Maxim Mironov

Mironov studied voice at the Gnesin Institute and got his first contract as early as 2002 at the Helikon Opera in Moscow. After winning the "Neue Stimmen" competition in Gütersloh (Germany), he quickly made a good international career that brought him to La Monnaie, the Opéra (Palais Garnier) in Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Teatro Real, La Scala, Antwerp, the State Operas of Berlin and Vienna, Theater an der Wien, Los Angeles, Washington, Tokyo, Glyndebourne, Pesaro, La Fenice, Bologna, Teatro Massimo (Palermo), Teatro San Carlo and many others, in short: to most every desirable opera theater on this planet.

That's easy to explain, on the one hand, as his vocal technique is clearly above the standard of our sorry operatic era; and pretty surprising, on the other hand, given his voice's tiny size.

I heard him on several occasions. Initially, he was quite promising (the two above recordings are from that early period); then, he must have experimented with his technique, and sounded much like a duck for a short period; and finally, he recovered, retrieved his fluent coloratura and easy top notes and became even more secure than in his early years – however, his volume remained so low that I found him never satisfying at the Vienna State Opera, while I heard him in great form at tiny venues like Theater an der Wien (where he was an impressive Roderigo in Rossini's Otello) or Teatro Malibran in Venice (where he was a really superb and not least very funny Almaviva).

Picture source

I wish to thank Robert Schlesinger for the recording (Zhizn za tsarja).

I wish to thank Thomas Silverbörg for the recording (Italiana).