The Russian Bass Ildar Abdrazakov was born in Ufa, Russian Federation, in 1976, where he studied at the Institute for Arts under Professor Murtazina.

Mr Abdrazakov has won a number of prizes including First Prize at the television competition Moscow Grand Prix named after Irina Arkhipova, First Prize in the Glinka International Competition in 1997, and First Prize at the Rimsky-Korsakov International Competition in 1998. In October 2000 he won the Maria Callas International Television Competition in Parma.

In 2001 Mr Abdrazakov made his debut at Teatro alla Scala Milan and in 2003/04 established himself worldwide with performances of the title role of Mose et Pharaon with Maestro Muti at La Scala (which is also available now on DVD/CD) and performed the reopening concert of La Scala Theatre conducted by Muti in December 04.

He has since made his debut at all major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera and Washington Opera as Mustapha in Italiana in Algerie, Don Giovanni, Leporello and Mephistopheles, Escamillo in Carmen at the Vienna Staatsoper and Assur in Semiramide in Madrid and Barcelona, Figaro at Los Angeles Opera and returned as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermor to La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera including the famous HD broadcast.

In concert he appeared in performances of Verdi's Requiem with Valery Gergiev in Baden-Baden, in Milan with Riccardo Chailly, in Siena with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia conducted by Myung-Whun Chung, and in Rome and Bologna conducted by Gianluigi Gelmetti. He performed Cherubini's Messe with Maesto Muti in Florence, the Verdi Requiem with the Washington National Symphony Orchestra, Damnation de Faust with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Valeri Gergiev, and earlier this year concerts with the Bayerische Rundfunk in Munich with Muti , the Verdi Requiem with Placido Domingo in Munich and made his London Prom debut with the BBC Philharmonic and Maestro Nosedda in a performance of the Michelangelo verses by Shostakovich.

2006/07 engagements were performances of Mefistopheles in Faust - including a live broadcast - at the Metropolitan, the title role of Oberto in Bilbao and Semiramide in Berlin. In concert he appeared with the Rotterdam Philharmonic (Boito's Mefistopheles), the Orchestra Filharmonica of La Scala (Shostakovich Michelangelo Verses), the Orchestre National de France with Muti (Cherubini Messa), the Verdi Requiem with Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig and Chaily and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Meastro Muti and Rossini's Stabat Mater at the Proms with Pappano and the Orchestra di Santa Caecilia.

In 2007/08 Mr Abdrazakov had, amongst others, engagements of Don Giovanni at Washington Opera and Walter in Luisa Miller at the Bastille Opera and Macbeth at La Scala. The 08/09 season saw him return to the Met as Raimondo in Lucia di Lamermoor, Leporello in Don Giovanni, as well as various concert performances including the Verdi Requiem with Pappano at Covent Garden, Chicago with Maestro Muti, and a recording and concert performance of Damnation de Faust in Vienna with Bertrand de Billy. This summer he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in the title role of a new production of Moise et Pharaon with Maesto Muti and this season will see him at the Met in Robert Lepage's production of Damnation de Faust and a new production of the Attila (title role) with Maestro Muti at the Met. Other highlights of the 09/10 season are Figaro in Washington, a recital at La Scala and concert performances with the Vienna Philharmonic and Maestro Muti in Salzburg.

Mr Abdrazakov has made a recording for Decca of unpublished arias by Rossini conducted by Riccardo Chailly and live recording of Cherubini's Mass at the Bayerische Rundfunk conducted by Riccardo Muti for EMI Classics and recorded The Michelangelo Verses, a Shostakovich Song Cycle, as well as Miserly Knight by by Rachmaninoff in a dual purpose recording with the BBC and Chandos. A DVD/CD of a live performance of Mose e Faraon from La Scala has also been released.

November 2009


Since 2007 Ildar Abdrazakov has been an Ambassador for Zegna & Music project, which was founded in 1997 as a philanthropic activity to promote music and its values.


Ildar Abdrazakov's concert suit by Ermenegildo Zegna.