Taras Shtonda

Bass

Biography
Born in Kiev. In 1993, he graduated from the Kiev Tchaikovsky Conservatoire (Galina Sukhorukova's class).
Since 1992, he has been soloist with the National Opera of the Ukraine.
In 2002, he made his Bolshoi Theatre debut in the role of Dosifei (Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina).

Repertoire

Among his other roles for the Bolshoi Theatre are:
Ruslan (Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila)
Kochubey (Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa)
Faust (Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel)
Priest (Shostakovich's The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk)
King Rene (Tchaikovsky's Iolanta)
Boris Godunov (Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov)

Also in repertoire:
Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia)
Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor)
Oroveso (Norma)
Philip II, Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlo)
Zaccaria (Nabucco)
Monterone (Rigoletto)
Ramfis, King of Egypt (Aida)
Banquo (Macbeth)
Uncle Bonze (Madama Butterfly)
Escamillo (Carmen)
Mephistopheles (Faust)
Commendatore (Don Giovanni)
Sarastro (Die Zauberfloete)
Wotan (Die Walkure)
Gremin (Eugene Onegin)
Ibn-Hakia (Iolanta)
Sobakin (Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride)
Salieri (Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri)
Varangian Guest (Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko)
Pimen, Rangoni (Boris Godunov)
Cherevik (Mussorgsky’s Sorochintsy Fair)
Galitsky (Borodin's Prince Igor)
Boris Timofeyevich (Shostakovich’s The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk)
Kutuzov (Prokofiev's War and Peace)
Celio (Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges)
Taras Bulba (Lysenko’s Taras Bulba)

His chamber music repertoire includes works by Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, Glinka, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Dargomyzhsky, Sviridov, Schubert, Schumann, Massenet, Brahms, Lysenko.

Tours

He often tours in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Serbia, Poland, Slovenia, Brazil, South Korea and elsewhere.
In 2001, he appeared at the KlangBogen Festival (Iolanta, conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev).

Among his most important foreign appearances are: Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlo, Palma-de-Mallorca, 1997), Galitsky (Prince Igor, Winterthur, 1998) Zaccaria (Nabucco, Avignon, 2000), Dosifey (Khovanshchina, Warsaw, 2002), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor, St. Petersburg, 2003), Pimen (Boris Godunov, Royal Opera, London, 2006).

He often appears at major international music festivals. His most recent festival performances include: Mussorgsky’s Sunless vocal cycle (Prague Autumn Festival, 2003); Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death and Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti and Song of the Forests (Prague Autumn Festival, 2006); Galitsky (Prince Igor) and title role in Boris Godunov (Ljublijana Festival, Slovenia, 2007); title role in Boris Godunov (Savonlinna Opera Festival, 2007).

He also gives many performances in the cantata-oratorio and chamber music repertoire. They include: Verdi’s Requiem (Madrid, Barcelona, Santander, 1997; Amsterdam, the Hague, Utrecht, Rotterdam, 2002); Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Strasbourg, Rio de Janeiro, San Paolo, 1999); Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 (Big Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, 2001; Warsaw Philharmonia, 2003; Beethovenhalle, Bonn, 2005).

Discography

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, conductor Roman Kofman, 2005.
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14, conductor Roman Kofman, 2006.

Awards

He has won prizes at many international competitions of which the most important are: Julian Gayarre (Pamplona, 1996, 3rd prize), Francisco Vinas (Barcelona, 1997, 2nd prize), Maria Callas (Athens, 1997, lst prize), Byul-Byul (Baku, 2000, 2nd prize), Georgy Sviridov (Kursk, 2001, lst prize).