Aleksey Bogdanov

— Baritone

“The rest of this ensemble cast was strong from top to bottom, with Aleksey Bogdanov a standout for his resonant, flexible baritone as the Burgundian Knight Lionel.”
—Jeremy Eichler, Boston Globe, September 18, 2017 - Lionel in The Maid of Orleans at Odyssey Opera

"Aleksey Bogdanov was both intimidating and sympathetic as Rance, and brought a dark, rich baritone with plenty of luster to the part."
—Luther Wade, Opera News, April 29, 2017 - Jack Rance in "La Fanciulla del West" at Opera Carolina

"Rance’s part requires that he distinguish himself among all these other men, which Bogdanov certainly did; his singing was not only beautiful but characterful."
—Charlotte Observer - Jack Rance in 'La fanciulla del West' at Opera Carolina

"...put in the shade by Aleksey Bogdanov’s superb Scarpia. The Russian–American baritone, in granitic voice, offered star quality in every way. The text was scrupulously shaped, with considerable dynamic range and a musical finesse the role rarely receives. Dark-haired and pale, Bogdanov made as sensual and sexy a Scarpia as we’ve seen since the heyday of Milnes and Díaz: he telegraphed, to both Tosca and his audience, his enjoyment of his own villainy."
—Opera News - Scarpia in 'Tosca' at Opera North

"More than fine was Aleksey Bogdanov, a Domingo-Cafritz alumnus who is by way of becoming a WNO stalwart this season; he stood out not only because of his warm and confident singing, but because he, almost alone among the cast, could be understood."
—The Washington Post - Peter in 'Hansel and Gretel' at Washington National Opera

"Matters pick up considerably in Act 2, with the arrival of LBJ...his scenes with George Wallace (a splendidly slimy Aleksey Bogdanov) are hilarious."
—The Wall Street Journal - George Wallace in 'Appomattox' at Washington National Opera

"Aleksey Bogdanov was a firm-voiced Sharpless, dignified even in despair."
—Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times, July 29, 2014 -  Sharpless in 'Madama Butterfly' at the Glimmerglass Festival

About

Aleksey Bogdanov has been praised as "a baritone to watch" by the Washington Post, with “distinctive color and affability.”

During the 2017-2018 season, Mr. Bogdanov will make debuts with Arizona Opera as Scarpia in Tosca and Sarasota Opera as Sebastiano in d'Albert's rarely-heard Tiefland. Additionally, he will be seen as Lionel in The Maid of Orleans with Odyssey Opera in Boston and will cover the title role in Anton Rubinstein’s The Demon with Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

Last season, he sang his first performances . . . of Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West at Opera Carolina and The Demon in Boston. He also sang Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen with Colorado Music Festival, Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles with Tulsa Opera, and Vitellius in Hérodiade with Washington Concert Opera. Previously he was seen at Washington National Opera as Escamillo in Carmen, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, as well as General John A. Rawlins and Governor George Wallace in the premiere of the revised version of Appomattox by Phillip Glass. Additionally at WNO, he covered Donner and Gunther in Francesca Zambello's production of Der Ring des Nibelungen. Other recent credits include Doctor and Boilermaker in the American premiere of Tarik O'Regan's Heart of Darkness with Opera Parallèle, and a return to The Glimmerglass Festival for Madama Butterfly, where he New York Times praised his “firm-voiced Sharpless, dignified even in despair.”

A graduate of Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, his many roles with the company include Mozart’s Figaro, Guglielmo, Don Giovanni, and Masetto, Sharpless and Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, Sergeant Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, Cristiano in Un ballo in maschera, the Jailer in Dialogues of the Carmelites, a Gravedigger in Hamlet, a Cappadocian in Salome, and a Wigmaker in Ariadne auf Naxos.

Mr. Bogdanov has performed Escamillo in Carmen with the Atlanta Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Columbus Symphony. He made his Canadian debut as Eugene Onegin with Edmonton Opera and his Carnegie Hall debut as the bass soloist in Handel's Messiah. He has appeared in concert at La Scala, Seoul Arts Center, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, and with the National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Post-Classical Ensemble, and I Musici de Montréal. He made his professional operatic debut at age 25 in 2008 with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in William Walton's Troilus and Cressida.

Mr. Bogdanov's diverse credits include Marcello in La bohème, Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana, Rabbi David in L'amico Fritz, Four Villains in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and Blitch in Susannah. He has been featured as a soloist in Stravinsky's Les Noces, Poulenc's Le bal masqué, Bach's Kaffekantate, Dvorák's Te Deum, Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass, Handel's Messiah and Jeptha, and the Requiems of Mozart, Fauré, and Duruflé. He created Bernard De Voto in the world premiere of Jeanine Tesori's A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck and Samuel Griffiths in an updated version of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy which was broadcast on NPR, both at the Glimmerglass Festival. He has also appeared on the radio shows A Prairie Home Companion and Classical Conversations.

Born in 1983 in Odessa, Ukraine, Mr. Bogdanov immigrated to San Francisco, California, in 1992. After studying voice at the University of California Santa Cruz and Indiana University, he received additional training as a young artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Glimmerglass Festival, San Francisco Opera Merola Program, and Washington National Opera. He is a two-time winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Awards, a two-time winner of the Florida Grand Opera YPO competition, and a Career Grant recipient from the Sullivan Musical Foundation, the Shoshana Foundation, San Francisco Opera Merola Program, and Pasadena Opera Guild.

(Updated January 2017)

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