in Dmitry Chernyakov’s new production of S. Prokofiev’s opera “War and Peace”, and Vladimir Yurovsky again conducted the orchestra. Performances took place at the Bavarian State Opera on March 5, 9, 12, 15 and 18, as well as July 2 and 7, 2023.

After the March performances in Munich, Dmitry returned to Geneva to begin rehearsals for the role of Boris Timofeevich Izmailov in D. Shostakovich’s opera “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” (director - Calixto Bieito, conductor - Alejo Perez). Performances took place on April 30, May 2, 4, 7 and 9, 2023.

Dmitry opened the 2023/24 season in the same way as the last two years, in August 2023, going to Geneva to perform the role of King Philip II in a new production of Verdi’s opera “Don Carlos” in the French version (conductor - Mark Minkowski, director - Lydia Steyer). The performances took place at the Grand Theater of Geneva on September 15, 17, 21, 24, 26 and 28, 2023.
October 13 and 15, 2023 The Moscow public finally saw Dmitry on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia in his stage debut in the role of Kochubey from the opera “Mazeppa” by P. Tchaikovsky.

Detailed biography

Dmitry's foreign career began in December 2002 - in January 2003 he participated in the premiere of P. I. Tchaikovsky's opera "The Oprichnik" in Cagliari (Italy). The performance was recorded on video and CD, dir. — G. Rozhdestvensky, dir. — Graham Vic. Subsequently, from 2004 to 2010, he participated in various productions of French theaters - the Municipal Opera of Marseille, the Monte Carlo Opera, the National Rhine Opera (Strasbourg), the Capitol Theater (Toulouse), where he sang such roles as the King of Egypt, Basilio , Varlaam, Gremin and others.

It is important to note that in the 2008-2009 season he made his debut as Tomsky on the stage of the Monte Carlo Opera (dir. D. Yurovsky), and also took part in the joint project of the Novosibirsk Opera House and the Opéra Bastille, Paris - a grandiose production of the opera by G. Verdi "Macbeth", where he performed the role of Banquo at the premiere in Novosibirsk, and later at the Opera Bastille (Paris). Stage director - Dmitry Chernyakov, stage conductor - Teodor Currentzis.

In April 2010, Dmitry Ulyanov performed the role of Cardinal De Brogna in F. Halevi's opera “The Jewess” on the stage of the Israeli Opera, Tel Aviv (director – David Pountney, conductor – Daniel Oren). After his debut in February 2011 on the stage of the Royal Opera of Madrid (Spain) in the role of Marcel in the concert production of J. Meyerbeer's opera Les Huguenots under the direction of Renato Palumbo, Dmitry Ulyanov began to work closely with the Teatro Real and other Spanish theaters, such as the Teatro Maestranza in Seville (The Grand Inquisitor in G. Verdi's opera Don Carlos, Hunding in R. Wagner's Die Walküre), festival in A Coruña (Sparafucile in Verdi's opera Rigoletto with Leo Nucci in the title role). In January 2012, Dmitry Ulyanov performed the role of King René (Iolanta by P.I. Tchaikovsky) on the stage of the Teatro Real in a new production directed by P. Sellars and conducted by T. Currentzis. The performance was broadcast on the Mezzo HD TV channel and released on DVD. Also on the stage of the Teatro Real he performed the roles of Pimen (Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky) and Banquo (Macbeth by G. Verdi). In 2013, the singer made his debut on the stage of the Bilbao Opera in the role of Procida in Verdi’s opera “Sicilian Vespers” in the French version. He also performed the role of Sparafucile at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville (conducted by Pedro Halfter, in the title role by Leo Nucci).

In the 2013/14 season. continued to actively collaborate with Spanish theaters. On the stage of the Teatro Real he performed the role of Basilio in “The Barber of Seville” by G. Rossini (conductor – Tomasz Hanus, director – Emilio Sagi) and took part in the performance of “Stabat Mater” by G. Rossini. Performed the role of Ramfis in G. Verdi's Aida (Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville, conductor Pedro Halfter, director José Antonio Gutiérrez). At the New National Theater of Tokyo (dir. A. Rubikis) and the Bolshoi Theater of Russia (dir. Laurent Campellone, directed by D. Pountney) he performed the role of Escamillo (J. Bizet’s “Carmen”).

In the 2014/15 season. made his debut at the famous Barcelona Opera House Liceu, performing the role of Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini (conductor Giuseppe Finzi, director Juan Font), and also performed the role of Philip II in the play Don Carlos at the Bolshoi Theater of Russia (conductor Giacomo Sagripanti, directed by Adrian Noble). On tour of the Moscow Academic Musical Theater in Tianjin (China) he sang the role of Kutuzov in the opera by S.S. Prokofiev's "War and Peace" (conductor - Felix Korobov, director - Alexander Titel). He also performed the roles of Landgrave in “Tannhäuser” by R. Wagner (Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, director Timofey Kulyabin, conductor Ainars Rubikis), de Bronyi in “The Jewess” by F. Halévy (Flemish Opera, Antwerp, Ghent, Belgium, conductors – Tomas Netopil, Yiannis Pouspourikas, director – Peter Konviczny), King René in “Iolanta” by P.I. Tchaikovsky (Aix-en-Provence Festival, conductor – Teodor Currentzis, director – Peter Sellars).

In the 2015/16 season. performed Dositheus at the Basel Opera House (conductor Kirill Karabits, director Vasily Barkhatov), Don Basilio at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville (conductor Giuseppe Finzi, director Jose Luis Castro), King René in Iolanta by P.I. Tchaikovsky (Opera Theater of Lyon, conductor – Martin Brabbins, director – Peter Sellars), The General in “The Player” by S. Prokofiev (Monte Carlo Opera, conductor – Mikhail Tatarnikov, director – Jean-Louis Grinda).
In the 2016/17 season. performed the roles of Daland in “The Flying Dutchman” (Flemish Opera, conductor – Cornelius Meister, director – Tatiana Gyurbacha), Khan Konchak and Vladimir Galitsky in “Prince Igor” (National Opera of the Netherlands, conductor – Stanislav Kochanovsky, director – Dmitry Chernyakov), Tsar Dodona in The Golden Cockerel (Teatro Real Madrid, conductor - Ivor Bolton, director - Laurent Pelly).

In the 2017/18 season. debuted at the Salzburg Festival as Boris Timofeevich (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by D. D. Shostakovich, conductor Maris Jansons, director Andreas Kriegenburg) and at the Vienna State Opera as the General (The Gambler by S. S. Prokofiev, conductor – Simone Young, director – Caroline Gruber). In September 2017, he made his long-awaited debut in the role of Tsar Boris in the opera by M.P. Mussorgsky "Boris Godunov" on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Also on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in the 2017/2018 season he performed the roles of Boris Timofeevich (Katerina Izmailova by D. D. Shostakovich, director - Rimas Tuminas, conductor - Tugan Sokhiev) and Philip II (Don Carlos by G. Verdi, conductor - Carey -Lynn Wilson). As part of the IV Music Festival of Vasily Ladyuk “Opera Live”, for the first time in his career he performed the main role of Attila, in a concert performance of G. Verdi’s opera “Attila”. In February 2018, he sang the same role on the stage of the Auditorium de Lyon concert hall (Lyon, France) as part of the Verdi Festival under the direction of Daniele Rustioni. In April 2018, he sang the role of Boris Izmailov in the opera “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”, successfully debuting on the stage of the Naples Theater San Carlo (produced by Martin Kuschei, conductor - Juraj Valchuya), and performed the role of the General on the stage of the Basel Opera House in the new production of S. Prokofiev’s opera “The Gambler” by director Vasily Barkhatov.

May 23, 2018 on the stage of the Moscow Academic Musical Theater named after. K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich - Danchenko hosted a solo concert by Dmitry Ulyanov, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of operatic artistic activity. The concert is also included in the series of symphony concerts of the theater orchestra. The concert featured scenes from the opera “Boris Godunov” by M. P. Mussorgsky, orchestrated by D. Shostakovich, as well as Symphony No. 1 and “The Execution of Stepan Razin”, a vocal symphonic poem to the words of Yevgeny Yevtushenko for bass, choir and orchestra by D. Shostakovich. (Conductor - Felix Korobov, Symphony Orchestra of the Musical Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich - Danchenko, Choir of the Academy of Choral Art named after V. S. Popov)

July 14, 2018 on the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, Dmitry took part in a Gala concert of opera stars dedicated to the closing of the FIFA World Cup, which took place in Russia. Among other concert participants were Placido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Yusif Eyvazov, Khibla Gerzmava, Ildar Abdrazakov, and other stars of the world opera stage.

In the 2018/19 season, in November, on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, Dmitry Ulyanov performed the role of Don Basilio in a new production of G. Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” (directed by Evgeny Pisarev, conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi). In December 2018 Dmitry performed on the stage of the Russian State Academic Drama Theater named after. F. Volkov in Yaroslavl, where the opening ceremony of the Year of Theater in Russia took place, as well as on the stage of the native theater MAMT named after. K.S. Stanislavsky and Vl.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko took part in a gala concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the theater. In February 2019, Dmitry Ulyanov made his debut on the stage of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with great success, presenting to the audience for the first time the vocal cycle of M.P. Mussorgsky's "Songs and Dances of Death" (Conductor - Zhan Xian). You will find a recording of this speech in our video archive. In April 2019 spectators were able to see and hear Dmitry in the role of Boris Timofeevich Izmailov on the stage of the Paris Opera (Director - Krzysztof Warlikowski, orchestra conducted by Ingo Metzmacher). The performance was broadcast in many cinemas around the world, as well as on the Mezzo HD website and channel, and you can also find a recording of this performance in the “Video” section of our website.
On May 04, 2019, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated April 29.04.2019, 199 No. XNUMX was published “On awarding state awards of the Russian Federation”, which reflects that Dmitry Ulyanov was awarded the title “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation”. The 2018/2019 season ended with the debut on the stage of the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing with J. Offenbach's opera “The Tales of Hoffmann”, in which Dmitry Ulyanov performed the already familiar parts of 4 villains (Lindorff, Coppelius, Dapertutto, Doctor Miracle). The director of the play is Francesca Zambello, the director is Stefan Grögler (new version of the play). The orchestra was conducted by Pinchas Steinberg.

Dmitry opened the 2019/2020 season by performing two different roles on two different stages, in two different productions of the same opera by G. Verdi “Don Carlos”: in September 2019. on the stage of the Vienna State Opera he performed the role of the Grand Inquisitor (director - Daniele Abbado, conductor - Jonathan Darlindton), and later he performed the role of King Philip II on the stage of the Teatro Real in Madrid (conductors - Nicola Luisotti, Diego Garcia Rodriguez, director - David McVicar) . At the end of November and December 2019. Dmitry took part in a new production of A. Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor” on the stage of the Bastille Opera in Paris (conductor - Philippe Jordan, director - Barry Koski.), where he performed the role of the joker and troublemaker Prince Galitsky. In February 2020 Dmitry Ulyanov performed the role of the Varangian guest in N. Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "Sadko" directed by D. Chernyakov on the stage of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia. And on March 6 and 8, 2020, Dmitry Ulyanov performed on the stage of the large concert hall of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon in the role of Prince Gremin from the opera by P.I. Tchaikovsky "Eugene Onegin" (director - Christina Helin, conductor - Lorenzo Viotti).

After a rather long creative break due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in May 2021, Dmitry appeared on the stage of the National Opera of Lyon in the role of Tsar Dodon from Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Golden Cockerel (director - Barry Koski, conductor - Daniel Rustioni). Also in July 2021, the same production was presented to audiences at the Aix-en-Provence Opera Festival. The performance was broadcast on the media portal medici.tv, and in the fall of 2022, official BD and DVD discs from the Nexus company were released.

Dmitry Ulyanov opened the 2021/22 season in September 2021, going to the Grand Theater of Geneva (Switzerland). There he performed the role of Kutuzov in a production of S. Prokofiev’s opera “War and Peace” (director - Calixto Bieito, conductor - Alejo Perez). In November 2021, several performances took place in Baden-Baden and Berlin in the concert version of P. Tchaikovsky’s opera “Mazeppa” (conducted by Kirill Petrenko, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra), in which Dmitry Ulyanov made his debut as Kochubey. In the spring of 2022, Dmitry had a long-awaited return to the stage of the Teatro Real in Madrid. There, at the end of March - beginning of April 2022, he performed the role of Johann Faust from Sergei Prokofiev's opera The Fiery Angel (director - Calixto Bieito, conductor - Gustavo Gimeno). The performance was broadcast on the Arte TV channel and website. In May 2022, Dmitry resumed his long-standing collaboration with Teodor Currentzis, taking part in the tour of the Musicaeterna orchestra in many cities of Russia, and performing the bass part for the first time in D. Shostakovich’s 14th Symphony; and also in July 2022, at the opening of the famous opera festival in Salzburg, Dmitry also performed the bass solo for the first time in another famous 13th Symphony of D. Shostakovich “Babyn Yar”, and again under the direction of Teodor Currentzis, and this work gained great success.

Dmitry opened the 2022/23 season in August 2022. on the stage of the Grand Theater of Geneva (Switzerland), performing the role of Cardinal de Brogni in F. Halévy’s opera “The Jewess” (conductor - Mark Minkowski, director - David Elden). The performance was broadcast on the website and TV channel Arte.
On the eve of Catholic Christmas on December 23, Dmitry made his debut as Chub in a semi-stage production of N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Night Before Christmas” on the stage of the Berlin Philharmonic, under the musical direction of Vladimir Yurovsky. Immediately after the New Year holidays, Dmitry went to Munich, where he performed the part of Kutuzov in Dmitry Chernyakov’s new production of S. Prokofiev’s opera “War and Peace”, and Vladimir Yurovsky again conducted the orchestra. The performances took place on the stage of the Bavarian State Opera on March 5, 9, 12, 15 and 18, as well as on July 2 and 7, 2023. After the March performances in Munich, Dmitry returned to Geneva to begin rehearsals for the role of Boris Timofeevich Izmailov in the opera by D. Shostakovich “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” (director - Calixto Bieito, conductor - Alejo Perez). The performances took place on April 30, May 2, 4, 7 and 9, 2023. Dmitry closed the season with two performances in the role of the Grand Inquisitor (G. Verdi’s “Don Carlos” on the stage of the Bavarian State Opera.