NY Times, March 3, 2004
The young, robust-voiced Russian bass-baritone Ildar Abdrazakov also had a splendid Met debut as Masetto. This was no country bumpkin but a husky fellow you don't want to mess with. And how could you blame him for succumbing again to Zerlina, his fiancée, when Zerlina was the perky, alluring and sweet-voiced soprano Hei-Kyung Hong?

Geoffrey Norris reviews the BBC Philharmonic Prom at the Royal Albert Hall 21/07/06
... Intoned here with such awesome gravity as by the bass Ildar Abdrazakov, there could be no doubt either of Shostakovich's bravery or of his despondency, hopelessness and disenchantment.

'Rossini che la festa cominci'
l'opera
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Royal Albert Hall, London, 20 July 2006
...This puts a great responsibility on the bass, who has to sustain our attention throughout a long work. Ildar Abdrazakov did that very successfully. His beautiful tone, with each note perfectly placed, carried every syllable across the vast expanse of the Albert Hall. He has great presence and I suspect we will hear a lot more of him in the future. If he's as good on stage as he is on the concert platform, he's definitely worth looking out for.
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Nagano goes out on top with 'Figaro'
The L.A. Opera's music director earns his bravos with a fully realized Mozart work, his final piece for the company.

...Abdrazakov proved a robust, aggressive Figaro - more plotting than playful, barely deferential, determined, entitled. He possesses a consistent, full and centered tone, and has the capacity to let loose when necessary. His aria "Aprite un po' quegli occhi" ("Open your eyes") was fire and fury, Figaro unhinged, shining a flashlight at the men in the audience and desperately warning them of female inconstancy. Moments like that, when performer, character, music and drama fuse so perfectly, are exactly what give opera its unique power.
PETER LEFEVRE Special to the Register
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