Yevhen Orlov: A Ukrainian Bass on the Stages of Kyiv, New York, and Berlin
Yevhen Orlov is a Ukrainian opera singer (bass), a soloist with the National Opera of Ukraine, and subsequently a soloist with the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He is a laureate of the international opera competition "Operalia" (2010). He has performed on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Los Angeles Opera, the Opéra de Montréal, and other leading opera houses across Europe and the Americas. In international publications and on playbills, his name is rendered as Ievgen Orlov.
The Beginning of His Musical Journey
Yevhen Orlov began his musical education as an instrumentalist. In 1998, he enrolled in the Donetsk Music College, specializing in cello, and graduated in 2002.
He came to singing by chance. According to the artist himself, as a sixteen-year-old student at the college, he saw an advertisement recruiting singers for a local choir. It offered a monthly salary of 30 hryvnias—a significant sum for him at the time. He applied, and while singing in the choir, it was discovered that he possessed a powerful bass voice. From that point on, Orlov began to pursue vocal training in earnest. Studies in Kyiv and Competition Successes
In 2004, Yevhen Orlov began his professional vocal training at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, from which he later graduated.
While still a student, he won awards at several vocal competitions:
Ivan Alchevsky International Vocal Competition (Kharkiv, 2007) — Grand Prix;
Mykola Lysenko International Vocal Competition (Kyiv, 2007) — 2nd Prize;
"Art of the 21st Century" Competition (Kyiv, 2008) — Grand Prix;
Solomiya Krushelnytska International Vocal Competition (Lviv, 2009) — 2nd Prize.
Soloist at the National Opera of Ukraine
In 2006, while still pursuing his studies, Yevhen Orlov became a soloist at the National Opera of Ukraine. It was here that he built the core of his repertoire, consisting primarily of lyric and dramatic bass roles from Russian, Italian, and Western European classical works:
Gremin (Eugene Onegin by P. Tchaikovsky);
King René (Iolanta by P. Tchaikovsky);
Malyuta Skuratov and Sobakin (The Tsar's Bride by N. Rimsky-Korsakov);
Banquo (Macbeth by G. Verdi);
Monterone (Rigoletto by G. Verdi);
Konchak (Prince Igor by A. Borodin);
The Bonze (Madama Butterfly by G. Puccini). The King of Egypt and Ramfis (Aida by G. Verdi);
Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville by G. Rossini);
Creon (Oedipus Rex by I. Stravinsky).
The singer’s repertoire also includes operetta: Mr. X in The Circus Princess by I. Kálmán. He has toured abroad with the National Opera company.
Oratorio and cantata music holds a special place in his artistic work. Orlov performs bass parts in the Requiems of W. A. Mozart and G. Verdi, as well as in the Passions of J. S. Bach.
"Operalia" 2010: International Recognition
The year 2010 marked a turning point in his career, when Yevhen Orlov participated in the "Operalia" World Opera Competition. Founded by Plácido Domingo in 1993, the competition is now one of the most prestigious vocal contests in the world. According to the singer, he did not decide to apply immediately; a friend had strongly urged him to participate.
The eighteenth edition of the competition was held in Italy for the first time, at La Scala in Milan. The final took place on May 2, 2010, with Plácido Domingo conducting the orchestra. First prizes were awarded to Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva and Romanian tenor Ștefan Pop. The second prize was shared by Yevhen Orlov, Italian soprano Rosa Feola, and Italian tenor Giordano Luca. The second prize amounted to 20,000 US dollars.
At the competition, Orlov performed the monologue of King Philip II from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Don Carlos. The singer recounted that that same evening, at a celebratory reception following the finale, representatives from three foreign opera houses approached him with offers of collaboration. Later that year, in 2010, Orlov went abroad and began working under seasonal contracts at opera houses across Europe and the Americas.
The Beginning of an International Career
In 2010, the singer joined the Young Singers Project—a support program for young performers at the Salzburg Festival. In December of that same year, he was invited to perform as a soloist at a gala concert for the Opéra de Québec (Canada).
Over the following seasons, Orlov performed at numerous opera houses:
at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, he sang the role of Philip II in Don Carlos, in a production directed by Giancarlo del Monaco;
in Bilbao, on the stage of ABAO, he performed the roles of Zaccaria (in Verdi’s Nabucco), as well as Padre Guardiano and the Marchese di Calatrava (in Verdi’s La forza del destino);
at the Los Angeles Opera, he sang Loredano in Verdi’s I due Foscari and the Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni;
at the Opéra de Montréal and the French festival Soirées lyriques de Sanxay, he performed the role of Zaccaria;
at the Ópera de Oviedo (Spain), he sang the role of the Commendatore. In the 2012–2013 season, he performed the role of Bonze at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, as well as Don Basilio at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago (Chile).
His repertoire during this period also included the role of Sir Giorgio in V. Bellini’s opera I puritani.
The Metropolitan Opera
Performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York represent a significant chapter in Yevhen Orlov’s career. As early as 2011, he prepared the roles of Ramfis and the Commendatore there as an understudy.
In the autumn of 2013, the singer performed the role of Oroveso in V. Bellini’s Norma, conducted by Riccardo Frizza and featuring Sondra Radvanovsky and Angela Meade. American music critics noted his dark, full-bodied voice, which easily filled the auditorium.
During the 2014–2015 season, Orlov sang the roles of the Commendatore in Don Giovanni and the King of Egypt in Aida at the Metropolitan Opera. The production of Aida, directed by Sonja Frisell and conducted by Marco Armiliato, also featured Ukrainian singers Liudmyla Monastyrska and Oksana Dyka. In November 2014, he performed as the Old Convict in D. Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, conducted by James Conlon and directed by Graham Vick. In the 2015–2016 season, the singer returned to the Metropolitan Opera to reprise the roles of the Commendatore and the King of Egypt. That same season, he performed the role of the Cook in Alexander von Zemlinsky’s opera Der König Kandaules in Seville, and the role of Monterone at the opera festival in Klosterneuburg, Austria.
Return to the Kyiv Stage
On December 4, 2015, Yevhen Orlov appeared on the stage of the National Opera of Ukraine as King Philip II in Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlo. This was part of the theater’s project, "Ukrainian Opera Singers in the World." That same month, he also performed in Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. In an interview, the singer identified the role of Philip II as his favorite; he noted that it allows for the full expression of his voice while simultaneously demanding complex acting work.
Orlov also participated in open-air concerts on Sophia Square in Kyiv, an initiative of the National Opera of Ukraine’s chief director, Anatoliy Solovyanenko. These concerts featured Ukrainian singers who had built careers on major international stages. Alongside Orlov, the performers included Oksana Dyka, Valentyna Pluzhnikova, Oleksiy Palchykov, and Vitaliy Bilyy.
Soloist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
In early 2016, the singer moved to Berlin. Beginning with the 2016–2017 season, he became a soloist with the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he had previously appeared as a guest artist—most notably in the role of Gremin. On the Berlin stage, Orlov performed a wide range of roles:
The Commendatore (Don Giovanni by W. A. Mozart);
Colline (La bohème by G. Puccini);
The Bonze (Madama Butterfly by G. Puccini);
Timur (Turandot by G. Puccini);
Angelotti (Tosca by G. Puccini);
Varlaam and Pimen (Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky);
Zuniga (Carmen by G. Bizet);
The King of Egypt (Aida by G. Verdi);
Sparafucile (Rigoletto by G. Verdi);
Mr. Flint (the Boatswain) (Billy Budd by B. Britten);
Roucher (Andrea Chénier by U. Giordano);
Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor by G. Donizetti);
Oroveso (Norma by V. Bellini); and Zaccaria (Nabucco by G. Verdi).
Performances in other theaters across Europe and Israel
Alongside his work in Berlin, Yevhen Orlov continued to perform as a guest artist. At the Israeli Opera, he sang the role of the Grand Inquisitor in G. Verdi’s Don Carlo. The Israeli press noted the depth of his voice and his commanding stage presence. He performed the same role at the Verdi Festival at the Teatro Regio in Parma, as well as at the Leipzig Opera, where he also sang the role of Philip II.
At the Hamburg State Opera, Orlov appeared as Sparafucile. Between 2020 and 2022, he performed the role of the Commendatore in the Greek National Opera’s new production of Don Giovanni (directed by John Fulljames), which was presented in Athens and Copenhagen.
Collaboration with Conductors
Throughout his career, Yevhen Orlov has worked with many renowned conductors, including Igor Blazhkov, Marco Armiliato, Daniel Oren, James Conlon, Plácido Domingo, Riccardo Frizza, Alan Gilbert, Josep Pons, and Alexander Vedernikov. On stage, he has performed alongside Plácido Domingo and Oksana Dyka.
Artistic Profile
Yevhen Orlov belongs to a generation of Ukrainian vocalists who received their professional training and gained their initial stage experience in Ukraine in the early 2010s, subsequently becoming part of the international opera scene. His repertoire consists primarily of roles typical for the classical bass voice: monarchs, high priests, paternal figures, and tragic characters in operas by Verdi, Bellini, Mozart, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky. Key roles in his repertoire include King Philip II and the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlo, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Oroveso in Norma, and the Commendatore in Don Giovanni.
In interviews, the singer has admitted that he still feels nervous before every appearance on stage. Early in his career, nervousness took a toll on his voice, but he later learned to transform it into emotion for his performances. Orlov also mentioned that he attends his colleagues' performances to refine his own vocal technique.
