Originally, he studied electrical engineering, but then also chant in Belgrade, where he sang in the opera choir before
continuing his studies in Frankfurt and Munich. He started his solo career, at more than 30 years old, in Detmold
(1992–95), then in Hannover (1994–99); then guest appearances in Sevilla, Frankfurt, Hamburg, at both the
Deutsche Oper and the Staatsoper Berlin, the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Vienna Staatsoper had made him famous enough to
go on as a freelancer.
For the next more than 20 years, he made an excellent international career: Covent Garden, Paris Opéra, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Toulouse, Marseille, Monte Carlo, Geneva, Zürich, Dresden, Munich, Amsterdam, Brussels,
Liège, a lot in Gent and Antwerp, Palermo, Modena, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Leipzig, Düsseldorf, Bucharest, St.
Petersburg (Mikhailovskij Theater), Moscow, Tel Aviv, the festivals in Bregenz, Macerata and Savonlinna...
His signature
role was Pinkerton, he sang Turiddu, Canio, Alvaro, Manrico, Radamès, Lohengrin, Parsifal, Alfredo, Lenskij, Tito,
Berlioz' Faust, Cavaradossi, Pollione, Don José, Don Carlo, Calaf, Guido Bardi (Eine florentinische Tragödie
by Zemlinsky), Dick Johnson, Andrea Chénier, Jean, Florestan, Hagenbach, both Léopold and
Éléazar, Otello, Roberto Devereux... amazing, and completely incomprehensible for me. I've avoided him ever
since hearing him as Léopold at the Vienna Staatsoper, particularly since the recordings of his voice inevitably
confirm the unfavorable impression that I had in the theater. His voice is pinched, uneven, produced without any ease or
elegance; for me, his success is another proof for the awkward condition in which opera has been for decades already.
Reference 1, reference 2, reference 3, reference 4, reference 5, reference 6, reference 7: Kutsch & Riemens
Picture source
